…Then get a Parasol
” Woman With Parasol ” 8 X 10 oil on panel
A step by step of the determined effort to keep it fast and unfettered.
I had taken the photo of this woman many years ago in NY. Only recently looked at it with new eyes for its Notan-esque qualities. Wanted to see if I could start and finish a piece in a day.
Something clicked for me with this one and Fun became the muse du jour.
Yeah, fun and the following quote, which played an endless loop in my head:
” It takes two to paint. One to paint, the other to stand by with an axe to
kill him before he spoils it.” ~W. Merritt Chase.
Thanks to Randy Higbee – King of Frames, who chiefed this quote from someone else and posted in on FB.
I was fearful of the axe. And stopped.
My husband said it looked like someone else’s painting. Yes, someone who knew when to stop.
These two don’t know when to stop, and have no fears in their limited vocabulary….
Something I just noticed ( don’t flinch Jala and Pat, the insects are metal ), but two fellow artists and bloggers are represented in this photo in my kitchen. The very large, floral fruit bowl made by my friend Carol King, the watercolorist, and the Hot Chili Pepper photograph made by fellow islander and photographer Don Diddams.
The gravitational pull of artistry.
Tags: alla prima, Carol King, Cloud, Don Diddams, Leave Well Enough Alone, Notan, Quick Study, W. Merritt Chase
Asheville: The North West of The South East 
May 15, 2010 at 5:01 pm |
LOL! Yes, get a parasol. 😉 I like the painting.
Paz (glad those insects are metal only)
May 15, 2010 at 5:38 pm |
Love the way the dress morphed from red to blue with the underpainting still peeking through. Fast and loose = energy and your pieces always convey luscious movement and light.
The voice begins to whisper, then speak loudly and hopefully I’ve put the brush down before it bellows: “Step a-w-a-y from the painting, Sharon!”
May 17, 2010 at 9:34 pm |
So Sharon, you’re affected with the same affliction? I’d never guess. To my eyes, your work looks like intention and artistry collided.
Glad this one moved you.
May 15, 2010 at 5:51 pm |
Wonderful interpretation of the photo. I like what you did with the color and I think you stopped at just the right moment.
Great photo of your pals, too.
May 17, 2010 at 9:35 pm |
Thanks Patrice- I must say, that quote is one to remember. And as well, to remember that photos are for interpretation. Yup, those pals are the best.
May 15, 2010 at 6:52 pm |
My first thought was, “now that’s not St. Croix!” But it is Bonnie! A lovely painting, and I too enjoyed watching the stages as those splotches of red moved around and settled down in just the right places!
Thanks for the mention, Bonnie!
May 17, 2010 at 9:36 pm |
Don, it was time for me to step away from the W.I. subject matter for a while. I think that was part of my feeling stunted.
Changing it up is a great stretch.
May 15, 2010 at 8:57 pm |
Very nice painting. All your work looks like you had fun doing it.
Those are some attractive insects on your fruit arrangement.
May 17, 2010 at 9:38 pm |
Oooh Bill- if you only knew what fun it often ISN’T! I’m happy to know that the result doesn’t belie my real angst.
Would you care to look at some UN-attractive insects? I can provide those too.
May 15, 2010 at 9:37 pm |
Fabulous contrasts in your painting – love the very bright light and the shapes picked out by the sunshine.
May 17, 2010 at 9:39 pm |
Val, thanks for the comment. I was drawn by the sharp contrasts too. I must get back to your blog to see more of your F.U.Q.s. They, and their accompanying photos made me laugh big time.
May 15, 2010 at 10:46 pm |
Love, love this painting. Wow. You’ve really hit the sweet spot in color, composition and expression in this. I’d hate to suggest keeping that axe around, but, well, it proved, er, um, useful, yes?
Wonderful work…!
May 17, 2010 at 9:42 pm |
Melinda, I would gladly leave an axe ( to keep my machete company ) in the corner of the studio or for that matter clenched between my teeth, if it would make the result slip out this comfortably.
Really appreciated your Wow.
May 16, 2010 at 1:01 am |
Whew! This painting is HOT! Wonderful to see its evolution.
Artful fear. Fearless art. Inextricable. Oh my.
Garrett thinks Mlle Clousseau is as fetching as always.
May 17, 2010 at 9:43 pm |
Sam, a whew and a HOT! I am elated. Thank you.
Mlle Clousseau, dang her, always looks fetching. Even just out of bed.
Unlike Mdme. Clousseau the elder.
