Sunday, May 29, 2011

Tree of Hope in Rikuzentakata


Tree of Hope in Rikuzentakata
20x30"
Acrylic on Canvas
Painting #55 - On March 11, 2011 a tsunami devastated the coastal city of Rikuzentakata, Japan. Its beach once drew thousands of visitors a year and was listed in guidebooks as one of the 100 most scenic places in Japan. The coast was lined with 70,000 black and red pine trees that protected residents from ocean winds for more than 300 years. Now all that stands is one 10-metre tree, which locals are calling, The Tree of Hope. Over half of Rikuzentakata's population is still missing, 75 percent of its homes are gone and yet, residents are able to find hope in a single standing tree. My painting depicts the Tree of Hope in Rikuzentakata, and serves as a reminder of the capacity we all have to see the light in times of deep darkness.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

WildLife Landscapes

Untitled
12x16"
Acrylic on Canvas Board
Painting #54 - My second exercise from the book called, Wildlife Landscapes by Wilson Bickford. I spent two hours on it. I like the dark values in the foreground and the mid tones at the horizon. These values create a real sense of depth in the painting. My goal in this exercise was to achieve a more realistic version of deciduous trees - clearly, I'm not there yet! More practice will help.

Monday, May 23, 2011

WildLife Landscapes

Untitled
12x16"
Acrylic on Canvas Board
Painting #53 - This painting and several others that will follow are exercises that I am doing from a book called, Wildlife Landscapes by Wilson Bickford. I'm only spending two hours on each painting. My goal is to attain something new - a skill or a method - from each exercise. From this exercise I learned to apply gesso just before applying paint to my sky. The gesso helps keep the paint wet so that my paint moves freely thus, its easier for me to achieve the effects I want. Thank you Wilson!