Thursday 3 February 2011





Course work: Continuing work on the second apple for Stage Two of Project Two: Solidity. An interim step:

Reading and theoretical studies:



Antoine Terrasse Bonnard: The Colour of Daily Life

Thames & Hudson, London, 2000

Pp. 27-59



Sketchbook work: An unsuccessful attempt at capturing the reflections of tree trunks on ice, using two acrylic colors. I think that I would have done better to apply the base coat, let it dry, and then apply a thinner layer for the trees. I’ll try this soon.

Time today: 1hour 18 minutes

Wednesday 2 February 2011




Course work: Further work on the second apple for Stage Two of Project Two: Solidity.



Reading and theoretical studies:



Cynthia Freeland Art Theory

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001

Pp. 107-121



Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, a hawk’s feather.

Time today: 1 hour 3 minutes

Tuesday 1 February 2011





Course work: Started painting the second apple for Stage Two of Project Two: Solidity.



Reading and theoretical studies:



Antoine Terrasse Bonnard: The Colour of Daily Life

Thames & Hudson, London, 2000

Pp. 13-26



Sketchbook work: A colored pencil sketch based on a portion of a Matisse painting (Laurette in a Green Dress), a pose roughly comparable to the sketch after Bonnard that I did recently. Both artists used a highly simplified method of facial construction, but that of Matisse was almost comparable to an African mask (perhaps unsurprising, as such masks were exciting a good deal of interest among artists of the era).

Time today: 2 hours 36 minutes

Monday 31 January 2011




Course work: Applied a roughly brushed-on mixture of white and a little black to produce a base for the second attempt at Stage Two of Project Two: Solidity.



Reading and theoretical studies:



E. H. Gombrich Art and Illusion (11th Printing)

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 1969

Pp. 314-329



Sketchbook work: Four sketches of an apple with a quarter cut out, as part of the planning process for the second apple painting.

Time today: 1 hour 11 minutes

Sunday 30 January 2011





Weekly reflections on learning experience: This has been a singularly unsatisfactory month’s effort. In fact, it seems I have found it difficult to maintain a sustained effort for almost three months; multiple factors, including an extended vacation, health problems, two almost-unprecedented periods of severe winter weather, and pressing family obligations, have seriously affected not only my work, but my will to work. I am unhappy with the apple project: it somewhat resembles an apple, but a rather muddy-looking one. It has been useful in that I have learned a little more about handling acrylics, but I think that I will paint a second one, hoping to do better.

Friday 28 January 2011





Reading and theoretical studies:

Weckbach, Kevin: A Visual Palette: A Philosophy of the Natural Principles of Painting

iUniverse, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, 2008

Pp. 44-67

(This author tried to put too much information into too little space, muddied it up with vague mysticism, and topped the mixture off with misspellings and poor construction. I cannot recommend this book.)



Time today: 33 minutes (79 h 35m)

Tuesday 24 January 2011




Reading and theoretical studies:



Cynthia Freeland Art Theory

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001

Pp. 93-106



Sketchbook work: A colored-pencil exploration of a portion of Bonnard’s The Letter. I was particularly interested in the way that the face was represented simply but recognizably.

Time today: 2 hours 27 minutes