chiaroscuro Archives - Dora Sislian Themelis Art

Something New While I Wait

Don’t you just love those days when you have to stay home and wait for repair people? Yeah, love it. Not really, except when it’s a must you need to have all your projects in order so they can have some attention. Once in a while you can peek in on the repair guy and see the progress, otherwise let them do their work.

My area of New York had ten inches of water in a couple of hours this week. People are pumping out their basements and the like. We had a leak in our living room ceiling, but that’s not what the repair guy came to fix. I found a mysterious leak from one of our bathroom faucets which was causing havoc in our wall. Let me say it was not pretty.

Today was the day of the plumbers. If the weather was beautiful, which it isn’t, I would not be happy, but it’s not so I didn’t mind being here for the repair. Perfect opportunity to work on my stuff.

I took some photos a while back of cut up peppers, if you might remember. One of the photos was calling me so I decided to paint it. I liked the mood, the darks against light, the composition, and knew I could play with color.

I had to remind myself to stop after twenty minutes so I wouldn’t ruin the work. It’s not easy to stop once you have momentum going. My brain goes on autopilot and I could almost not see anything, think or hear anything.

When I stopped I tried to also remember to take a snap of the work to show the progression. I have found the photographs to be helpful in slowing me down, and I can see my work better.

I’m still working on this. The last photo is not the finished piece. I added more detail, more color and blending, but it’s not finished. Yet, anyway.

Done and Ready for What’s Next

I’m finally finished with this painting of my son and his bagpipe. I can’t do another thing to it or it will be a mess. Thanks to a suggestion from a lovely commenter, the paper might need to be rougher or stronger if I’m going to rework areas or use a lot of water. I learned a few things about my materials and myself, how I paint, what I like to paint, and maybe how to fight with resistance. It’s a process.

Resistance was beating me with this painting. I will look at this in the future and remember how hard it was to go to the studio to work on it with all the action. Boy did I want to just skip it and move on to something else! I weakened and found myself working on an area, giving up the resistance battle. I guess that’s how it is. One day you’re playing, having fun and the next it’s a chore to paint. Something clicked and whatever it was helped me get back. Was it the reading material, the doodling tasks, the morning pages, or was it just my head being ready to try again?

John’s Laouto 11×14 Watercolor
©2001 Dora Sislian Themelis

As I have said in past posts, I was primarily an oil painter. I think I used watercolors the way they should be used in this work I painted quite a few years ago. This was done after the miserable watercolor class I took. Can you see the difference?

The other thing about these two paintings is that the bagpipe was painted using a photograph of the scene and this was painted from life in one sitting. I think the life painting has a freer, more spontaneous watery quality. When I started using watercolors, I had just ended a bout with resistance. Since I was new at it, I had motivation in my corner and kept painting.

The bagpipe work is dramatic because of the lighting and paint application, but maybe a bit too detailed for my comfort.

As I move on it may be time to get the oil paints out and revisit painting on canvas. I’ve been using watercolors as if they were oil paints by applying them the same as I would the oils. Maybe it’s not a great idea. Maybe it’s just how I work. I’m not so sure.

Watercolor paints are just so easy to get out, use and clean up afterward that they’re very inviting. The transparency of the medium is what artists like, but did I work with them the way they’re meant to be? Does it matter? Comments, questions, criticisms?

Anyway, that’s my own critique. Thanks for listening to me rant. I’m done and I’m moving on.

Balking and Bagpipe, I’ll Just Go With It

I’m writing this post after having a most unsatisfactory morning. I’ll elaborate some. Since it’s my job to take care of all the household chores, shopping, and meals, (I’m the artist who works at home) I consider it also my job to be concerned with the health of the people who live here. Everyone in every family has certain needs that have to be met and it falls on the person doing the house stuff to handle it, right? I think so. If someone here catches a cold I make the chicken soup. If someone needs more fiber in their diet, I work that out. I do my best.

Now, the hard part is when one family member balks at what I’m offering, and since I am the person with whom the responsibility lies, I am offended by said balking. Catch my drift? Look, we’re not talking babies here, we’re all adults. But from the reaction of one individual I could swear I saw a tantrum happening when I brought out the oatbran cereal rather than a bagel slathered with butter and jelly. Whatever.

As that person went on his way after getting his way, I vented in my morning pages and could have written a fourth page. Thank goodness for morning pages! After I was finished I came to start my day by reading emails and to write this post. I brought a nice hot cup of coffee with me to enjoy, which I promptly knocked over and dumped on the desk and in my lap! Great day ahead, I’ll say.

The bagpipe painting flat on the desk and wet

Having said all that and gotten it off my chest, let me share how the bagpipe painting is coming along. I decided to go for 15 minutes again, ignoring the non-working overhead lamp, and working on the dark background. I don’t like to use a tube of black paint because it’s too flat and has no depth.

It’s easy enough to mix a black with undertones of other colors. I’m still using the MaimieriBlu watercolors, but they don’t offer an Alizarin Crimson which I tend to rely on for some reason. They have some other color that’s similar, but not as deep, so I went for that and mixed with Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. Nice and deep black. I used a large brush full of paint and applied it behind the figure.

After it dried a little bit I went back in with straight color mixing somewhat with the paint already down. As I’ve said before, my training in watercolor is minimal so I’m making it up as I go along. maybe it’s not how the medium is supposed to be used, but that’s the beauty of art and the process. You do what works and make it new and interesting.

The dry bagpipe painting upright on the easel

Later on I’m going to address that white area on the left hand side. When I printed this frame I thought it was an all black background. But looking closely I found that area was where the photo frame ended so I drew it in to break up the space. It’s part of the composition mirroring the large area on the right and I’ll answer that question with color. I naturally break up spaces this way in my work. Something inherent in my brain makes me think in shapes. I’ll go with it as usual.

Yeah, I’ll just go with it. Not like some other people who balk.