It’s been a long time since I posted any blog on Reekersart.com, so my sincere apologies. Things in my life are now leveling out so I’m back at it.
I’ve begun a 3 month mentorship with a figurative artist by the name of David Limrite. You can see his work and mentorship program at Artist, Teacher, Coach, Mentor | David Limrite. It is something that will help me greatly in my pursuit of the figure as motif.
The question I was asked is, “What should my figures look like?”. After my Nancy’s passing and, two years later, entering a new relationship (Rebecca), I find myself engaged in creating a figurative representation of loss and gain.
I’m aware that this is no simple task to put this into a figurative context and so I am looking for guidance.
The first piece in this series, ‘The Hug,’ conveys the emotions of hope and love, while the texture portrays a sense of pain. I like the visual expression because of its ability to maintain a level of ambiguity and solidity.
The second painting in the series “Isolated indifference” began by from a model session and subsequently superimposed the two figures. While I was content with the technical aspects, it seemed to lack complete emotional depth. Nevertheless, it appears to touch on feelings of isolation and, perhaps, indifference.
Subsequently, I returned to the theme of human contact and love. I used both the first and second paintings above as reference points to shape the composition and intensified the contrast to enhance the impact of the image. I appreciated the harshness in contrast to the image’s tenderness.
The pieces before and the next piece was completed before the mentorship began. Here again, I used textures to express pain and suffering, while the motif conveyed a contrasting love and passion. In creating this work, I’m striving to challenge myself while providing an avenue for healing.
The two pieces below are works in progress following a retreat I did with David. The seated figure may appear benign, but the colors and texture portray a struggle between beauty and suffering. For the second one, I’m particularly satisfied with the figure’s composition in terms of execution and the inherent ambiguity of the motif. However, I am still searching for figures that evoke stronger connected emotions.
So this will be the start of the journey that I want to share with you. I welcome any comments and again. If you would like to support me in this for as little as $3/month, please sign up to be a Patron of me at Ronald Reekers | creating illustrated art and videos | Patreon
This is a video blog that goes into detail how I approach an etching for my Japanese Garden Series. The video shows how I develop the plate by first etching into it the motif, then to develop the value structure through aqua-tinting.
This is Part 2 of a 2 Part video series (see https://figreekersart.wpengine.com/video-blog-prep-work-for-an-etching/)
Thank you so much for checking this out. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and be sure to subscribe to my mailing list. If you a interested in purchasing a print please go to https://figreekersart.wpengine.com/product-category/prints/
This is an Interview by Diane Pendergast from the SocalPapa Pleinair painting group for an upcoming online show of Back Bay and OC Parks . Each year there is a pop-up show, but due to the corona virus on July 11th to 19th they will have an online show. There is talk of having actual pieces in the show but since the Muth Conservatory is where it is shown, it is high unlikely that it will be available.
The interview is about 7 minutes long and disusses my plienair painting experience, general ideas regarding painting outdoors in Southern California, and the painting that was submitted to the show.
This is a video blog that goes into detail how I approach an etching for my Japanese Garden Series. The video shows how I use photos that my wife or I took of our travels through Japan and how in my sketchbook (along with other sketches) I create a motif. I subsequently transfer that motif to bond paper in order to create a detail pen and ink drawing. The P&I drawing helps me define my line-work and textures that will be drawn on the plate. I then create an ink-wash painting to help me with an “aqua-tinting plan”. The video will describe the medium and tools that are used. From that, all is complete to create the etching motif.
This is Part 1 of a 2 Part video which will cover the actual development of the plate and how I used the prep-work to accomplish it.
Thank you so much for checking this out. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions and be sure to subscribe to my mailing list.
In 2011 I started on a journey that continues to this day. Below is an account of the start of this journey into a life time at the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach
If you are interested in purchasing one of the pleinairs please contact me at reekersart@gmail.com and I let you know availability. Purchase price is $300 with free shipping.
Pleinair setup at Spot 13, sometime in 2011
The conceived of this series as a way to understand how nature changes with time here in Southern California, and how my learning of the scene changes with it. The goal is to have completed a series of 12 paintings that illustrate how art can be used as a learning tool and accomplish great esthetics when one understands and feels a vista. The agenda will be to go out the the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach California and paint a plienaire painting (on-location) every month. It is important to paint from the same spot every time; Spot 13 as disignated by a marker at the Center. My intent is to finish this location completely with studio work to be performed in 2012.
