The Tao of Walking Ridge

I painted this for a friend who is an avid fly fisherman. I started with the sky and water and worked until I had the sunrise effect I wanted. Then I added the trees and grass. By dabbing the green on thicker on the left of a tree and thinner on the right a dramatic effect of morning side light was created. I originally envisioned the trees more in shadow, but the accidental affect really made the trees pop like they were lit my a morning sun. I liked the water before reflections/shadows from the trees were added, so I opted to leave them out. I wanted to leave the water lighter to balance the bright sky.

The sky is the focal point for this painting. From top to bottom it starts as magenta, then red, orange, and finally a bit of yellow was mixed in. The colors were also lightened with white as they neared the horizon. It gives the impression of the sun being just below the horizon. All opaque paints were used. A blending media helped to blend the sky.

Fly Fishing Sunrise - Brian Kelly, 2010 acrylic on masonite, 9″ x 12″

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″