The artist and the camera.

Welcome to Potlick's Blog.  Today I want to talk a little about my use of photography as an artist.  The picture you see below is the title image for a group of photographs of Japanese gardens.

    In the mid-eighties, I lived in Japan where I studied traditional Japanese painting.  While there, I carried my camera everywhere and tried to capture fleeting impressions of the world in which I found myself.
    You will see that the image here is actually a reflection.  So much of what I see as an artist is just a glimpse and the camera gives me a way of preserving that glimpse.  The floating lily pads and the reflection of the temple roofs just seemed in perfect harmony with the Japanese sensibility.
    Most often, people point the camera directly at the thing they want to photograph, but shooting from a different angle or using a reflection as I have here can produce an air of mystery and a heightened sense of artistry.

 
     Here is another example of capturing a fleeting moment that has both beauty and mystery.  The strange tepee-like shadow on the building makes us wonder what we are looking at.  In this case, the picture is not so much about the house as it is about the unusual, the strange, the unfamiliar.  It makes us stop and think and, hopefully, appreciate the wonders of our visual world.
    When you go out to take pictures, try to see the image in your viewfinder in a more abstract way.  That is, look for the larger abstract shapes be they colors, shadows or objects.  Seeing the larger, simpler image will help you to compose better photographs and help to better capture the essence of your subject.
    Please offer your comments and suggestions and stay tuned for more talks on art.  Patrick, AKA Potlick

Here goes  --  Painting 101.  What we are looking at here is the same painting we saw in the first post only we now see it in an earlier state.  This is what is know in the craft as an under painting.  This technique was used by such old masters as Da Vinci, Rafael and Titian. 

 
    First, the artist draws the picture on the canvas or panel.  This drawing (known as a cartoon) is most often very finely detailed and is faithful to the final image.  Once the drawing is complete, the entire painting is done in umber, a brownish earth color.  Using umber, white and black, the entire image is painted with all the correct values - shading, so that the image looks complete and believable.  Most of us are familiar with old-fashioned sepia-toned photographs.  An under painting looks similar.
    Once the under painting is complete, the artist then applies the colors to complete the painting.  I suspect that this method was partly to conserve colors which were very expensive, difficult to acquire and time consuming to make.
    As we see the picture here, the under painting is partially complete and portions of the drawing and gesso ground can be seen.  The magic of digital photography allows us to capture and share these intermediate steps.
    Stay tuned for more images of this picture as it progresses.  Potlick

First blog.

    Hello everyone.  Here, to start off my new blog is a new painting in progress.  The subject is the Shawgate Pawnshop near the main gate of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC.  I chose this building, because it has such a wonderful decorative facade.

     The shape of the building and the way in which it is painted remind me of structures I've seen in Mexico.  This particular painting will be part of my Landmarks series.  Other pictures in this series include the Rosewood Dairy Bar and Angelo's on N. Main St. in Columbia.
    As you see the painting here, I am just beginning to apply color over the under painting.  The medium is oil color on a wooden panel.  I make the panels of Luan Mahogany plywood with Bass Wood supports.  I like the Luan, because it is very stable and stays flat and I use the Bass Wood for cradling, because it, also is very stable.  I first started using Bass Wood under veneer in antique repairs and have since learned to use it for painting supports.
    I like to use a premium quality oil paint as it dries slowly and allows me to work it as I need and the color quality is first rate.  Through the use of different mediums, I can achieve the surface texture and sheen that I want.
    Once the panel is built, I coat it with a neutral grey gesso and then sand it absolutely smooth.  I like the smooth surface, because it allows me to draw and paint very fine details without distortion.
    I'll be showing the progress of this painting and others as the blog progresses.  I welcome your comments and questions and would love to establish a dialogue with other artists.  Stay tuned.  Potlick