My cohort, Fiona Robinson http//:www.fionarobinson.info/
and I have been discussing the grays that we each create and bring to our work. We both adhere to fairly traditional drawing technique and perspective -- a commonality in our painting. Grays are of course a big topic: it is a foundation color of choice, from which we compose all surface and luminosity. Especially Fiona. Her grays tend to range from blues to yellows to reds, I think it's safe to say, while my own are much more neutral and hover in umber-ish territory. My approach is purposely conservative. I am concerned with creating a surface which the eye can easily sustain. That is, look at and 'see' with ease. I want my grays to temp you, persuade you to linger at the surface. When more light is captured within the surface hue and stabilized -- not released back-- I believe it is a purer and more powerful experience. An involuntary incentive for the viewer to experience the painting. This is why I often refer to my work as being performative: I seek to elicit a dynamic, physical response from the viewer. What else is there?
If you still need convincing, take a look at the paintings of Alfonso Fratteggiani Bianchi, which just came down my art feed cyber-pipe from Charlotte Jackson Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico http://www.charlottejackson.com/ Fratteggiani Bianchi hand rubs pure pigment directly onto Italian limestone, creating what appears to be -- from this limited perspective -- incredibly pure-hued paintings. The light is locked into the color on the surface of the stone and very seductive to the eye. My eyes are hungry...
1 comment:
I love your muting greys falling down the page. How can you bear to get up so early? I am not sure I would say that I use reds, it is more a suspicion of something like Permanent Rose which warms up the grey when I mix it.
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