One day I took a walk with the husband and the dog. It was a beautiful Saturday and the streets were crowded.
We leave the house.
Husband:
As we tried to pass a couple with some kids: Damn yuppies with their double wide strollers taking up the whole sidewalk. They think they own the street.
As we tried to pass a guy with a dog who was trying to go after our dog: Damn people with their dogs they aren’t paying attention to.
As someone was just about to walk into us: Damn people walking and texting at the same time.
After about an hour of this I gave him the “look”. For those of you who have been married for more than 15 minutes, you know the “look.”
Then I told him this walk was worse then when I walk the dogs with Charlie at night. I said he better get to work where a nice bloody crime scene might lower his blood pressure.
Later that evening….I retell the story to Charlie, LEAVING IN THE PART ABOUT THAT WALK BEING WORSE THAN WHEN I WALK THE DOGS WITH CHARLIE AT NIGHT.
Charlie (luckily) laughs and then tells me he is going to be Peter Positive. So since then, just as Charlie is about to complain about the people, the dogs, the buildings, his job, he will stop himself and change the sentence around so that it’s positive.
Just a few days ago, as we walked by some horrible new construction that has been going up all over Park Slope, Charlie turns to me and as he is about to say something about how horrible the building is or how it will probably fall apart and be an eyesore and a ghetto in a few years he stops himself, smiles and says “Isn’t it interesting how that building has changed the landscape of Park Slope.”
Peter Positive lasted 15 minutes.
A leopard can’t change it’s spots.
A color wheel can’t change it’s colors. Or can it? We learned some color theory in class on Wed. It was fun to see how different primary colors change the secondary colors and tertiary colors. I have to do another one as homework using different primaries. I tried one already, but it was on Strathmore paper which DOESN’T COMPARE to Arches.
On another note, I finished the white vase with apples and brought it home. I showed it to my husband the art critic who said “the vase needs more shading. It looks like someone just cut out a rectangle where the vase is.”
Oh well, I call it artistic license. It’s staying as is. I have color wheels to do.
11 comments
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August 31, 2009 at 2:30 am
lesliepaints
These are great, Carol. I love your color wheel. I agree there’s no comparison to Arches cold press for getting a watercolor task done. I like your vase also. You could look at the vase as repeating the rectangular patterns from the background. This has real strong compositional aspects with how you used shapes and space. Love it.
August 31, 2009 at 3:21 am
Carol King
Hi Leslie, Thanks for your comments. I agree, that the vase reflects the corresponding rectangular shapes in the composition.
August 31, 2009 at 2:59 am
jimmyboi2
Maybe the vase IS rectangular! Who can say? You certainly won’t be standing next to your work saying “oh, incidentally– the vase? It’s not cylindrical.”
Very very nice though! I like the little pitcher !
August 31, 2009 at 10:47 am
Bonnie Luria
The confounding thing is how three primary colors can technically produce every color you could or would ever need.
That’s even more impressive than 26 letters producing every word in every book.
And the study of those three colors could be a lifetime project.
Like complaining.
The finished piece came out with great vibrancy, texture and a very strong composition.
You’ve been improving so much over the past year.
Sounds like the husband and wife are gearing up for a much needed vacation.
September 1, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Alice Walsh
Carol, I love this painting! And Bonnie I love your comment about how those three colors could be a lifetime project. Like complaining! I took a watercolor painting class once. I’m terrible at it, but the thing I liked was this – we were only allowed to use the three primary colors and we had to mix every other color ourselves, and we could only mix colors on the paper, never in the palette.
September 1, 2009 at 3:33 pm
inknform
Agreed. Complimentary colors and the like are great when you can actually apply them in a way that REALLY does work. I’ve been involved in more digital art, using a Wacom tablet and various paint software, so its not really the same affect as actual paint on canvas…but, you get the idea either way
As for shadow/highlights…its amazing how that changes an image.
September 1, 2009 at 5:36 pm
swatch
yeh – Arches – has just got to be the way to go – and I enjoy the colour wheel – this can be such a fun exercise.
What a great painting – you are so on a roll
This Charlie sounds like a character -
September 2, 2009 at 9:22 am
severnyproductions
nice story, i like this piece, it all fits together nicely
September 2, 2009 at 2:37 pm
napabelle
It is the most beautiful color wheel ! Intense colors ! And your vase painting is precisely done! Way to go !
September 3, 2009 at 11:09 am
InkSplodge!
Carol you have to frame this and you should also be extremely proud – it is a triumph. It’s very three dimensional and you’ve accurately managed the complex variety of textures, patterns and surfaces. I’m still in awe of the realistic subtly wavy backdrop fabric thingy and the way you correctly suggest how the light reflects inside the small blue bowl.
Heh! Enjoyed the long funny build up to the funky colour wheel – which even looks like a piece of art – you go girl!
September 9, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Pretty bubbles in the air « pigments of my imagination
[...] wet on wet by InkSplodge! Today I had fun with these blobs of colour. My inspiration was the colour wheel that Carol King painted so well I assumed it was the main image for her [...]