Friday, January 4, 2013

This Year






2-0-1-3





Well now, here we are in 2013 (pronounced Twenty-Thirteen) and how does it feel?  I'll tell you in a minute.  To me, it's always a bit of a mind-bender when Next Year becomes This Year.  But I just wanted the year to sink in a little bit before I make any kind of assessment of it.  So far?

Meh.

I made a vow to Re-Use and Recycle more, so my New Year's Resolutions for this year are from 1976.  Couple of things I can cross off that list are, "Get a new Cheryl Tiegs poster", and "Learn to do the Hustle".


Now, a lot of us painters are keen on coming up with resolutions concerning their artwork.  You know, stuff like, "Take more workshops", or "Learn how to [fill in the blank]".  Not me.  I kinda feel I'm already on the road less travelled, and I want to see where it takes me this year.  I believe that staying the course can be more difficult sometimes than making changes.  While my road might have a whole lot of blind curves, I'll spend the year trying not to jump on the highway.


I've been working on a new painting already in this still blossoming year.  Regardless of what I just said about staying the course, I'm using a slightly different technique on this one.  I go on and on in these posts about my glazing technique, but let me clarify something;  To most people, glazing is done after a painting is done, and used to modify form, or highlights-- maybe even change a hue or reduce chroma.  What I do when I glaze is more like a silk screen process.  If I want a green tree, I first slap down some blue.  Over that I glaze a yellow.  Voila-- green.  Then repeat the process over and over to achieve depth.  Yeah, it's as exciting as watching paint dry.  Because mostly it is watching paint dry.  But I like the results.

The picture I'm working on I will glaze in the manner stated earlier;  Paint it, glaze over it.  But I was thinking that it would be fun to change things up a bit.  Let's see if I can explain it:  Wherever I have a passage I'm going to glaze over, I will use the same color, but made with different combinations.  So, for instance, where I have a purple made with a blue and red, I'll use a different blue and red to glaze over it.  See?  Why would I do this?

I dunno.  Seemed like a good idea at the time...

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I remember December 4, 2012 very well.  It was the last day I was healthy.

Since then, I've been living with a sore throat and upper respiratory congestion that eventually got me an ambulance ride after I collapsed and passed out in my studio last week.  And since then I feel like someone has taken a dirty, scratchy gym sock and stuffed it behind my left eye, taken a red hot ember and lodged it in my throat, then crammed a brick into my lungs.  My voice has become a twitching, wheezy lamb-like bleat.  Which isn't so bad, except I have to constantly repeat myself.


  • Me: "I am gOing down to The stUDio to work on my pIcture."

          Ellen: "What?"

          Me: "GoinG to worRK.

  • Me: "I nEed to juMp on The internet and orDer that KlausSen's Linen at $1,000 a rOll".
          Ellen: "What?"

          Me:  "Nothing..."

 Happy This Year!





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3 comments:

Susan Roux said...

Well your body might be giving out, but your sense of humor is loud an clear! When I'm sick, nothing's funny.

Looking forward to seeing what's slowly brewing on your easel... Get well soon!

Kevin Mizner said...

Thank you, Susan. Someone wished me to "get well soon" a month ago, and it still hasn't worked!

No Know it all said...

Feel better, Kev. You have plenty of work to do and a reunion to attend in October...