Friday, February 14, 2014

Calypso (unfinished) Renamed to First Flight after completion

This new triptych (at the bottom) is nearly finished just in time for the March 6th deadline for juried entry into the Miniatures and More show to be held at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History in October. Yes, October is a long time away, but these things require planning.

Each artist can electronically submit to the jury a minimum of 4 pieces and maximum of 8, as long as each piece is less than a certain size (mine are each at the maximum canvas size allowed). When I attended it in 2013 they grouped 3 of each artist's 2D work and hung them either horizontally or vertically with space in between. The exhibit was very nicely laid out, with easy viewing and it was nice to see 3 pieces of each artist's work hanging together.

I am taking a chance that:  A) my work will be selected and B) that maybe, just maybe they'll hang them vertically and touching one another, depicting one continuous image. However, in creating them I also considered that (if they're selected) they may be hung with space in between, and since each canvas must be be for sale separately, I made sure each had a strong enough composition to hang individually.

I am really happy with this piece because the composition was a long and arduous evolution which really pushed my creativity.

The images below show the evolution from the original sketch to the final piece. I copied my sketch in charcoal onto the canvas. Next, I flipped the image vertically and horizontally for the next 2 canvases. Applying the concept of curvismo with paint, I connected the curved lines in various directions to create a 3 dimensional continuity and to improve the flow. After a couple of sessions I felt very frustrated and sat with my instructor Ricardo telling him I thought it was not sophisticated enough. Together we discussed ideas, and kept working the curves until it was clear that the canvas was showing calla lilies and birds, so that was the direction I followed.





Update: This peice was renamed to First Flight upon its completion. It is 20" X 48" Oil on canvas $2700