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| In the Mossy Woods, oil on panel, 16x2 Renamed The Soft Heart |
I like the painting/I hate the painting--can't decide. It's a bit maudlin; yet, I suspect Garry Trudeau's Far Side bears are lurking behind the trees. I've read that green should be avoided in paintings, but the moss in my back yard is definitely green.
Three thoughts occurred to me when I was painting (& it's not quite finished). First, everything is/was alive except the figure. Second, my favorite playground was the mossy woods. Third, some of us never got past getting teary-eyed over every injured or dead animal.
Ah. Surely, nothing dies but something mourns"......Byron.
The deer skull was rescued from a local SPCA thrift shop where I volunteered. I bought the figurine from a MD thrift shop (a volunteer there, too) 20 years ago; she reminded me of myself as a child, a shy redhead. She's crudely heavy and sloppily painted. Unlike me, she can look in two directions at once.
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You are working in oil. That's my first thought. "Don't use green in a painting" is a bit like "don't start a sentence with but or and". I think whoever comes up with these rules is suspect or worse, judgmental.
ReplyDeleteI admire how you connect with objects Hallie. I look forward to seeing how these connections unfold.
It brings a memory to me of my high school best friend and I out on a walk in a far field, come upon a gorge sliced through the landscape to spy the skeletal remains of a cow.
Hey, I've never read that green should be avoided ! I use green in almost every painting I do. Nature really is my biggest inspiration and Nature is mostly brown or green (here in Va. anyway) And I love moss and I like the way you painted it. I like that little figure too. Great job.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam. I'm still learning to use those water soluble oils. I may be better suited to acrylics--sand them off, paint over!
ReplyDeleteThese two objects were sitting on my work table and I noticed that she was looking at the skull. I carried them all over the back yard until I decided how they should be set up. Hopefully I wasn't seen--I had to sit on the wet grass to check out the poses. They were in the daffadils for a while.
Hi Sue. Virginia is definitely green. I've actually looked for different colors in local landscapes--it's one shade of green or another. Tobacco fields, pastures, corn fields, cedars and pines--green. Of course, we can throw in some clay and mud. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnd Pam--that cow skeleton would be hard to forget.
ReplyDelete"Third, some of us never got past getting teary-eyed over every injured or dead animal." <---see. This is my curse. I am close to phobic about loss involving animals. I can handle this painting because the furry thing has been skeletonized. If it were furry I would probably cry. lol. It's a curse.
ReplyDeleteThe painting is fantastic...it has a super-photo-real sense about it...and it sparks tons of questions. It is a painting that makes the viewer stop, (echoing the redhead)...dead in their tracks.
I Like the painting ..definitely , I think it is adorable, a naif style. I could very well see this in a fairy tale book. "The Little Girl and the Deer " or something like that......! And i love your fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer that no color should be avoided in painting. I'm glad you didn't subscribe to that old idiom (idiocy?) because your green is gorgeous. I love your shadows, especially the one that ties the figure to the skull.
ReplyDeleteYour story of wandering in the woods takes me back to those swampy treks of my youth in NC. One of the skeletons I came upon in my explorations was from a kitten. Fancying myself an aspiring paleontologist I tried unsuccessfully to reassemble it for a science fair project. Thankfully, my 6th grade science teacher took pity on me and gave me a B for trying. A proper burial followed...
-Don
Your post made me kind of sad, kind of smile. I love that red headed little figurine (I have a daughter who is still a redhead at 27 and I was born a redhead, though it darkened). I can relate with your thoughts too. I always grieve any dead animals and would probably have an accident avoiding any animals on the road (I've come close many times). And moss? I'd love it if my whole yard was either moss, shamrocks, or Creeping Charlie. I find them beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCeleste--In the days before remote controls I got a lot of exercise running to the tv and switching channels if there was a sad story about an animal. I embarrassed my kids by crying during 1001 Dalmations (when the poor puppies were hungry), and we never saw Bambi. Too bad no one hires professional mourners these days--we'd be good.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane. I too thought the painting ended up looking like an illustration for a dark fairy tale.
