BALANCING ACT

My initial concept was to have equal balance of discipline within a sense of freedom. Right now, I'm stuck on this balancing act of abstraction vs visual reality. A little prayer while I'm painting always help...sooner or later, the painting will come together...this finish egg tempera on the left was one of my earlier attempt at learning how to use the medium.

EGG TEMPERA

After painting for so many years, I'm finally comfortable with working in most medium & subjects. Whether it's a sketch or a major painting, deciding on which medium to use could make a big difference in what I'm trying to convey. This is an egg tempera painting. Egg tempera is a painting process that uses egg yolk to bind pigments. A very ancient technique, but very simple: egg yolk, water, & pigments. The egg yolk medium gives the effect of oil & watercolor. The technique of layering translucent paint creates beautiful & luminous color effects as light passes thru the many layers of color. This back & forth, back & forth is the closest I come to meditation. Painting in oil might be faster, but this property need a delicate & opalescent effect that only an egg tempera can achieve.

FROM MY STUDIO

Unless I'm painting for myself, most job involves a bit of stress. Which is why I love my quick sketches. The layout for this drawing happened pretty fast. With the help of my copier, I played around with the scale & angle of the house. Everyone has a home copier these days. It definately helps to see the various layouts, without the need to redraw everything. After more quick thumbnails, I finally decided to keep the lines of the perspective straight & flat. I want to contrast the looseness of the flower border that's going to be infront of the house. When composing, CONTRAST is usually in the back of my mind. This small water color, is my reference point...playing with similar vertical & horizontal lines. Since the formula works, I'm applying the same principle to this new house portrait.

HOUSE PORTRAIT

Since one can blog about anything, thought I talk a little about my creative process. A house portrait commission came in last week. This is a good starting point to see how I create something out of a concept. Unless one can paint from the property, the trick is to get as many photos for reference as possible. Relying on a few px from client cant tell the whole story. I was lucky enough to spend time on this property over the years. This takes alot of the guesswork & stress out of this commission. I can just let myself respond emotionally & physically to the subject.