Into the frying pan with Georges Seurat?

For the last several months I have been alternately bemoaning/lamenting the tediousness of colored pencil. I finally finished both the pieces I have been working on since the first of the year and I am -- at last -- able to put a brush in my hand.

So what do I do? . . . For that, I turn to this week's art history lesson and introduce Georges Seurat. The French painter born to a rather well-to-do family grew up in the late 1800s. And though his life was tragically brief -- he died at the age of 31 -- he is acknowledged in the art world for having two major impacts. First, Seurat, along with close friend Paul Signac, are regarded as the founders of the Neo-Impressionistic movement. Seurat, moreover, is acknowledged as the founder of the style of painting known as pointillism. (Some art historians lump Neo-Impressionism and Pointillism as one development).

Pointillism, or as Seurat preferred to call it -- divisionism, is pretty much what it sounds like. A pattern of points or dots on a canvas arranged to form the colors. Seurat used whole colors in dot patterns so that when you stood back from his work, the colors would blend visually. He did not mix his colors on the palette, but let the colors "mix" themselves on the canvas. He generally worked on large canvases and, coupled with the fact he did not live long, his body of work is small in comparison with many of the painters working in Europe during the same time.

His most famous work is A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, which I have posted here:

I must admit the style intrigues me and, if you think about it, Seurat was way way ahead of his time. For what he did back in the late 1800s is not unlike what we do today with pixels. Afterall, the color we see on this computer screen is nothing more than a gazillion pixels lined up next to each other to produce the image.

I am getting long winded (again ... sorry), but the point (pun intended), is that the first painting that I have started that I know I will finish is being done in pointillistic style. So, after all this time of noting how tedious colored pencil work is, I am now doing point after point after point on a big canvas (30 x 40).

But, believe it or not, I have found it to have gone much more quickly than I thought it would; and, secondly, the process has been very calming -- almost Zen-like. I understand why Seurat tended toward larger canvases. The bigger canvas is necessary in order to provide the viewer's eyes a greater opportunity to blend colors.

With that in mind, the following is the progression I have made with the pointillism painting I have been working on. This is being done with acrylic paint. (The fact that this is lengthy is primarily because I can't get the blog to cooperate in lining up the images three in a row. And if someone can explain to me how to do this more efficiently I will be in your debt forever).

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6 - As of 8/27/13

Since the painting has to be turned in for a contest by Sept. 10, then it will be done by then! And, quite frankly, at the rate it is progressing, I should be able to finish it with time to spare for more noodling, tinkering ... and adding a few dots here and there.

I will explain more about the contest for the Loveland Historical Museum in my next blog posting, which -- hopefully -- will be next week.

Is it finished yet?

As an artist, that's always the million dollar question. When is a painting done? 

Some artists say that a painting is done when they are sick and tired of working on a piece and that's that!

Some artists are never done. I remember taking a visit to the Frank Frazetta museum in 
East Stroudsburg, PA back in 2007. This was like going to Valhalla for me. Frank Frazetta was my idol when I was growing up and, still to this day, if i could draw an iota as well as he did, then I would say I've accomplished something as an artist. He was the best.

Guardian at gateway to Frazetta Museum

In any case, Frank Frazetta was in his home that day I visited, but was not taking visitors as he was still dealing with the effects of a stroke. His wife, Ellie, was tending to the museum that day and since we were the only visitors, we got to spend nearly two hours talking with her and discussing her husband's artwork.

Frank Frazetta Museum

At one point, she said she didn't allow Frank to come in to the museum alone anymore because he would see something in one of his pieces of artwork and take it down off the wall and start re-working it! Some of his paintings then were valued at more than a million dollars. Hence, an artist really is never done with his work. There's always something more that can be done.





That being said, I'm not sure my two colored pencil works are finished yet to enter in to the September DC Chapter 119 show. 

Marin

I continue to work on Marin, though I have to admit I'm pretty close to finishing her up. There's some details and things that still have to be done, such as adding some cool tones around the corners of her mouth. I also need to consider making the left side of her face a mite bit darker in order to have her hair pop out a bit more. There's some darkening, too, under her jaw line. Her hair that comes out in the upper left, I think I need to make the background a bit darker as well so the hair comes out a little more.

It's all about light and making sure the contrast brings the drama to the image. 

It's also called, by some, more noodling. Most people I've shown this to already think it's done and finished.

324

The same holds true for the power boxes, which in my last blog episode was "Untitled." It now has a title -- 324.

This one, though I signed it so I could see where I wanted to put my signature, needs more work. The shadows on the wall bother me and I will definitely need to make them darker. Also, I have to make the pipes look more rounded. Some of the boxes need to get darker or warmer. Others need to get cooler.

Again, people who have seen photos of 324, have really liked it. In fact, a colleague of mine at work has already expressed interest in purchasing the piece. (Keeping my fingers crossed on that one).

So, to answer my question at the start of this blog, I will answer without an answer. It's done when I think it's done. And it's a good thing it's not "when I want it done." I was ready to end Marin about four weeks ago. But the extra work has really enhanced the piece.

When they are done (finally done), I will feature them one last time.