So today was beautiful folks, I had to get out and take advantage, I hope everyone was able to enjoy as well! I absolutely love to be outdoors and take walks by the river when I can. This afternoon, I was scoping out the drift wood situation during a walk (I am thinking of doing a sculpture project) and it happened to be low tide, in my favor. However, the shore was a unusually ominous and quite swampy- so I will postpone the collection when I am better prepared with my goulashes!
I was noticing the tall sea grasses and murky soil that seems to pile up at changing of tides, a blue heron was perched on a crumbling seawall ( I am thinking about adding him into the painting later- I always see him at low tide and have grown quite found of my feathered companion). Instantly, Jenn comes to my mind after viewing her “endangered bird species” canvases at our MFA summer show! I even tried to incorporate the “spray painted method” Jenn had showed me, although I was unsuccessful… perhaps I need more water. I’m not sure how I feel about the gold spray paint in this painting either- But I have been on a gold kick since I watched the “Woman in Gold” about the lost Klimt painting- very good flick by the way…I wanted to play with a palette knife and change the time of day. I chose to use acrylic paint and incorporate gold spray paint in random areas. This painting took about an hour and a half- but I really want to re-vist it later on.
I have always been a big advocate for the river, being a local river resident my entire life. I was witness to the damage and devastating the aftermaths Sandy and Irene reeked upon our residents and communities ( not to mention hurricanes way back when I was a little girl- I can remember our house half underwater). Our two local marinas were slammed by destruction and are still being re-built. I think current events always surface in my studio work- with all the current news and reports of Hurricane Matthew, I am brought back to my own experiences with dramatic weather. I wanted to represent some of my feelings with chaotic, thick brushstroke and uncertainty, also moody colors. And although I love the almighty Hudson, I wanted to represent her in a different perspective. I was very disturbed to hear of the proposed anchorage for barges along our shorelines this past summer- which will increase water traffic and also can be catastrophic to our ecosystems if a spill were to occur. I saw myself gravitating to painting old sea vessels, barges and tug boats- but not in a good light, decayed, worn and rusted. Outside influences that affect me personally always seem to seep out into my artwork as seen in this current work.
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/02/396789932/lost-art-is-reclaimed-in-woman-in-gold
