Larger Paintings

 Untitled, 4ft x 5ft; Oil on Canvas, Salt Solution

Untitled, 4ft x 5ft; Oil on Canvas, Salt Solution

The thing has already taken form in my mind before I start it. The first attempts are absolutely unbearable. I say this because I want you to know that if you see something worthwhile in what I am doing, it is not by accident but because of real direction and purpose.

Vincent Van Gogh

The above paintings I completed just before I graduated. I made the stretcher bars and stretched the canvas to fit around the bars. This process is less expensive then buying the canvases out right. I had a few ideas that I was considering for the composition and like the Van Gogh statement above, the first attempts were terrible. Never have my first attempts been worth saving. Most of the time I have a difficult time painting the ideas in my mind. The nice thing however, is that I can paint right over them and start fresh. I used the same salt solution that I use for the smaller metal pieces. What I find interesting is the solution turns white on the canvas and orange on the metal. So, all of the white areas that you see on theses paintings is the salt solution. I have received interesting interpretations of what people think the imagery means. I painted on the canvas first and then applied the solution on top. I wanted to allow the solution to create the imagery on it's own. I then placed the paint and build up the texture from there. I'm not sure that they are both finished. I could easily go back into them and add or take away what isn't working..but we'll see.