My son called me today from his boat “Watercolor”. I was in the midst of cleaning my studio and contemplating the above painting when he called to wish me happy father’s day.
Anyway. He’s out on the water with his daughter, Sommer. They are sailing to a light house. He’s making up a spooky story on their way to the light house to keep her interested.
I miss those idyllic days that live large in my mind . . . . . after I’d given the boat to my son. Some of the experiences are real, yet, most get better as time passes.
I’m studying a painting I did of one of those idyllic scenes. Having done this same painting at least 4 times, I’ve yet to capture the intense Caribbean blue that slaps you in the face when you first come upon a blindingly white sailboat bobbing in the center of an azure cove.
I had been staring at it for over half an hour when my son called.
That significant diversion enabled me to see what was wrong with this painting.
In an attempt to really create that intense blue (including buying three tubes of new more exotic blue paint colors) I’d over-done it.
I’ll create another post after I’ve made some corrections. . . . . . But first, I have to clean my studio.
Hi Ted,
So glad to read this new post by you. I’ve missed your lovely insights.
Enjoy your Father’s Day!
Lynette
Beautiful, Ted. You are on the road to self-actualization. Or could be you’re already there. How can I join you?!
looks good to me
Our conversation about this painting reminds me of the times I would go see my friend Zack’s band. The music always sounded great to me, with the untrained ears. Zack sometimes would come off stage and lament that he messed up some part, or he would say “Man, we sucked tonight.” I think the artist is often the most brutal self-critic. Sounded fine to me.
The artists is inspired by a vision, a sound, a thought, then tries to recreate it. Maybe you seldom get it 100 percent right. I suppose you know it when you nail it. But even a recreation that is only a portion of the vision can be beautiful to those who haven’t experienced the original inspiration.
I completely get what you mean about the blue and how it doesn’t capture what you saw. It’s still cool looking. I look forward to seeing how you change it. It’s hard to believe one can really change a painting with a few more brush strokes.