CASTELLO ESTENSE...FINISHED

Castello Estense...watercolor...18x27'

Unless I discover a detail or two that I've missed, this painting is finished and I can now move on to my next large painting. Only one problem...I don't know yet what that will be. But I can't let a little detail like that stop me!

BILLY'S BEEN A BUSY BOY

Via Clavature...watercolor on 300lb cold press paper...aprox. 12x6"

There is more to life than clay drawings...there is watercolor! The photo above is one I recently completed of an old but busy street in Bologna.

Below is the 9th installment of the Castello Estense. The next time I post will be the 10th and final stage of the painting.

CASTELLO ESTENSE…PART 8

It may seem like I am purposely dragging out the work on the Castle...but I'm really not. It is simply the result of my work habits...I go to the studio and the first thing I do is sit down (with my feet up) and read whatever book I'm into (currently it's Dan Brown's THE LOST SYMBOL). After 5 or 6 pages I put the book down and walk over to the Castle and paint for 10 or 15 minutes, long enough to complete a small section or detail. From there I'll move over to another work top and work on a clay drawing or a small watercolor. After 15-20 minutes I'll take up another task, or go back to my book. Somewhere in between all the stops I may close my eyes and nap for 15 minutes. And I will spend an afternoon repeating this cycle, perhaps starting up a new painting or clay drawing. If there is a rhyme or reason to all of this, it is unknown to me...it just is.

I've been working exclusively with watercolor and clay for several weeks, but one of these days...maybe today...I'll get started on the 24x24" canvas that I've been looking at all this time.

CASTELLO & CLAY...

Sounds more like a boxing match...and in this corner...Castello Estense, part 7 versus a team of clay drawings. I know...it's kinda weak. But cut me some slack, it's too damn hot and my ac doesn't do a great job in the studio when the temps climb into the 90s.
However, I am a tiger and in spite of the heat I continue to plod along in the studio, painting, drawing, reading, and occasionally, napping. And this is what I have to show for my labors.


The castle is beginning to take shape with the added details.

They may not be a team, but here are a few of the new clay drawings, all depicting Bologna streetscapes as I remember and imagine them.

CASTELLO ESTENSE…PART 6

Moving along with this painting...slowly but surely...it is now sharing my time with the clay printing. Since my last post I have corrected the area on the left that bothered me, and have begun to work on the roofing. The next step will be the windows and shadows.

CASTELLO ESTENSE…PART 5

Yesterday I wrote how the stress level rises as the work progresses...with the risk of messing up all the work with some stupid mistake. Today I allowed myself to be distracted and indeed "messed up". Fortunately it was something I could correct, and when the work is completed I will probably be the only one who will know about it. After years of creating art I've learned that an important skill is learning how to "recover" from the inevitable stumbles that occur.

The very left portion of the castle has been rendered too dark. After the photo was taken I moistened the area and lifted off the offending darkness.

CLAY MONO TYPES!

I returned from Italy resolved to get rid of the clay slab in the studio. I had neglected it for several months and had not done any printing for over a year. Well that did not happen, and yesterday and today I was once again working with the clay, trying to capture some of the color of Bologna.

CASTELLO ESTENSE…PART 4

I expect it will take another 2-3 days to complete the first stages in the rendering of the Castle. The biggest challenge here is not to miss an area that should be masked, or to mask an area that shouldn't be. The further along I get in a painting like this, the more nervous I get about really screwing up, like letting paint fall somewhere on the piece and not see it until it dries; on one occasion I actually dropped a brush filled with paint on the middle of painting, ruining the entire piece.

Once I get all the paper covered the way I want it to be covered I can begin to relax. It's kinda like the new car, once it's been around the block awhile, a little nick or scratch is no longer a big deal (at least for some of us.).

CASTELLO ESTENSE…PART 3

With the background in place, the next step is to begin rendering the architecture. Because of the size and the amount of detail, windows, etc. I have masked out everything but the exterior areas of the same material and color. This will allow me put down a uniform wash of consistent color and value, working quickly enough to avoid water marks and other “blemishes” that can happen when covering a very large area of paper. Shadows and other variations in light and detail can be added later.

I will start on the left tower and work across the top of the structure to the right, repeating the process on the lower half by working on one component at a time.

CASTELLO ESTENSE…PART 2

I returned from Bologna knowing that my art from this trip was going to be focused primarily on the architecture and the soft colors of the region, and this meant that watercolors, with and without some pastel, would be the dominant media. For many years watercolor was my only medium, and architecture my only subject, so in some ways this would be a return to my first love.

Without formal art training my use of the medium basically evolved on its own, influenced by the art of one or two illustrators and my fascination with the urban environment. The result has been the frequent use of the architect’s “elevation drawing” to depict the subjects, and my commitment to clean lines and hard edges in the paintings, forgoing the loose, transparent washes that are usually the hallmark of watercolor. In other words my watercolors are usually very tightly executed, and to accomplish this it is necessary to spend a great deal of time planning the composition and the approach because of all the masking that is required. My goal is to share this with you as I work my way through the painting of the Castello Estense.

The watercolor below was completed in the early 80’s and is a good example of what I have been writing about.


Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts...wc...20x30

In this case I eliminated everything but the structure itself. In subsequent work I began placing the buildings against a tinted background...which I will be doing with the Castle. To do this I have completely masked the outline of the structure with artist tape. This will allow me to work the washes for the background without worrying about the paint getting into areas where I don’t want it to go.




It was necessary to alter the exposure of the photo in order to allow the tape to be seen.