Sweeny Peep
My stepdad and I watched Sweeny Todd on Sunday, so tonight at dinner I made him this little tribute to all that gore. I realize that this is a flawed reenactment, as Sweeny Todd does not actually behead any of his victims, but I was under a little bit of time pressure.
Here's where I left this piece yesterday:
Here's where I got with it today:
And here's a detail of a lurking pigeon:
In other news, I found my favorite tea-staining formula! Salada black tea is my preferred color--sort of a raw umber. Red Rose English Breakfast was more of a burnt sienna-burnt umber mix, which I'm not as wild about. I left these papers stacked and angled on top of each other overnight in a bath of the Salada black. I like the mysterious, faded look to them. It reminds me of old documents, old photographs, old maps. By the way, Red Rose tea still comes with the little animal figurines I used to collect when I was a kid! In this case, the proverbial "they" does still make 'em like they used to!
Here's where I got with it today:And here's a detail of a lurking pigeon:This piece has definitely entered its compositional awkward phase. This is a relief, because this painting/collage was feeling too easy and one-dimensional. Now the narrative is beginning to take shape in a more interesting, textured way. I always get to this point in a painting, where I feel like I've kind of wrecked it a little bit, or taken things (like magnolias) a bit too far, and I have to find some way to rescue the image. Desperation seems to work for me, as I always make my favorite compositional choices during this resuscitation process. To indulge in some fairly lame clichés: when I (literally and figuratively) paint myself into a corner, I have to think outside the box for a way out.
In other news, I found my favorite tea-staining formula! Salada black tea is my preferred color--sort of a raw umber. Red Rose English Breakfast was more of a burnt sienna-burnt umber mix, which I'm not as wild about. I left these papers stacked and angled on top of each other overnight in a bath of the Salada black. I like the mysterious, faded look to them. It reminds me of old documents, old photographs, old maps. By the way, Red Rose tea still comes with the little animal figurines I used to collect when I was a kid! In this case, the proverbial "they" does still make 'em like they used to!
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2 comments:
I think all your work is brilliant, but the decapitated peep is especially spectacular.
I bought a box of red rose tea a while back, and much to my surprise, I got a little rabbit figurine! Grandma McCarthy used to collect them and give them to me :)
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