The Tao of Walking Ridge

This panel has 11 links and 4 hidden gems - click on the airplane.

This was going to be a painting of a sailboat, but after laying down the sky and water it felt like the setting for an old merchant marine vessel. This side wheeler had a powered feel but also had masts and sails as auxiliary power. If find Liquitex blending media helps create smooth transitions between the values and shades in the sky and water. A bit of violet was added at the top of the sky. The rest of the background is all shades of blue. The deep red of the boat then pops.

Steamer - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on canvas board, 9″ x 12″

I wanted to try experimenting with some of the media from Liquitex. These mix with the acrylic paint to modify it. The glazes are more difficult for me to use, since it is harder to visualize what it will look like when dry. A magenta glaze was added to the top of the this painting to add depth to the sky. Roughly a 80/20 mix of glaze to paint is used. I also used transparent paints for the glaze to reinforce the transparency.

The Slow Dri Blending Media was very easy to use. It made the paint flow very easily, allowing for smoother blending. Up to 50% blending media can be added to paint. Drying times were longer, but not as much as I expected. I found this was a really great aid for any areas where smooth color transitions and blending was desired. I will definitely be using more of the blending media in the future.

Since I was playing with color, this landscape started with the sky, and it evolved into an abstract landscape. Some soothing flute music from Nawang Khechog’s Tibetan Meditation Music served as inspiration.

Plateau - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on canvas board, 9″ x 12″

A friend periodically tips me off to interesting websites. This one was really deep, and it was hard to imagine that I’d never heard of it. FreeMusicArchives.org There is a bunch of really high quality but obscure and original music on the site to explore. One of the very fist I listened to was Steve Gunn. His blues based improvisations were totally stripped down (instrumental guitar) but still held my attention. Steve has three improvisational tracks in his album along with other works. There are also countless other musicians to check out.

I’ve avoided sketching pictures on the canvas prior to painting in part because any transparent colors will not always cover the guide lines. However, I have generally come to like the opaque colors better anyway (I happen to use Liquitex paints). I can appreciate the intensity of oils, but I like the convenience of acrylic, the low odor, and the ability to work in layers with minimal drying time.

Inspiration for this painting came from the same two sources as my previous painting. One was seeing the art of Jorge Alio in a gallery in the Distillery District of Toronto. I liked his style between realism and abstract. I also have greatly enjoyed my adventures sailing. Putting the inspiration of Jorge Alio together with a memory of a street performer in Key West who walked along asking “Do you want me to play a ditty?” and holding a concertina while walking along near the Schooner Wharf bar inspired both images. This image was based on one of my preliminary sketches. I couldn’t figure out how to work Schooner imagery into the background, but suddenly the random lines I’d drawn I thought would work just fine. Essentially, it is based on an “unfinished” preliminary sketch.

Concertina Player - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on canvas board, 9″ x 12″

I put in all the planned elements for this painting and part of me thinks something is still missing, the other part of me says “don’t ruin it”. Or, one could say, quit while you’re ahead. I decided to put it aside for a while. Maybe it is finished. Maybe not.

Inspiration for this painting came from two sources. One was seeing the art of Jorge Alio in a gallery in the Distillery District of Toronto. I liked his style between realism and abstract. It left many details to the imagination and I found his works captivating. I was telling a good friend about this and he stated what should have been nearly obvious. “You sail, you like boats, paint that.” Paint what you know, photograph what you know. I had heard the suggestion before. Putting the inspiration of Jorge Alio together with a memory of a street performer in Key West who walked along asking “Do you want me to play a ditty?” and holding a concertina, this was the result. It doesn’t look like I’d envisioned, which made the process more interesting and a bit of a surprise. Plus, I may use the same inspiration for another image.

Wharf Urchin - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on masonite, 11″ x 14″

I wanted to find a handful of styles to inspire my creativity. Like a musician that finds new ideas playing country as well as blues. I call this style LineForm because it relies heavily on the shape and character of the line to imply an image.

After a bit of pencil sketching to find a form I liked, I created a digital sketch in Gimp. The digital sketch allowed me to toggle colors until I found colors I liked. It also let me see how many elements would work together. I settled on just two main elements and, therefore, chose a small format for the final painting of 8 x 10 inches. Since the emphasis is on the line form, the colors are thoroughly mixed unlike other paintings where I like to apply colors not quite fully mixed to add texture to the colors.

Morning Java - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on canvas board, 8″ x 10″

I was sitting down to meditate to a CD designed to generate Gamma waves like those of monks in deep meditation. Suddenly, an image flashed into my mind. I quickly sketched the gist of the image and returned to meditation. The painting below is based on that initial image. Colors were worked out, and details were added as some meaning was attributed to the painting. Thus, rather than begin with an idea and make it abstract, this painting began with an image with no conscious meaning. Some symbolism and meaning was then attached to give me some inspiration for filling in details. The end product is not a perfect capture of the image I saw, but a blend of the image that inspired it and what happens along the way when putting paint to canvas. A bit of a surprise even to the painter, and open to multiple interpretations. Exactly my goal for an abstract painting.

