Aurora Jazz and Art Festival - - July 29 - 31, 2011

I am going to be showing my art at the Aurora Jazz Festival July 29th to the 31st. I am also one of the artists who will be creating a painting on site. I have two hours to paint something which will then be auctioned off in the evening in the Silent Auction Art Tent.

With such a strict time limit I thought I would practice and see if I can actually do this. Since I am readying myself for a string of art shows over the next two months (how did that happen??) I need to paint like a fiend anyway. When I moved I *gasp* happily destroyed a lot of my work since I have no space here to store it all. I also wanted to start fresh.

So today is my first try at a 2 hour acrylic painting. I am going to work outside in the backyard.

Here's a canvas I didn't slash. I can't relate to what I was getting at on it so I'll use it for my first two hour project. It's a large canvas: 30" x 32"

I really like getting water from the hose. It should make clean up fast and furious too.

Awesome.

Start Time: 1pm
Deadline: 3pm

Let's go.


Time 1:10 gessoed over my old image


Time: 1:12 checking out my source material for my new painting. Found my charcoal to sketch guides onto the canvas.


Time 1:20 Image is drawn onto the canvas. I'm ready to paint. Must be done by 3:00pm. Yikes.

Time 1:40 Background is in and first shadows applied. I only realized later that I didn't start with my darkest darks. Normally that's what I first place onto my forms but I forgot. I'm rusty.

Time 1:58 More colour added to the figures.


Time 2:00 The Halfway Mark.
I've been painting for an hour. Time to step back and take a look from a distance. I think I can make it but I can't stop. I have to keep going. (I am so relieved I can still paint... yay.)


Time2:05 Have to start dealing with the details and all those gaping maws.

Time 2:15
Stepping back to see if the images make sense, and they do.


Time 2:20 More darks and more shades of red.


Time 2:30 Only 30 minutes left to deadline. Here I am pushing the darks. This is when I realize I didn't do this at the start... hello?

Time 2:50 I changed the background colour completely and continued to add details and darks.


Time 3:00pm.
Time's up.
It's titled TRIO and I've signed it.

After thoughts: I feel I could add some feathery bulk to the guy on the lower right.
I'm wondering how adding a touch of green would work as well as placing some fiery red-orange-just a dab-into the focal points of the two open mouths. Since this is a practice canvas I have time to do it.

I can practically hear those noisy birds.

Good.