Decisions

I'm running out of canvases which means I need to build more, which means that my husband and I need to go to our workshop, which brings up the question: "When do we have the time to do this together?" These times are few and far between spending quality time together, or spending family time together.

Let me clarify that I can build stretchers on my own, however, in order to run long pieces of wood safely through the jointer and planar, having some assistance is safer and more efficient. Also, our workshop is in need of a major re-haul which is soon to come, but until then, all of 'our' wood is mixed up together and I don't want to use any of his wood.

The piece at the left was started as an attempt to accomplish one of my previous stated objectives of overlapping figures, or rather, overlapping the same figure twice. I was hoping that the image overlapped would give the viewer a feeling of falling or movement. I decided to work on this painting last night to see how some progression would look.

The image I am working from is quite blurry however, and there is not much of the face to work from. Madelaine is the model, and she is wearing a winter hat- I have turned the canvas upside-down. That is how I intended to show the piece. After some contemplation, I think I have decided to abandon this piece. I think everyone was confused by it. When working on the piece last night it somehow didn't feel right.

I have an idea that I would like to create some aloe pieces which would be smaller and hang them all together. This canvas could possibly be used for this endeavor. Then again, the canvas might be too large. At the same time, I am also deciding what to paint on the canvas with the three figures- this is a medium sized canvas so I'm not sure that a whole figure or two would work on this surface.

Also, something that is vexing me is an artist I found last week: Jeff Hein. (www.jeffreyhein.com) This is the kind of artist that really makes me want to jump off the nearest bridge. Rarely do I come across someones work that does everything that I want my work to do. His artists statement is different, however, we have VERY similar thoughts on combining modern aspects of painting while staying true to the realistic form, mainly through figurative work. His statement is eloquent in describing the marriage of contemporary concepts in art, with classical ideals. I hate him for that. Not really, however, I would like for my words and thoughts to be as eloquent as his and for my brushstrokes to convey these thoughts on canvas like his seem to do.

Regarding his work: when I viewed his images of say "The Ina" (60"x 40") or "Lena" (20.8"x 11") I felt an instant love affair coming on. This artist was combining two figures on canvas, much like I was doing, however, it seemed he was doing it in a more modern way than me, or better. (Yes, I can say that). Jeffs technique involves painting a very realistic figure/s in a manner akin to say Rembrant, where the flesh, hands, etc. are very representational- with a painterly approach. (Meaning you can see brushstrokes in the flesh of say the portrait). However, he then sets the figure against a modern context of lines or dots as if this background was created by Josef Albers. If I had to guess his influences, I would say he mixes some Hockney with some Albers, with some Uglow, with some Rembrant if you can imagine this. I mix some Giacometti with some Chuck Close, with some Italian renaissance masters such as (Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Angelico), with some Balthus and Hockney. Now do you see how I am vexed!

Plus, Jeff Hein includes some elements of 'duality' in his work without knowing it- or maybe he does... he paints two chairs side by side where one is empty, and the other holds a figure. In another piece, "Repititon" (48" x 60") he repeats the same figure twice with slight variations in clothing and facial features. Again, the background is one tone while the shadows of the two figures are all variations of muted modern yellow tones which makes the background look more like modern design rather than something that would be on canvas. Additionally, as with many of his other pieces he creates a successful analogous (read harmonious) color combination by using Reds, to yellow oranges, to yellow. I could go on, but I feel I'm getting ill from the 'sickest' work I've ever seen.