The Tao of Walking Ridge

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″