Second painting worked on today. Working off two photo references. Tried to focus on using large brushes, minimizing palette (yellow ochre, burnt sienna, alizarin, black, white--couldn't help putting in blue/green. I am not so happy with the mark making in this one [7/15 edit that: I am trying out some new things; some of which will really suck :-)]. It feels like I've substituted one form of "generic" for another. I think I've seen a painting almost just like this somewhere... I think in part the quality of the marks is impacted by working larger with larger brushes. I really need to change strategy as far as how much paint is on my palette (threw away the muffin tins for large rectangular cake pans). I need to mix a whole clump of nice paint at once, or else I end up with these scratchy, washy, patches. On the other hand, I'm relearning my materials.
I also realized that I rely on references as I paint much more than I'd been admitting. Part way through the paintings I realized I was craving some imagery to work off of. I sifted through my photos and found the right images. Having that base allowed me to be much more spontaneous and free. I'm not interested in reproducing what I see -- in fact I like combining different photo references at different points in the painting. But I like responding to something visual/physical.
In my first crit at AIB, my painting was assessed as "generic". That I'm operating in this already established framework. That's been on my mind. I don't want to obsess about it, but I think it speaks to me still searching for my own voice.
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