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This week I have been experimenting on another painting seen here in the style of Impressionistic Realism. Here again bringing elements of the painting into life by using both styles. Although the foreground  subject matter  is the Sandpiper which has been painted in a more realistic style, I did not want the background to be neglected. Therefore it was painted in an impressionistic style using both light impasto palette knife painting and brushwork. One of many difficulties in painting with the palette knife is the control of and the placement of one color next to another color. We all know that blue mixed with yellow produces green when blended together. In certain circumstances the proper placement of the color on the canvas has to be precise so that this so called blending does not occur such as is in the case of the yellow clouds and blue sky. At other times allowing said mixture is permissible depending on the subject matter such as in the case of an ocean scene, a river, or leaves on a tree. An artist determines the outcome of the painting based on his or hers creative abilities. I believe a painting should tell a visual story such as when campers join around a camp fire and tell stories. I also believe a painting should leave evidences of the handiwork from which it is made. I want the viewer to see the brush or knife stroke in the painting. In some of my paintings I try to represent the subject matter as close to its environment as possible. This is done depending on from where and when the light source is being projected. For instance when I go out to do plein air painting, the weather and time of day plays a major role in the outcome of the painting. The day maybe cloudy overcast, or sunny and bright. It could be early morning or late afternoon. In either one of these situations it will have a profound effect on the painting and give the viewer a different perspective of artist's intentions. The mastery of this technique is both painstaking and enjoyable at the same time because of its challenging and puzzling ways of putting paint onto canvas.

In my last artist's blog post I describe the use of impressionistic realism to convey two art styles and combine painting techniques to emphasize the subject matter.  In this blog I will be relating another artistic style known as Expressionism. This style is better known for its emotional side of art. Artist use expressive lines, colors, and techniques to convey a feeling. Artist who are well known for this style are Picasso, Dali, and Van Gogh.  You can almost get a sense of what they were feeling when they painted their masterpieces. Sometimes feelings of anger, despair, pain, love, happiness and other emotions are portrayed in their art. It is important when observing a work of art to study it diligently and get a grasp of what the artist was feeling at the time. This will help you understand why the artist created it that way and it will also help you to understand the personality of the artist. Occasionally nature can show us forms of Expressionism. When we look at a beautiful sunset its expressive colors bring us feelings of awe. In this painting, Fireflies and Dragon,  I wanted to show elements of Expressionism by using color. Here I wanted to reflect the red cumulus sunset sky onto the river and use its complementary color green of the iguana lizard as my form of natural expressionism. There is an old adage used among sailors and fishermen that describe the mood of this painting " Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning sailor's warning." In children's fairytale books most often the dragon is portrayed as being the evil villain while fireflies are a welcoming spectacle. Here again I am using another form of Expressionism by creating two forms of subject matter, one being large and the other being small. One being of fear and the other of joy. By using several forms of Expressionism the artist tells a visual story to the viewer. The next time you visit an artist's gallery, museum or art show, take a closer look at some of the expressive qualities of a painting and try to figure out what the artist was feeling at the time.

Today I'm working in a different style known as Impressionistic realism. As you can clearly see in the painting I combine both elements of the style by incorporating a traditional way of painting with a more modern approach. The use of brushes to complete the overall design of the picture is implemented first by covering the canvas quickly with broad brush strokes. Later the painting develops a somewhat three dimensional aspect in which I use the thick  impasto like oil paint with a palette knife to bring about the details that I want to emphasize. Although this is not my traditional way of painting, I do enjoy the purity of the colors left by the swab strokes of the palette knife. I can relate to the old master impressionists such as Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro whose brilliant dabbles of color make their paintings stand out and appease our visual sensations. It is a quite challenging approach to the artist at first to blend the two styles. As for the brushstroke layer it can be so easily compromised by the sharp edge of the palette knife. Care and precise manipulation of a detailed plan of approach can be mastered with close observation and experience. My goal here is to not let one particular style overcome the other but to bring them both out in a somewhat marriage of the two.