Sunday, September 28, 2014

Taunton Art Association 2014 Fall Art Show

The final day of the Art Show was today. A lot of excellent entries. My 'Gulliver Street in the Fall' took 3rd place in the Acrylic category. I show it below. I always agree with most of the judging, but never agree with it all. The judges certainly were qualified. Three were used with some diversity in backgrounds and expertise, e.g. watercolor, photography in particular. I always wonder how they reach a consensus. Must be interesting. Anyway, my third place was my best entry. Other times I've won with a piece that I entered as a 'oh, well...this is different...maybe someone will like it.'

There is some good work and good artists that never seem to win (not talking about me) but place 2nd or 3rd. The excellence of art work is in the eye of the beholder and the whole process of judging is subjective. 

Friday, September 26, 2014

The Painting Season Has Begun

For many of you, there is no painting season. Which could mean one of two things. It doesn't have seasons, it's all year long...or...well, or not. For me, I look forward to the fall and winter to get back into painting. It's a great diversion in the colder weather. It's an inside sport. Outside is golf which, for me, diminishes as the weather gets colder.

Anyway, it's also the season for showing, i.e. art shows. These have become one way I can measure my development as an artist. Sales and/or awards mean at least someone other than myself has taken note of what I have done.

I have my own feelings about how much I improve from year to year. Each year I try to develop a little more expertise, trying something new, whether it's different subjects, techniques or whatever.

I can tell I am improving, although it's never fast enough. I use strictly acrylic paint, mostly since oils and the their cleanup are slightly more toxic, in my view. I tried watercolors long ago with little success. Acrylics have some advantages.They dry much quicker. But they also have disadvantages, one major one being the difficulty in blending colors or softening an effect. Just watch Bob Ross with his use of Liquid Clear to see what I mean.

This year one of my goals to to create realistic ocean waves, especially coming into a beach.

In the next few entries, I'll share some early work started this month.