This is a photo of the scene taken in July 2011, it gives you a general idea of the Spot 13. I choose the spot because I wanted a location that was foliage rich and not your ‘traditional’ landscape vista. In this way, I would have to respond to the changing of the natural foliage throughout the year.
January 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
This was the first painting at Shipley. It was an introduction to the scene and place. What I like about this painting is the light moving through the scene and the brushstroke are looser than my past pleinair paintings.
Feburary 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
Trees are beginning to fill out though relatively spares. Some flower’s are beginning to bloom which was exciting and began to saturate my pallet. I like how things are beginning to warm up and those violet flowers.
March 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
A very strange day, the clouds were heavy and there was a constant change in light. The foreground continues to be expressly derived and the middle ground is looking more distinct and integrated.
April 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
This was a very melancholy day and rather dark. It seems the changing of the season is creating a level of anticipation in the plants. I learned a lot on this trip, more what not to do than what to do though. Having been more familiar with the scene I thought that I could blocked in the scene quickly and then free-form on details. I ended up trying not to muddy up the painting from the under paint. In any case I like the energetic mark making.
May 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
An absolute beautiful day; the best so far. The flowers buds look happy and ready to bloom, the foliage is filling out and finally the background trees are full and robust. The previous month taught me much about approaching the scene in a holistic manner. I was not worried about blocking in and allowed the under stain to peak through.
June 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
The scene is in full bloom! I was shocked by the growth. The Shipley Nature Center is a tendered preserve and I’m was very happy that nobody has removed any foliage. I’m starting to ‘get’ the background. My approach is becoming more abstract such that the approach is more in tune with values, forms and inter-relationships of color; definitely less than what the object “actual” is. Even though my approach is more abstract I would still like to capture a bit more detail in the foreground.
July 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
A hot and humid day which seems a little early for Huntington Beach, but the plants seem to like it. The scene is fully overgrown, almost to a fault. I would not have picked this spot if I seen what it looks like today. When I first saw the overgrowth, I thought, ‘How am I going to paint this’? In any case it turned out to be one of the most rewarding painting to date. I like to mark making that the scene demanded and rich variety of colors, inter-related shapes an dark deep values. I also like the depth of field.
August 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
This was a very gloomy day, with a heavy layer of fog. I painted from 9:00am to 12:00pm and by the time I was done the overcast had burned off. This presupposes the problem of huge light an color shifts while painting. Monet used to carry more than one canvas at a time to avoid this problem and at the same time capture the mood, but alas I had only one canvas. In any case, I like the distribution color and the force of nature that comes through.
September 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
This was actually a very pleasant date. Though the sun was out it was nice and cool. (a few days later it was very hot). The foliage is overgrown and the middle ground is nearly covered. This forced me to focus a bit more on the foreground objects. The big change continued to be the abstract way I’m approaching the application of paint; it is put on thick and direct. I’m also enjoying the mark making and freedom of the brush stroke. The background interplay between the sky and the trees was a challenge; I now understand the struggle Cezzane continued to work with throughout is life
October 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
This was an extremely hot day and difficult to paint in. I also forgot some items I like to work with, such as latex gloves and a trash bag, so my attitude was a little bent. In any case, the foliage again has grown, but added the challenge of painting objects very close to me as well as the background tree at a distance. The plants have turned a shade of white and there was little ground to be seen. The warmth of the ground helps to balance the coolness of the foliage, so the white had to be used as a warming element. The trees in the background are starting to change color (never changes much in southern California) and are losing their leaves, this allow a lot of light to poke through them causing a provision of lite shadows; beautiful
November 2011 – Pleinair 9″ X 11″ oil
The landscape is coming around full circle now. When I think of my first painting from Spot 13, I remember the redness of the background trees and that is what I’m beginning to see today. The overgrowth is astonishing which is due to the Director letting it grow, (she was aware of my studies here and didn’t let anyone tend it) In any case, I wanted to keep the free brushwork but put a little effort into capturing the foreground details, and I believe I accomplished that goal fairly well. The painting has some interesting colors and the light of the day comes through. It seems a bit unbalanced though, this is due in large part to the concentrated areas versus the abstract areas. This will become very important when I start the studio painting.
I didn’t paint at the Shipley in December, but instead began to layout my large studio painting which I continue in a subsequent blog “Shipley Nature Center Saga – 2012”.
Thank You for reading this feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to purchase any of these paintings.
Cheers, Ronald Ray Reekers
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