New nanoscape: The Blue Silos of Iowa

The Blue Silos of Iowa

Growing up with the limited horizon of 1950s suburban shopping malls in Washington DC left me unprepared to be entranced by vast expanses of field and prairie that I have found in Minnesota since moving here in 1992. The fields are alternately flat and rolling, the sky is BIG, and the vistas are endlessly interesting and wildly different from one another.

I was similarly unprepared to have been dazzled by silos, which I saw by the dozens on the road from the Moline IL airport to Iowa City where I spoke at the University of Iowa College of Law in September 2010.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and encouragement of Employment Programs Coordinator Craig Spitzer, I looked closely at the silos and painted nanoscapes. "The Blue Silos of Iowa" is the first of three silo nanos.  It is very small (3x8 inches) and began as a sketch for the two larger works-in-progress. I painted on Arches 140# hot press paper with Daniel Smith Autograph Series 44 Kolinsky Sable brushes numbers 3,2,1, and 00.

Pass the Baton llc has taken me to many places, and I plan to continue to look closely at them for inspiration. On my easel now: "Nebraska's Contour Plowing," which jumped onto my sketch pad as I flew over Nebraska.

Philodendron 3: Two days, 200 square inches

Jan 1

Begin the new year and finish a new painting on the same day = terrific idea. 

Jan 2

I saw the goal line, and didn't make it. I finished all of the leaves on Philodendron 3 on January 1, and then began to outline each leaf, working in the Exuberance part of "Painstaking Exuberance." 

The shadow in the lower third of each painting shows where the shapes are outlined. I hoped to finish in a day and then I did the math. 660 square inches total. First day: 122 inches. Second day: 70 square inches.  This will take a week.

Tools used: For the leaves (Daniel Smith Autograph Series 44-14 Kolinsky Round #3); for the outlines (Daniel Smith Autograph Series 44 Kolinsky 00.)

Philodendron 3: Faster than gardening; slower than fingerpainting

December 27

December 29

Faster than gardening, slower than finger painting, making watercolors with Painstaking Exuberance shows progress: One step at a time, one shape at a time.

I find myself at the "fool my eye" stage of nano creation, where I look at the painting and begin to say "I am almost finished." Not really. I have to work out exactly how to finish the four big blocks, and then go back and outline each individual shape.

100 Buttons

I remember this stage when I worked on "100 Buttons."  When thought that I was nearly done, I counted the buttons and discovered that there were more than 100 of them, and that I wasn't even half finished. 

Philodendron 3: a nanoscape jumping off the paintbrush

While immersed in painting a nanoscape  with Painstaking Exuberance, sometimes the slow "painstaking" part is front and center. Yesterday, exuberance took over for seven hours, and I made a lot of progress on Philodendron 3.

Philodendron 3 - Dec. 27

My favorite shape

Philodendron 3: Painstaking progress on a big nanoscape

December 25

Sometimes I envy my friends who do plein air work, who strive to capture a moment in the outdoors, and complete the work in a short time. When they finish the painting in a day, I think that it must be like the "Whoosh!!!" of riding a roller coaster.

Painstaking Exuberance is the opposite of the Roller-Coaster "Whoosh!" Each piece -- really, each shape -- begins very slowly. Sometimes I fall into a rhythm, and sometimes that rhythm gains some speed. Not roller coaster speed, though. I do smile when I stop and find the first patterns emerging, and later find more intricate patterns and movement in colors and shapes. I am almost always surprised.

December 2

I wish that I could say that there is a plan for every nanoscape. I start with an idea, an inspiration, a jumping off point, or a shape that interests me, but unlike my friends who look at a mountain and paint the mountain, nanoscapes come from somewhere else. 

Philodendron 3: A big nanoscape

Philo #3

Up close

Philodendron 3 will be the first big nanoscape of 2011.  I began the drawing a few weeks ago, and got quite serious during the past four days.  Following the rules of Painstaking Exuberance, I finished the pencil drawing, and have been working the Davy's Gray outlines for 17 hours during the past two days. Although I went to sleep with an aching right hand, I also went to sleep with a big smile. I am a day away from begin to add color, and can't wait.

Charles Burchfield: 50 years of watercolor

Midsummer in the Alleghenies

Charles Burchfield painted for more than 50 years. He was primarily a watercolorist, and, knowing that, I wish that I knew that I had 45 more years to paint.

Midsummer in the Alleghenies (1955) is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is one of my favorites because it transports me to a place that isn't quite real. Note that it is not on display at the museum, but through the magic of on-line catalogs we can all see it all the time.

See more of Burchfield's work at the Artcylopedia, which, I promise will take you into the Burchfield rip in the space-time continuum where you will find amazing paintings and erudite commentary on his style and vision.

Enjoy.