Finished Underpainting

I have finished the underpainting. It took much longer than I had hoped, but I am quite satisfied with it, as it stands. Working on the objects, the glass, the carton, you become so close to them. They begin to propel the message of the painting, in their detail and stature. Adding the shades and shadows in the background I found a whole new consideration. Pushing soft shadows up against the well postured carton feels to me like a dilemma, or something enigmatic. Either way, there is an energy there that I am drawn to.

John Muir author and naturalist, wrote the book Yosemite in 1912. Through a collection of travel writing called The Tao of Travel by Paul Theroux, I stumbled upon Muir's thoughts about light as it hit a canyon, "...it seemed not clothed in light, but wholly composed of it...".

I believe there are hundreds of moments like this each day. Light can take the place of the object and becomes what it is that we are looking at, instead of that which it illuminates.  

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Thoughts About Shadows

When I was working on the shadow cast onto the sink from the red tin, I was really focussed on making sure that the depth of the shadow was properly conveyed. Because I only have the photograph of the sink that was taken years ago, in Australia, I took to my house to find other sources to research.

My home has wonderful light. It is one of the things I adore the most about it. The sun was starting to fall as I was looking for shadows to watch. I looked over and saw the window and curtain casting onto the wall. I learned a lot from considering the tones in the blanket and the many layers involved. With shadows, there is an element of perspective, which is something I find very interesting.

Shadows cast in colour too. The green from this vase on the side of my sink has so much energy. Understanding these small details help me to get a more realistic dimension to my work.

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Thoughts About Light

Throughout my travels, I have often looked out at the landscape before me and thought "this is bigger than me". It is as though I understand that I cannot grasp it, so I do not attempt to. I take it with me to think about and try to intellectualize it at a later time. I have never been to a place where the entire landscape, stretching over the entire time I was there, has made me feel the same way. For me, Antarctica represented everything I have tried to understand about light, reflection, contemplation, and phenomenon.

Coming home is an important time for me. I am aware of the Familiar, a topic that is so important to my philosophy. There is about a two week period of time where I seem to be in two different worlds; the one I have just seen travelling, and the one that I have returned to. In the present I am experiencing my Home, my city streets, the return to the routine. In my memory, I am cycling a slide show of experiences I have just had out in the world.

This dichotomy yields inspiration. 

I am working on the back of the sink. The pleasure of painting something that is white is that there is barely a time when it is purely white. I find myself thinking of the time and place the photograph was taken to give me a hint of the time of day, and the quality of light.

Jack Chambers is a Canadian painter who lived and worked in London, Ontario for the breadth of his career. Sunday Morning No. 2 is a typical suburban winter scene. As a fellow Ontario native, I cannot help but participate in the Familiar which makes me question whether my draw into the painting is fueled by this sensation and/or the other qualities it embodies. I am not sure that it matters. Understanding the power of Familiar is lesson enough!

Chambers was intrigued by light. You can see this curiosity was a prominent aspect in much of is work, whether graphite drawings, paintings or photographs. He said that spirituality is not found in the representation of light - in the fact that it exists, but in the feeling it gives you.

When I look at the left wall and the light shadow cast through the window, I feel that the moment is alive. I appreciate that feeling as a powerful thing.

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