Look Out! Palette Knife Adventures

I never knew what to do with palette knives except scrape paint and, of course, clean the palette. I'd see some painters I admire doing a few palette knife tricks, but I stayed away from it. But one day I was fooling around and found that the knife was able to make crisp clean colors. But still, I was afraid to actually use it in a painting. Then I took a workshop with Dan Young who showed me the ropes. He'd furtively pull out his little knife like it was some sort of contraband. Tweak Tweak here and a tweak tweak there..... And thus began my journey. But to be honest, I used it a few times and put it away . . . . until this week. My friend Doris O'Hara, a painter in Point Dume took a look at one of my paintings and said, "David, you need to get out your palette knife. Your brushwork is too tight. Push some paint around!"

I took her advice to heart and and did 4 paintings with my knives. I now think that I'm addicted. I've got a long way to go. I need to get more thick juicy strokes but I gotta start somewhere.

I have always been intimidated by Sage and Rabbit Brush yet somehow the palette knife turned it all around.

This painting of the Owens River outside Bishop truly sucked before I took out the Big Knife and slapped some real paint
up there.

This was good fun although it endured a long ugly period as the painting developed. Felt hopeless at one point but mushed on.

This is the one Doris said to attack with the knife. Not as loose as I want to be, but I guess this is my style.

Making Progress

Painting is driving me crazy. I mean, really crazy! I know that things have spun out of control when I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep and painting takes center stage. Instead of counting sheep, I'm mixing imaginary colors on my palette. When I wake up in the morning I've been taking a quick peek at whatever is on the easel in my studio before my coffee. Cathy has always maintained that I'm very compulsive. I'm sure she's right

Lately I've been living the dream . . . painting something every day, some days in the studio, some days outdoors. Have I made progress? Hmmmm, maybe!

The excellent painter Jill Carver summed it all up for me perfectly a few months back . . . . artistic progression runs like the upward movement of concentric circles. You make progress but then you double back on yourself. It's a smoother version of "2 steps forward, one step back."

Sometimes changing up the canvas size and configuration can be a great motivator. I only spent about 90 minutes on this one as the 8x16 format made new goals.

The painting (above) of the West Mitten in Monument Valley has helped me go forward. It hangs in my studio as a reminder that no matter how down I get about my ability, there is always something in a painting that reminds me of my potential. In this one, I'm drawn to the mesa in the background. It is where I truly want to go.

Big spurt at the beginning of August when I was out in North San Diego County with Ray, Mark, Byron and Dustin. Whenever I paint with those guys I feel like I'm in a dream. Confidence was at a high. It was a time for studies, not complete paintings. But being the maniac I am . . . I had to make paintings!

It's a funny thing about painting outdoors. Quite often comfort speaks loudest. This scene would never have been painted if I hadn't found a massive area of shade right here at Batiquitos Lagoon.

Shade made this one happen too!