Attention! - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on canvas board, 11″ x 14″

I have been studying abstract art to understand sources of inspiration for abstract painting. Starting with reality and moving toward the abstract is one way. While thinking about this approach, I suddenly saw an image as I was dozing off one evening. Relating the shapes loosely to reality (a door) I actually worked backward a bit. Thus, art, like life, can happen when you are making other plans.

An unexpected bonus was that the painting does not look much like my vision. It is instead a bit of a pleasant surprise. This made the painting process especially enjoyable. I like it, but it is not yet what I see in my mind’s eye. Therefore, I will be able try some variations on this theme to see if I create something closer so it should provide inspiration for a few paintings.

Dark Door - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on masonite board, 11″ x 14″

I’ve owned old farm tractors in the past and enjoyed running them.  It’s great if you have a use for them, you get to use old retro art.  I really missed my old John Deere Model 40 (circa 1954 as I recall).  But it was a bit big to sneak into the garage (required removal of the muffler sticking up out of the hood) and I had to remember to duck.  I had an International Farmall for a while, and it made me miss my Model 40.  I never quite warmed up to the offset of the Farmall, sitting to the right of the engine. So, I figured I’d try a Ford N series tractor.  They have a wide front axle, which was a must for the hills where I now live.  There are a lot of them, so parts are common.  They have 3 point hitches, which make them really versatile.  And the exhaust is low, which makes garage storage just a bit easier.  I went up to Paul’s Tractors in Clio Michigan and he had just finished restoring a 1952 Ford 8N.  I quickly learned that the 1952 8N was the last year for them, and the best year for them (side distributor and tach).  The 8N had a 4 speed transmission.  The 8N has a bit more horsepower than the older 9N or 2N.  This one was set up for trouble free operation with a 12 volt system and alternator.

A bit of trivia I learned to make sense of the model designations.  The 9N was 1939.  The 2N was 1942.  The 8N was 1948.  I had always assumed the 8N was a bit smaller than a 9N, but actually it was the latest and greatest of the N series. With a fresh paint job, they are really useful art where form follows function.  Here in Michigan, you see so many of the 8N tractors that I tended to dismiss them.  But a couple of trips around my yard and I realized that once you put one to use, there is a reason they made more 8N tractors than any other model in the history of the US.  You can stand and drive it, and the clutch and brake are easier to use from standing than my Model 40.  The exhaust note is very pleasant.  The engine fires right up, much easier than my Model 40 did in cold weather.  It is a very handy size for a few acres. Mowing with the 8N will be more like meditation than the chore it is with modern stuff.  An activity to savor, rather than rush to get over with.  The machine inspires you to acquire a more relaxed pace.  No ear plugs required.  A simple pleasure that can be lost with modern machines.

Nearly every MP3 player on the market interfaces with the computer through a proprietary software interface. An IPOD I used to own worked great. Great until I had to replace the hard drive on my machine. Suddenly I as not authorized to play “muse” music, as it belonged to “muse”, and “muse” cannot share. Yes, you cannot make error messages like that up. Though the name was the same, the digital signature changed. I was not in the mood to reload all of my songs, so I gave it away.

So when I finally decided to replace the MP3 player, I looked for a Linux compatible one.  I already have folders and folders of MP3s, so I wanted to just be able to drag and drop my MP3 files into the MP3 player.  I didn’t need, and did not want a “media manager”.  While I wasn’t quite sure exactly what the interface of the Sansa Fuze would be, the price was right and I took a chance on it.

What a pleasant surprise.  Plug in the USB to charge it, and a file manager window opens in my Ubuntu.  Just like plugging in a thumbdrive.  I grabbed my entire MP3 folder, with subfolders, and expected the device to choke.  It did not.  In a couple of minutes all my music was loaded.

More surprises.  The screen is spectacular for its size.  Very clear, and with great resolution.  I dragged and dropped some photos into the device.  Always handy to have some pics along.  The player is small, but not too small.  It includes an FM radio if you get bored with your own music.  And the whole thing easily pops into the ear but case that my Bose ear buds are stored in, making a very handy package.

I really like the ability to use the device without installing another application onto my computer.  The only thing that didn’t work was the video function.  The screen is so nice, that videos would be cool, but installing videos is not as easy.  There is a need to convert them with a converter downloaded from Sansa’s website.  It is a .exe, so before I tried Wine I just went over to the dark side to try it out.  While it would see and play videos, I wasn’t able to install them after conversion.

If you get the device for videos, you may be dissapointed.  But if you get it for MP3s and photos, you will be happy with the 8 GB of memory, easy to use menus, and non-proprietary compatibility.  It even has a record feature I haven’t tried out yet.