I found a quote from one of my old painting teachers, John R. Fox, who passed away recently:
"I believe that a painting has to be a feast for the eyes.
I try to create in my art something that makes me feel alive.
Any art that makes me feel better is good." - John R. Fox
The colors I used in today's challenge, a flat wash of cadmium yellow underpainting, with Opera magenta and alizarin crimson details in the blocks, would look bright and cheerful in any painting.
When you look closely, the alizarin crimson actually looks dull and brownish in contrast with the much more saturated pink and yellow.
But it is the active brushstrokes that bring this painting to life.
I blotted these calligraphic marks out of wet washes with a brush that I first wiped absolutely dry, and then put a touch of color straight from the tube just on the tip.
When I made a firm heavy stroke, the dry brush sucked the wet paint away, and the concentrated paint laid itself down on the paper in the same movement.
This painting certainly makes me feel enlivened just looking at it, and I am grateful that the 16 block arrangement has become truly a feast for the eyes.