May 16, 2010 at 2:32 pm |
Love it, love it, love it…
The light, the colors, … all of it. WHY does he say it doesn’t look like your work…???? Strange… It’s light, colorful and wonderful… thus… like Bonnie’s work.
Hey… guess what!! My youngest daughter is taking me to Philly and to New York!! I’ve never been. (It’s my mother’s day gift… a mother-daughter trip.) I’m very excited!!!
May 17, 2010 at 9:46 pm |
Marian- I think because it’s not Caribbean in content. And it’s also a bit more high key in places or better, more contrasted as most of the previous ones are muted.
Your head will spin like the Exorcist in NY- what a fabulous trip to make with your daughter and I can hear every museum door creaking open waiting for you.
Have a wonderful, inspired time.
May 16, 2010 at 11:37 pm |
What a fabulous painting! I love the negative space in your reference photo which you captured perfectly in your painting. I’m talking about the light in the space between the buildings that leads to the light in the street. And her purple dress that vibrates against the yellow green! Terrific!
And what a bowl! (if I do say so myself) It looks even better piled with fresh fruit.
May 17, 2010 at 9:47 pm |
Carollaaaaaa, yes, I loved the negative space and the way it created the composition for me. Nothing like a piece that feels good to propel you to do more.
That bowl is on top of the cabinet and used every single day.
We love it.
May 17, 2010 at 3:47 am |
The painting is wonderful, Bonnie. I really liked how you handled the darks. It really brought out the sunlight in this. Bravo for Carol’s bowl and Don’s photo!
May 17, 2010 at 9:48 pm |
Leslie, interesting that you noticed the darks. They can often look maudlin but this time they came just right.
I painted the canvas with grey gesso before I started. It was the first time I used it and I really like the effect.
May 17, 2010 at 8:11 am |
Fear the axe. Fear it. Fear it. You did good.
Thanks for the warning about the insects. I can’t believe someone would like insects well enough to WANT SOME EXTRA ONES in her kitchen.
Miss Clousseau looks like she has an anteater nose in that pic.
May 17, 2010 at 9:49 pm |
Jala- Mlle Clousseau would eat ants but doesn’t have to. She is served on a plate.
I overcame my ( partially overcame ) my fear of insects by looking at them up close.
May 18, 2010 at 1:23 am |
I love your husband’s comment about your painting. I thought the same thing! Exciting is what I call being able to harness your creativity into a day, no excuses accepted. I think limitations bring out the best in us sometimes. sometimes we don’t even recognize ourselves. This post and Carol’s tonight is shiverin’ me creativer timbers.
May 18, 2010 at 7:57 pm |
You’re right Pat. About limitations. It turns us into mothers of inventions on a more intuitive level. My intention is to take this approach every time I set up at the easel.
About Carol’s post- I’m intrigued to try what she did.
May 18, 2010 at 3:19 pm |
Oh! Forgot to say your painting reminds me of one of Maira Kalman’s paintings for her blog, “The Principles of Uncertainty”.
No higher praise from me, as you know.
May 18, 2010 at 7:58 pm |
No bigger head from ME. I know how you feel about her and I know how I feel about you, so ergo, swelled head.
May 18, 2010 at 3:29 pm |
first thought: the women in the painting looks sexier than the one in the photo.
second thought: I shouldn’t leave comments like this. hee hee!
Why do some cats and dogs live together comfortably while others are in constant battle?
May 18, 2010 at 8:01 pm |
Ross- they’re both sort of boxy in frame but I happen to agree with you. I think it’s that old lady patterned dress.
The dog and cat thing has a lot to do with how they’re introduced to each other and their ages. We really have very harmoniously adjusted two dogs and two cats.
May 19, 2010 at 12:12 pm |
I swear–that pervy planetross is the only viewer comparing this woman in the painting vs photograph on her sexiness!! Beware of very tall men living in Japan.
May 27, 2010 at 2:37 am |
Your painting immediately made me think of this Caillebotte. May have to copy and paste the link to see it
July 17, 2010 at 11:19 pm |
Hi Bonnie – couldn’t stop looking and loving the freshness in this painting – and that terrific sense of the sunlight…love the quote, too!
July 19, 2010 at 1:20 am |
Ahoy Sue! So happy to see you here again. This painting was a breakthrough for me- it just came. Effortless. And from a photo I took and have had for about 30 years! What drew me to it as a subject was the composition of lights and darks. It brought to bear the same effect as squinting- it reduced itself to simple shapes and that’s how I saw it.
Oh if only more of them came to me this easily. But maybe I wouldn’t learn from them if they did.
I do continue to read your posts.