I found Connie Hayes' website. She uses color in shapes in quickly and precisely. The subjects she chooses could be done in way that make them uninteresting and lifeless, but the color she uses along with her quick brushstrokes make these canvases exhilarating. I think that from studying her work I can learn good use of interpreted color. As well learning to use color shapes and brush strokes to create an effective and interesting picture.

Another artist that I find interesting and helpful is Erin Cone. Cone concentrates on fabric and the human figure. I love her simple photographic portraits especially in her painting Keepsake. I strive to create images as clear cut as Cone does. The use of subtle colors and shapes makes for a powerful picture. The figures demand that you pay attention to their glowing forms. I think that from Erin Cone's work I can learn how to create a more accurate figure and be able to master skin.

The last artist that I really felt a connection with is Peggi Kroll. She has tones of figures and more often than not they are just a handful of shapes. It is wonderfully surprising. Some artist take the time make the figure a complex assimilation of jigsaw-like pieces. Kroll on the other hand seems to try to do the figure in as few shapes as possible. As a result her figures are just as powerful as anyone who used small detailed shapes. From Kroll I can learn the simplicity of the human figure.

All of these artists give extremely good examples to learn from. Although practice is important, so is studying those who have mastered what you would like to accomplish.

Sketchbook Assignmet: New American Painting

Who I Am I?

What parts of our identity last beyond our death? The relationship we had with our family. Though we may not see eye to eye with our family memebers they are the key factor in personal identity. In this painting I explore the figure in shadow. I use the formula to create something extremely interesting to look at. The themes directing this paint are my mother and father. I wear my father's jacket. He is first one you notice in the family. The most outgoing and the most friendly. My mother is represented in the tea kettle. She is always there, old reliable, waiting in the corner for you to be ready for her. Both of them together create a huge part of who I am and where I have been. This painting not only shows my connections with my family but my love for art.

Three Musketeers

Though I used a photograph, I still went through a learning process of experimenting with how to paint patterns. What is important and what is not?

The Face in the Mirror

Last year I did a number of paintings with one thing in common. The figure in the painting which happened to be myself. I was searching for the identy of myself and seeing what direction it would lead me. This is the last painting I did last year. I feel that by using too different reflected images that the observer could see that I'm not always the same person. I will always have the same skin, the same body, and the same face, but I never quite seem to have the same mind. My mind is forever changing; the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde works well to show my ever changing self.