Category: Painting

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Diebenkorn’s Notes on Beginning a Painting

Richard DIebenkorn's Notes on Painting
Richard DIebenkorn’s Notes on Painting
A show of the work produced in his Berkeley Years (1953 to 1966) by Richard Diebenkorn are on display at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. (The last day of the show is Sunday, September 29th, 2013).

I’ve gone three times. As you enter the show you’ll find Diebenkorn’s “Notes on Beginning a Painting” on the wall.

Going through the show I noticed and liked how you can see the layers of paint underneath. How he doesn’t try to hide his “mistakes” and instead they are part of the work.

What ways can you “Be careful only in a perverse way”? (See Item #10).

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Chasing Ghosts

Wisdom from Painter, Hung Liu
Wisdom from Painter, Hung Liu
She arrived in the United States with three suitcases, $20, and a whole airplane load of ghosts.

“You live to tell, tell to live,” said Hung Liu.

It was Earth Day, April 20th, as I dashed from taking photos of trashion (short name for trash fashion) at the Berkeley Vegan Festival to the Oakland Museum of Art. I didn’t want to miss a chance to see and meet one of my heroes.

More people showed up than there were seats available inside the auditorium. Maybe it was fate, I got in just before the cutoff.

Liu was dressed in a black tunic with pants and her long hair was pulled back. She spoke for 45 minutes about her life and journey as an artist and was then interviewed by senior museum curator, Rene de Guzman.

“Summoning Ghosts: The Art of Hung Liu” is on display until June 30, 2013 at the Oakland Museum of Art.

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The Art of Paint Dripping

The affect of spraying water on acrylic paint on canvas. Painting by Mary Gow
The affect of spraying water on acrylic paint on canvas.
Spraying paint with a water bottle makes paint look like its sweating.

And while it’s dripping try turning the painting 90 degrees.

This example came out so nicely I haven’t wanted to paint on top of it.

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Exploring Painting Techniques: Spritzing

painting in process by Mary Gow
Work in progress, Part 1, acrylic on canvas, by Mary Gow
paint technique on canvas
Work in progress, Part 2, acrylic on canvas, by Mary Gow
These last few weeks I’ve become familiar with the work of Flora Bowley, thanks to local artists, Anna Kazanjian and Regina Jessup.

Here’s a painting I’m working on.

You can see it changing with a bit as I used the spritzing of water onto the canvas, which is a technique that Bowley encourages. I loaded up my brush with paint and without thinking about it, swished it on my canvas then sprayed it with a water bottle. I felt like a kid again as I watched the paint begin to drip. In this example I’m only beginning this dripping technique, stay tuned for more dramatic examples!

I’ll share more as I explore Bowley’s book. It’s easy to participate as you go through the book in what are called “prompts.”

Sprinkled throughout the book are some of the same quotes I’ve saved in my own arsenal of inspiration.

“Overcome the notion that you must be regular. It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.” – Uta Hagen (from p. 121).

The full title is Brave Intuitive You: Let Go, Be Bold, Unfold, Techniques for Uncovering Your Own Unique Painting Style.