Thursday, January 12, 2017

IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO!

ANGER MANAGEMENT

This is a painting of a wonderful photographer, Gary Bridges.  Not only is he a great photographer, he is a very nice, warm and friendly man.  When I met him, I was taken with his lean rugged countenance and asked if I could photograph him and create some paintings.  He was very gracious and so I took 3 or 4 different poses and have painted 4 or 5 versions.  Because I don't like to paint teeth, my subjects look serious.  In this case, Gary looks downright menacing.  As the song from Porgy and Bess goes, " It ain't necessarily so!" 

This painting is going to be on exhibit starting this weekend with the 2017 national exhibition of the California Watercolor Association.  This is an organization very close to my heart so I was particularly happy to be included in the show.   National shows always have so much competition with excellent level entries vying for too few spots.  Sometimes I am able to make the cut and sometimes not.  Lucky this time!  I am looking forward to attending the opening reception on Saturday the 14th at the Harrington Gallery in the Firehouse Art Center in Pleasanton, Ca.  This is a fabulous venue and I am excited that CWA was able to have this important show here again. Reconnecting with local friends and a few from as far away as Florida is going to be another highlight of the day.

This is a new surface I experimented with.  It is supposed to resemble plaster.  You take paper toweling and separate it into one ply and glue it to the surface (watercolor paper, canvas, wood panel, etc.) with an equal mixture of gesso and mat medium.  I used paper towels that already had some paint on them and would have been thrown away.  I like how the whitish ground has subtle color coming through.  The surface when dry is quite rough, so don't use good sable brushes on it.  I added some watercolor crayon to the final piece which helped to accent the texture and the element of drawing that I feel is important to my work.  

14 comments:

RH Carpenter said...

Congratulations in being in the show - this is a statement portrait as it makes the viewer tell a story about the person (whether it's the correct story or not, is another thing! ha ha). I enjoyed seeing your work in the latest Acrylic Artist magazine and just renewed my subscription. Love your work with textures and your wonderful drawing skills. Have a wonderful 2017.

Kim Minichiello said...

Congrats Myrna! You inspire!

Billie Crain said...

Congrats on the exhibit entry, Myrna. Love your fella. I also love the texture tip. I'll have to give this technique a go. Thanks!

Candy said...

Myrna, congratulations on being accepted into the show! It wasn't luck - you're just that good! I love the textures you get and the interesting material you use to get them. I also think it's interesting that you don't like to paint teeth:)

Joyfulartist said...

Thanks for explaining the surface, I'd really like to try it.

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thanks, Rhonda, for the comments. I hope that all of my paintings evoke that feeling of filling in the story. I will have an article in the next issue of The Artist Magazine.. They asked me to write about my self portraits using digital apps for inspiration. They did a great job of editing and I would appreciate your feedback.

Myrna Wacknov said...

Hi Kim, Thanks for the kind words!

Myrna Wacknov said...
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Myrna Wacknov said...

Candy, so nice of you to comment.

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thanks, Janet. Let me see what you do when it is done.

Meera Rao said...

Congratulations!!!! -- A very neat technique perfect for the wonderful painting!

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thank you Meera. It was fun to work on.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful-Wonderful-Wonderful painting !!!! Congratulations Myrna on your exhibit, it sounds like soo much fun and very prestigious : ) I love all your art and thank you for your sharing your technique : )

Blessings, Sandra : )

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thank you, Sandra! I read about this technique and decided to try it. Most of my ideas are adapted from others. Each person puts their own stamp on their work so it never is exactly like the inspiration, but that is a good thing!

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