A Work in Progress....
Painting involves being totally in the present moment, reacting to what is happening on the board or canvas. I've finished the underpainting inspired by my visit to Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. It is , like most of my paintings, different than I thought it would be. I've learned to go with what is happening.
Most underpaintings I create are nothing recognizable. They are usually just a pigment as a base color to paint on top of. This painting is a very different experience. I found myself so caught up in the beautiful color combinations and movement, that I was finding it more and more difficult to think I would choose to cover up these beautiful colors with wreckage. But I guess this is true to what I felt on Omaha beach. Extravagant beauty with memories of devastation and sorrow. Unfortunately, we humans have repeated this over and over again. The suffering it causes is monumental. I don't have any illusions that the aspect of war is anything but complicated. The challenge for me will be to do it in a way that shows the beauty of the human spirit, the rising above hate and greed, the choice of love and compassion. Choosing light over darkness. Again, complicated. I have a few ideas...but I may let this one sit and start on the next painting rather than push it before I am ready, before I "see" it and have a plan. Pushing it doesn't work, usually. Time to go horizontal, close my eyes and see what comes...which could end up in a nap, but that's okay, too.
Most underpaintings I create are nothing recognizable. They are usually just a pigment as a base color to paint on top of. This painting is a very different experience. I found myself so caught up in the beautiful color combinations and movement, that I was finding it more and more difficult to think I would choose to cover up these beautiful colors with wreckage. But I guess this is true to what I felt on Omaha beach. Extravagant beauty with memories of devastation and sorrow. Unfortunately, we humans have repeated this over and over again. The suffering it causes is monumental. I don't have any illusions that the aspect of war is anything but complicated. The challenge for me will be to do it in a way that shows the beauty of the human spirit, the rising above hate and greed, the choice of love and compassion. Choosing light over darkness. Again, complicated. I have a few ideas...but I may let this one sit and start on the next painting rather than push it before I am ready, before I "see" it and have a plan. Pushing it doesn't work, usually. Time to go horizontal, close my eyes and see what comes...which could end up in a nap, but that's okay, too.