IMAGINING LANDSCAPES

MOONSCAPE  ACRYLIC  12X12

AT THE EDGE II  ACRYLIC  24X12

AT THE EDGE I  ACRYLIC  24X12

The daily dose of art MY FAVORITES

It is not easy picking a favorite piece out of so many paintings, but I'm going to try, selecting what I consider my best 2-3 paintings from the different mediums, starting with works on canvas.

The Gate  acrylic on canvas  36x36

I think this is the best landscape I've done.  Everything in it - the colors, the light, and the mood - works together.

The daily dose of art IMAGINING LANDSCAPES

A Point of View  acrylic 36x36 on gallery wrapped canvas  (price on request)

The daily dose of art EIGHT X EIGHT

I think we will stick with the squares for a while, working our way down the scale, and then back up.
Today's fare looks at three eight by eight acrylic panels:

Autumn Field

Deep Purple

Fence Down

The daily dose of art TREES - GETTING TO KNOW THEM

It did not happen overnight.  My fascination with trees developed gradually; they became an integral part of the paintings composition, and at times the primary focus.

Autumn Trees  acrylic  12x48

Summer Trees  acrylic  12x48

SUNDAY BARN # 130

I have misplaced my handwritten list of barns that I've posted and I am too lazy to go scrolling through all of the posts.  So, today's barn may be a repeat, but that's ok because it is one of my favorites.  It measures only 8x8" and is no longer available.

Standing Alone  acrylic  8x8x'

I think it's time for some more barn paintings.

A Barn for Sunday morning #125

This morning's barn was part of a series of 12x48" canvases I painted about 7 or 8 years ago.   I have always enjoyed working in that size; it lends itself to broad, sweeping landscapes.

Fairfields

Acrylic  12x48

In retrospect, I think the painting is greatly improved by cropping out the extreme left, which only detracts from the rest of the painting.

The joys of Photo Shop

First Snow #123

This painting was completed on a hot summer day, which of course means absolutely nothing.

First Snow

Acrylic

12x24

UMBER SERIES....continued

Two more canvases added to this series of landscapes dominated by earth tones.

Umber Series #3   Acrylic on Gallery wrapped canvas  16x40"

Umber Series #4  Acrylic on galley wrapped canvas  30x40"

I'm finding it difficult to get good photos that accurately show the hues and values with this palette.  I"ve tried with and without lighting, and outdoors in shaded sunlight.  The fourth painting has been especially difficult.  The reds are lost in the the trees and the foreground.  I may need to consult a professional photographer.

A fifth painting is currently in progress.

the DAILY DEAL...#4

Orange Tree Line

Acrylic

12x12 Gallery wrapped canvas

$75.00 plus $15 S&H

Payment options:

1.     Personal check to Gallery 5 at 803 Madison St. Paducah KY 42001

2.     Call me at 270-366-2837 with credit card info

3.     I will email you an invoice via Paypal

4.     Pay at the gallery if you are in Paducah

SUNDAY BARN 102

Purple Majesty

Acrylic 12x48"

BARN OF THE DAY 48

Farm at Dawn

Acrylic  24x48

Sold

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

-->

QUESTIONS

By our questions we are known,

The questions are the source of light – the seasoning,

More important then the answers,

Knowing what questions to ask.

Do not despair the questions,

They arise from within,

Laden with wisdom beyond understanding.

The journey is guided by our questions.

1/78

It becomes inevitable.

-->

NOW

I have been standing – waiting – waiting

Waiting to move closer to the edge

Slowly – imperceptibly – moving toward the brink

Slowly – imperceptibly – removing myself from those around me

The path wanders, my journey falters, appearing to cease

But always – always moving closer to the edge

Where I must step up to the brink and declare my faith

And the willingness to stand alone – and face the darkness

1/19/78

STILLNESS

-->

STILLNESS

Be still my soul,

Like still waters

Waiting for God, Reflecting God’s love.

