A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose or so wrote Gertrude Stein. Gertrude never saw my rendition of a rose.

Whilst I was rummaging around the internet I came across some videos on the subject of painting flowers. (See Video Library). I love flowers because I love color and seldom is seen a flower without beautiful color. I decided to give a rose a try. I didn't have a photo to look at so I painted it right out of my head. Mind you, I probably  could not have done any better with a photo. But, as my friend Dave says, it is original. It looks to me like something a first grader might produce, maybe a kindergartner.

They say the great thing about acrylics is how quickly the paint dries. That special feature is proving my nemesis. My paints are drying out so fast I get all in panic. I'm one of those that does not do well under pressure and this is taking all the fun out of the exercise. I've tried misting the paint but it still dries out on the palette and clumps on the brush. Part of it may be due to the low humidity in the house. In winter, with things closed up and the heat running all the time it gets pretty dry.

I don't know what the trouble is but I really need to find a solution. If anyone reading this has any ideas to share about keeping acrylic paint moist I would sure be grateful if you'd leave them in a comment.

©Kinsey Barnard

Different Strokes for Different Folks

I've only been at this a nano second in the scheme of things. One thing I'm already fairly certain of, there is a lot to learn about acrylic painting before you get anywhere near the creative process. I suppose if you have done other types of painting the learning curve is much flatter. I have not held a paint brush in my hands since I was in grammar school, unless it was to paint a fence or barn. Grammar school is about 60 years in my rear-view mirror.

Of course, I may just be anal because I see people in these on-line painting classes that just jump in and come up with really nice stuff whilst I'm still laboring over the right brush to use and how to mix the colors. I'm hoping their just new to acrylics not painting.

One thing I have no doubt about is the genre of painting I want to attempt. As I have incessantly pointed with regard to my photography, Monet and Thoreau have always been my mentors in absentia. I adore impressionism and Thoreau's understanding of nature is a beauty all it's own. As in my photography I am not so interested in duplicating things in the commonplace sense. In other words, I'm not so interested in painting traditional landscapes, still life etc. I'm far more intrigued by impressionist and abstract images.

I started out this morning with an idea in mind of an impressionist landscape I wanted to try and replicate. Egads, I messed everything up. I forgot you want to start with the light colors first. I totally messed up my color mixing and ended up with a  red mountain where I wanted an orange colored hill. Then my paints started to dry up and I became totally discombobulated. I couldn't bear to waste the paint so I went into imagination mode. I just started experimenting with how the different brushes and brush strokes work.  Below is my great work of art. I did actually learn a few things.

The Red Blob or Casper the Red Ghost?

I have about 20 of my photographs, printed on 24 x 36 canvas, surrounding my workspace. Today I started really looking at them and was amazed at how nature literally painted these images with brushstrokes. I would like to figure out how to replicate them. Below is a macro look at one of my photographs, River Revelry. This is just a tiny section of the entire image. I think you can see what I mean about the brushstrokes. I want to learn how to paint like nature!

River Revelry- Original Photograph printed on canvas

I still say, there is only one true artist when it comes to nature. The of us are just copy cats and posers.

©Kinsey Barnard