Timed Paintings
09/04/2011
The first class I ever took with
Bob Andriulli a few years ago, I remember him being all about painting fast. A student brought a painting in, one that looked as if she must have labored over it for weeks. Andriulli looked at it and said, okay, now do that painting again in 45 minutes.
This morning I decided to time my painting - one hour - and see what I could come up with.
Sheep Grazing 24 x 24" Oil on Board
Over the centuries there have been master painters who truly believed that a good painting must involve suffering.
Others I've read about disagree. There is something to be said for time
and labor and detail and realism in painting, but what attracts me
personally to a painting is the one that looks as if the artist quickly
laid down a few intelligent, strategic brush strokes, and voila,
there's a crowded New York city street scape on a rainy day.
Posted in Random. Updated 09/04/2011.
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I really enjoy your paintings, particularly this one. I understand what you mean about a time constraint forcing an artist to be thoughtful about the approach to a painting, which I find often makes a painting much more interesting rather than an exact replica would. I've been addicted to Bravo TV's "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist," and this blog post reminded me of something a painting that Abdi Farrah (the winner of season 1) completed. It was a portrait of one of his competitors, but the style and approach that he took in order to complete this work was very inspiring to me. One website said this about his painting:
"I think what really shines through in the piece is Abdi’s comfort level with the medium of painting. Although the painting borders on illustration, there is an energy and emotion that comes through in the relaxed looseness of how Abdi applied the paint, allowing it to be more than just an illustration. It has personality and it has emotion."
Seeing your painting of "Sheep Grazing" has that similar effect. Being able to see each individual brush stroke and paint drip, the inability to replicate that exact painting gives the work a life, energy, and a uniqueness all its own. I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Amanda Sanchez – Amanda Sanchez