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New Painting: Ovation in Pinks

Ovation in Pinks - Oil on canvas - 12 x 12 inches - copyright 2012 Marilyn Fenn
“Ovation in Pinks” Oil on canvas 12″ x 12″ © 2012 Marilyn Fenn

Here is the first painting I have completed this year.  It started as something even more abstract back in November, but I couldn’t quite resolve it into a painting that worked back then, so I repainted it, and now it has become an abstract floral work.  I really love how it came out.

Here is how it looked after a few days of work back in November and what it is now:

A Real Slow Trip - Oil on Canvas - 12x12 inches - copyright 2011 Marilyn Fenn
Original
Ovation in Pinks - Oil on canvas - 12 x 12 inches - copyright 2012 Marilyn Fenn
Final version
As you can see, there are a few parts that remained more or less intact and a lot of additions and modulations.  That groovy shape in the top center just didn’t work here, but three calla lily-type flowers have taken its place rather nicely.

I didn’t want to lose that wonderful diamond-shaped bit of fuchsia towards the upper right, and I think it came out really well being made into a “flower.”  She’s kind of queenly, I think, and seems to be engaged in a dialogue with the fuchsia flower in the center, or maybe they form a trio of fuchsia flowers with the one below both of them.

Scream - detail
Scream – detail

The other part I was quite attached to was the little blue “mouth “engaged in a scream in the green flower on the upper left (when the painting was turned 90 degrees):

Some brushstrokes just can’t be duplicated (well not mine; not yet, at any rate), so this little guy remains even if it’s no longer so clear that it was a mouth screaming.

“Ovation in Pinks” is available from my new shop site, here: “Ovation in Pinks.”

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New Painting: Clobbered by Picasso

"Clobbered by Picasso" Oil on canvas 12" x 12" © 2011 Marilyn Fenn
“Clobbered by Picasso” Oil on canvas 12″ x 12″ © 2011 Marilyn Fenn

After copying a Picasso last week, I started seeing so many things differently! Palette, shapes, composition…my copy of his painting in among my own paintings made my work pale in comparison. 🙁

OK, well, no surprise there.

I tried to return to what I had been doing before the Picasso copy and started using colors from his palette to attack this work that was already in progress. Picasso kept interfering as I struggled with thoughts of the strength of his work.

A few days and many changes later, I finally got back into the rhythm of my own vision and ended up here. FWIW.

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New Painting: Quest for Magic

"Quest for Magic" Oil on canvas 12" x 12" 2011 Marilyn Fenn
“Quest for Magic” Oil on canvas 12″ x 12″ 2011 Marilyn Fenn

The greatest work of an artist is the history of a painting.
– Alberti

The title of this painting could embody a state of grace that many people seek throughout their lives. It could symbolize the wishes that most artists aspire to obtain through their creations. Or it could represent my recent series of abstract paintings. In this case, it represents another painting in the series through which I am beginning to achieve a long sought after enchantment with my process and pleasure in the final result.

Every painting, and perhaps especially abstract paintings, start out as a journey with the destination unknown. The thrill of exploration is a great part of the goal. What can I make my colors and brushstrokes do? How do I push the paint around in interesting ways? How can I make an intriguing composition out of nothing but colored oil paint and a few shapes?

These first few works in the series are small and slow, and I’m still finding my footing, but I’m really looking forward to more and larger and more confident works. I’m thrilled to have reached this part of my journey, and excited about the rest of the trip. I hope it is a long one!

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New Painting: “You Earthlings Have Made Me Very Angry”

"You Earthlings Have Made Me Very Angry" Oil on canvas 8" x 8" © 2011 Marilyn Fenn
“You Earthlings Have Made Me Very Angry” Oil on canvas 8″ x 8″ © 2011 Marilyn Fenn

I love Marvin the Martian.  He’s probably my favorite cartoon character of all time (though Bugs Bunny is a very close contender, and some new 3D characters, such as Rango, are quite fabulous as well).  However, Marvin’s been with me since I was a kid.  I’ve drawn him, made a 3D model of him, made a tiny and very short animated 3D film of him with a spaceship of his (that I also designed and modeled), I’ve dressed as Marvin for Halloween, and now I’ve finally painted him.

I was hoping that if I painted a slightly larger object than the little 1.25″ – 1.5″ characters I painted before our vacation, it would help me loosen up some.  Maybe it did, a little; maybe not as much as I’d like.  I think I need to paint soft things next.  But I am very happy with how Marvin came out.  He does look almost exactly like the little plastic toy I used as a model.

Marvin is painted on a 1.25″ deep gallery-wrapped canvas, and this time, I’ve painted the sides the same blue as the negative space (or background).

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The Challenge of Becoming a Non-Representational Painter

"State of Mind" Oil on Canvas 16" x 12" © 2009 Marilyn Fenn (work in progress)
“State of Mind” Oil on Canvas 16″ x 12″ © 2009 Marilyn Fenn (work in progress)

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. – Jonathan Swift

Abstraction is real, probably more real than nature. – Josef Albers

I am getting very excited about my upcoming solo show. I’m painting like mad, and I’m beginning to be very happy with some of the results. I think I may just have a future in this wonderful world of painting!

Continue reading “The Challenge of Becoming a Non-Representational Painter”