Daniel Goldman

Artwork

Fast Paintings

art posts

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to do some paintings with more visible brush action, and to that end I did a series of paintings which were painted over printed canvases. These canvases, which were given to me by an acquaintance, were printed with works of a painter whose name I do not know, but one who seemed to have been influenced by Picasso as well as by German expressionists. Painting over these busy and colorful images was quite enjoyable. I imagine that graffiti artists must have a similar sense of pleasure when painting over previously sprayed walls, claiming the space as their own.

Each of these three paintings was done in one 2 1/2 hour session (including breaks), which meant that I had to make quick decisions, using thick applications of paint. I mixed the skin colors with Titanium white to make them opaque. In the paintings of Birte and T., I covered the whole surface of the canvas with paint, but let some of the colors from the underlying image shine through. In the painting of Hoda, I left some of the original print uncovered. The painting of Birte was done after I had started the other painting of her. I find it interesting to compare the hair in the two paintings. In this fast one, the treatment of the hair feels more consistent – thick chunky brushstrokes.

These paintings all have a certain freshness to them that I like, though some of my decisions, such as the green outline in the painting of T. or the relics of the print in the painting of Hoda and in Birte’s hair seem somewhat arbitrary. In any case, the challenge of not having a virginal canvas as a starting point made me paint differently, and that was good.

As always, you can click on the images to see a larger version.

Hoda 2016

Hoda 2016

Tomuka 2016

Tomuka 2016

Birte 2016

Birte 2016

2 Comments on “Fast Paintings”

  1. Daniel- I so enjoy your deliberate, conscious approach to painting. I think your method is teaching you a lot very quickly. I also think it might be time to let the “wild man” take the reins. By this I mean that color is a very powerful tool to have in your arsenal and it might be fun to allow it to dictate more choices in drawing and composition. Make a “red” painting, make a “blue” painting, etc. Have colors compete for attention on your canvas, yet balance one another out. Feel free to be arbitrary with color to bring out form. I think you are starting to do this somewhat in your description of “Fast Paintings” Anyway, you have probably already thought through the above suggestions…. Let me know what you think.

    • Thanks for the encouragement and the ideas! I think I am moving in the direction you suggest of giving color a more important role in my paintings. Your idea of doing color thematic paintings is interesting. I think I’ll try it. I also love the idea of letting colors compete. This is part of what I am doing with these paintings, and I want to continue with doing paintings over a boldly colored surface. The competition of my paint over the pre-painted image is interesting because it forces me to react to the colors that are already there, and it does bring out a wee bit of wildness….

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