Hi Don. I carried these two objects all around the yard until the setup produced that long shadow--wasn't sure what I was looking for but I knew it when I saw it. I never came across any skeletons in the woods; I love your sixth-grade story--you should have gotten an A.
ReplyDeleteHi Autumn Leaves. "kind of sad, kind of smile"--that's why I can't decide whether I like the painting or hate it. My red hair faded but I still have the freckles. My friend and I always used moss as carpeting when we set up our pretend houses in the woods--moss takes me back to those days.
The little girl looks like she is trying to decide whether to touch it or not. Or maybe kick it! I love the indecision of it.
ReplyDeleteOops, I've been breaking the painting rule for years!
We have created a moss/fern garden in our back yard in the shade of the fir trees. It's a lovely place to sit on a hot summer day.
Yeah!!
ReplyDeleteI like it... But only you know when its done..
Very sureal, and I have always been drawn to the surealists
Hi Carole. Kick it? I think she's going to offer one of her flowers. There is something really peaceful about moss and ferns; sounds like a great place to sit.
ReplyDeleteHi JB. I agree--it's surreal. I considered adding twigs and dried-up leaves--like my real moss--but thought it would ruin the painting (too much stuff). I do like surrealism.
Did I actually erase my comment? I'm such a doofus.
ReplyDeleteSamArtDog. Good one. I tried the psychic route--I couldn't retrieve the comment.
ReplyDeleteYour painting looks like a photo! Interesting juxtaposition of subjects (as always). And, pray tell, what is the reason that they said that green shouldn't be used in paintings?!
ReplyDeleteOh, jeezum. Jolting the memory banks is risky at best, but I think it went something sorta like this...
ReplyDeleteYou must stay with this painting. It and the story it tells need to exist. For all the mossy green places, the helpless critters, little red-haired girls everywhere, not to mention the the fading art of cell-animation, all of these things depend on your excellent rendition. Maybe build a shrine... this painting hanging behind a mossy terrarium where the little girl lives like a deer caught in some candle headlights.
Or something like that.
SamArtDog--my mother would say, "Call on somebody who knows you." The scary thing is that several hours ago I realized this painting reminded me of a cel! ESP? (I've only seen cels once--a neighbor bought some at an auction.) Before I thought of cels, I thought of stage backdrops and operas--there is something familiar about the painting. I'll think about the shrine.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan. I wish I knew where I read about green--a blog or an art newsletter. I remember that it said no one buys green paintings and, if you must use green, sneak some red into it. I don't think I dreamed it (though I do read in my dreams--newspapers, poetry, stock quotes; no tips).
As usual, I find it a thought-provoking, almost haunting image. I'm not in prime verbal mode so that I can explain why without sounding pompous or silly, but I think you'll understand my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHi MM. Thank you and we're glad you're back. I'm not sure I have a verbal mode--that's probably why I need to paint.
ReplyDeleteHallie, She wouldn't kick it hard, just to see if it was real and only with her cute little toe Like when a kid is on the beach and tentatively kicks at a rock just a little bit afraid to find the baby crabs but desperately hoping to find some!
ReplyDeleteCarole. There are baby crabs under rocks? I'll have to walk carefully if I ever get back to a beach.
ReplyDeleteit doesn't fail..I open your blog and am startled into joy...the way you combine and connect and color your world is endlessly delightful to my eye and my ear...I love reading your refelctions on the way and the why and the wonder of your wandering.
ReplyDeletethe best.
Thank you Donna. I do believe everything is connected, and I've wandered and wondered for a long time. When I was painting I was surprised at the similarity between antlers and trees. I think you know all these things; I'm still learning.
ReplyDeleteI like it! It's very intriguing and you represented the figurine very well!
ReplyDeleteThank you Colleen. You have a very interesting blog--from zombies to snails and sculpey.
ReplyDeleteThe green is fine. I'm more interested in the content than the green. The green seems very believable to me. The trees are as bare as the bones. No leaves casting shadows, just bare trunks. It's kind of spooky. That's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Davida. I like content, too. I had noticed that the trees in my backyard have no limbs until they reach about 20 feet, and didn't have leaves yet. A bit spooky--I agree.
ReplyDelete