Journey in words

MY ART

I cannot describe what I feel when hose first washes of color and lines are placed on the paper, and the subject begins to take form.

It becomes – it simply becomes – and I am an intricate and vital part of that becoming. I am part of the birth of that image, an image that will eventually be seen by another.  Perhaps they will be able to share in that becoming when some part of their life, and a memory, or feeling, tucked quietly away somewhere will be awakened.

And their life, for a brief moment, will be linked to mine.

6/80

FOR ME

Who would know my dreams, my fears

All the hopes through all the years

My rooms, my spaces, large and small

Would anyone really care, at all

Books and journals, neat and tattered

Which in my time were all that mattered

An empty pen, long since gone dry

That in its time kept my

World of dreams and aspirations

Bound in notes and illustrations

When I depart for who knows where

Will anybody really care

About all the things I cherished so

And with great reluctance, let them go

2/21/78

ALMOST DONE...

I was hoping to have the wc finished before I leave town tomorrow for about 10 days, visiting family and friends back home. But this is as far as I've gotten. Only a few details remaining.



Yesterday I pulled these 2 clay prints, each measures 12x30":





I've packed my sketchbook and pens, hoping to get some sketching done.

AUTO PILOT...

that's what I feel I have been on for the past several weeks, at least in the studio. One clay drawing after another, and slow but steady progress on the watercolor. I hope to complete this "work cycle" in the week ahead...on Friday, I leave for a long over due trip back home (MD, NJ, DE,AND PA) to see family and friends. I expect to be away for 10-12 days. If all goes well, I will have this watercolor completed before I leave. Here is the latest update, as well as the most recent clay drawings.




It could be Parma


Wash Day

TWO WORKS IN PROGRESS

In spite of my leisurely non-hurried pace I have managed to move these two pieces along, overcoming significant inertia with the acrylic. Now that I've started I expect the pace to pick up a bit.

First the watercolor:


Another structure on the Piazza Maggiore...on 300lb Arches paper...about 14x28" Intended to be a companion piece to the last wc I posted.


This Tuscan landscape measures 12x48", a challenging but fun size to work with.

NO NAPS TODAY...JUST WORK

OK...maybe a few breaks to read the latest mystery I'm involved in. But, mostly today I worked, and as proof I am offering the following:

More progress on the large watercolor.


I'm really getting excited about this piece.

And of course more clay drawings. Can you become addicted to a process?


Clay drawing...4x5


Clay drawing...4x6

ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

before I would return to this painting. In this case...one week. Today I finally began painting, and I have great expectations for the piece. That is if I don't screw up...always a constant worry.


Piazza maker...watercolor...22x30

THE STUDIO DAYS

seem to roll seamlessly into one another at a pace that is anything but hectic. There is no urgency to the work, for which I am very grateful. I currently have 3 works in progress: another clay drawing and 2 watercolors. If I can ever overcome the inertia I will begin working on another acrylic. About a week ago I posted the early stage of one of the watercolors, a pair of palaces. Since then I have completed the drawing and today applied thin wash of warm color over the entire surface.


on the Piazza Maggiore...watercolor in progress...22x30

The next step will be to begin painting the architecture, and given my work habits, that may not take place for another 2 or 3 days, or longer.

In the meantime, there is always another clay drawing waiting for my attention.


Piazza del Popolo in Ravenna...clay drawing...aprox. 7x21


Markets...clay drawing...7x12

A PAIR OF PALACES,

that sit side by side and contribute boundaries to 3 of Bologna's central piazzas, Piazza Maggiore, Piazza del Nettuno (Neptune) and Piazza re Enzo. The Palazzo Re Enzo is the larger structure on left, and the side, or end view of the Palozzo Podesta is on the right.





I've decided to render these 2 palaces (which really appear to be one structure) in watercolor, creating a project that will provide me with several weeks of satisfying work and challenges similar to the Castello Estense painting last month. As before, the composition is an elevation drawing, done initially in pencil and then lined with sepia ink.



And to add a little fun to my day...there is always a clay drawing to do. This one, titled DINING OUT, was inspired by a photo taken in Castellini in Chianti 2 years ago.



Clay drawing aprox. 10x14

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 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.

EVER SO SLOWLY

I'm getting there. Hopefully I'll be finished by the end of the week. Then, I can start all over again.



ONE SIDE OF MARKET SQUARE...watercolor...12x60

WATERCOLOR IN PROGRESS

Here it is...the proof that I really am working, happily at a pace of my very own. The photo shows my compulsion with hard edges and straight lines in my architectural paintings, a process/style that I fell into unconsciously as I taught myself how to use watercolors. I spend a lot of time laying down drafting tape (masking fluid does not give me the control I need for fine details.), but the payoff is I can be very loose and fluid when I apply the paint to these confined areas.

It is a slow process, which suits me well because I work in bits and pieces, intermittently between chapters of whatever mystery I'm reading. The eventual result is a painting that is immediately recognized as a "Renzulli" by those who know my work. To seem more samples of this approach look at the Print Gallery on my website.

I'm mulling over a new idea for the 48x48" canvas so it sits unattended for now.

WORKING LONG...IN WATERCOLOR

I've decided it is time to lose myself in some work that will probably take 4-6 weeks to complete, giving me something to do when there is nothing else to do. Does that make any sense to anyone?

My goal is to depict the architecture of an entire city block, something I use to do quite regularly in my early artist years. The final painting will measure aproximately 20x60". The first step, after taking the aproppriate photographs, is to get a fix on the relative size of one of the buildings by scaling down the photo. A smaller pencil sketch is done of the entire block of buildings from this scale, and then scaled up to fit the paper. In this case Im allowing 52 inches for the image. Each building will be rendered as an elevation drawing; all depth to be created by shadows. There is no perspective, and the final drawing is done almost exclusively with t-squares and rulers.


I'm actually working on two of these at the same time.


I've exaggerated the contrast here to show the faint pencil lines.


DELANCEY PLACE is a a commission I did several years ago. I'm posting it here so you can see where I'm going with the work.