Listen my soul,

With attentive ears listen for His word.

It comes quietly,

Like birds in the night air.

Hush my soul,

No need to speak,

I hear your music.

Do not fear my soul,

I will not turn away,

In your deepest silence I listen carefully to your music.

It is when you are so still…so quiet,

That I hear you most clearly.

Do not despair my soul,

I am learning to trust you,

To sing your song,

And dance your dance.

And though you belong to God,

And to the ages,

And to everyone, everywhere,

You are mine.

And as you reflect God…you reflect me.

1977

A DREAM

A DREAM

I am lying very still, as I never have before

I am lying very still upon this cold, hard Oak door

Submerged in total darkness, no light do my eyes see

Only stillness, only darkness pressing heavily on me

All around the door is stillness, as I strain to hear

Something other than myself to help dispel my fear

And as I force myself to think, to what may lie ahead

A sudden chill runs through my spine

Oh my God…I’m dead

3/2/78

GETTING UP TO DATE

I can't believe it has been a month since my last post.  I knew I was procrastinating, but a whole month!  That's too long to neglect a blog.  But, in my defense, it took me that long to complete the work I described in my last post.

Cattle barn in Arizona  acrylic on panels   45x60"

Barn in eastern TN   acrylic on canvas   36x48"

 Next on my agenda is to prepare the gallery for the next exhibit -  the artwork from the Paducah Portfolio.  I plan to have it installed by the first week in November.  If all goes well, the book will be available early next month.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed.

           A PADUCAH PORTFOLIO

                             DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS BY WILLIAM F. RENZULLI

ABOUT THIS PAINTING…DARK FORREST

I would like to begin this occasional series – About This Painting - with Dark Forrest

 Dark Forrest…Acrylic…. 30x40”

Dark Forrest was not only one of my very first acrylic paintings, but I think, one of my best.  It did not start out that way.

In 2006 I began thinking about working on canvas, rather than paper, because of the cost of getting my pastels, watercolors, and clay mono types framed for protection and exhibiting.  The clincher came when a gallery to whom I submitted my portfolio wrote back saying they loved my work but did not take anything framed under glass.  That did it for me; I purchased the necessary materials and went to work.  The result, after a great deal of frustration, wiping out and starting over, was Dark Forrest.

It took me less than a dozen brush strokes to realize that working with acrylics on canvas was totally unlike watercolor on paper.  Struggling with brush strokes and color mixing, I bungled my way through the sky.  It was a disaster that I tried correcting by painting over with a different color, also a failure.  Disgusted with myself I began scraping away the paint and to my great delight, I liked what I saw.

At this point I had only a vague idea about what I wanted next…a colorful, loosely rendered tree line making the horizon the point of focus.  Again, I struggled with colors, and even more so with the brushwork.  And again, the paint went on, and come off, until I put the brush aside and began playing with the palette knife.  After several trials and errors, I ended up with the rest of my painting, and I was pleased.

In the process of this work I learned several techniques that I have continued to use in selected paintings, either exclusively, or in combination with other techniques.  It is a rare painting in which I have not used a palette knife at some point in the work. and I continue to render trees and foliage abstractly with the knife, carving out the trunks and branches to expose colors below.

JUST WHEN I THINK IT'S DONE...

With a loud sigh of relief I stand back from the easel and look at the finished painting...the result of my week long effort.  I'm satisfied with what I see, until I'm not.  A few days go by and I realize what it is that bothers me; the painting needs something to help establish scale and distance.

 

So I add the building and a few trees, followed by another sigh of relief, and all is well, until it is not.
The very dark mountains "don't work".  They need to be lighter, like this....

 

Finally I'm done.  The lighter mountains have made a difference.  But have they made it a better painting?  That was yesterday.  Today I'm thinking I've gone to far, and the value of the mountains need to be somewhere between the very dark and the too light.  I'll have to think about that for a while.