You Never Know

Last week we took a short road trip up to Duluth, Minnesota. Official reason was to take art to two galleries. Unofficial reason was to see the Sun. We accomplished both - and more.

Here is one piece now on exhibit at Art Dock Gallery - down in the Canal park area. I'd decided to play a little. Not take shapes so seriously. You thought that was my usual way with things? Well, it depends. Because of the "ten thousand hours" of drawing and painting - yes, I can draw and paint "bears." But I live always with trying not to make them copies of themselves. This is not so easy. Real bear have specific features that I want to depict, and yet I want each piece of art to be a portrait of a singular bruin. And I do not want the work to appear labored. So this little acrylic painting came out in a series of steps: background, bear - in several steps, the moon/ball, and the foreground.

I've never been one for using spattering as a technique. This time I gave myself permission to spatter away! Goof off. Play!  Thanks, old toothbrush, you did the job. Spattering is a technique of loading the toothbrush with some very liquid paint and using one's thumb to scrape the bristles - thus freeing specks and spots of paint to fly through the air and land where they will. You can plan where to put the color - but brush and fingers rule.

No, I don't "know" what the white specks are depicting. They might be snow. They might be stars. They ARE tiny bits of white paint. 

And I don't know what the shapes are beneath the bear. I only know that I was using my forefinger to blot some shapes and I liked what happened. There are three or four colors in the shapes. I can still feel the fun I was having bopping my finger from paint to canvas.

And I had no thoughts about final shape and color of this bear. I like working with a limited number of colors, and I love "gesture." I tried to use minimal marks. As each area was worked on I had to decide whether to stop or go on. Yes, the claws asked to be added - haha. No, I don't know why. (Claws are fun to paint or draw.)

This painting is done. It's story is up to each viewer. I hope the story is a happy one.

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

www.suerowe.com
Facebook Page: Sue-Rowe-Studios