getting inspiration….

"a glow in the shade" 12"x16" pastel on Uart 500

I have been feeling very uninspired this last week or so. Maybe I needed a break. Maybe it is from trying to paint and draw everyday. I mean… how do you find that much inspiration? I need to feel a connection to what I paint, it has to come from my heart. So I went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. We are in full bloom here in GA and the trees are turning green. Of course the pollen is so thick , that if you suffer from allergies it is hard to be outside. Any way, I just brought my camera along with me to the garden. I didn't want to feel pressured to paint, I just wanted to enjoy my surroundings and took a lot of photos. When I got home I went through the photos and picked a few that I really liked. I remember walking through this patch of bright green euphorbia walking through the shade, it really caught my attention. I took the time to think out the painting.

I converted the photo to black and white so I could really see the values and did a notan to block in the simple shapes. There is a lot going on in the photo and it's easy to get caught up in all the detail.

 

I decided to do an oil stain with alizarin crimson. There was so much green in the painting and the toned paper would help the green work. I worked on the painting all day (off and on), taking my time. Stepping back a lot and really looking at the painting as I progressed. I'm feeling better about my slump.