Performance Painting, "Tango"

Painting live with an audience can be quite challenging.  My focus on February 17, 2012 was to finish a painting that would satisfy not only me but also the audience.  I accomplished both these goals.  When I painted "Chameleon" for South Towne Orators (see previous post), I did not finish as I had too much interaction with the audience.  At DF Dance Studio in Salt Lake City during Gallery Stroll, I had one hour in which to complete my painting; therefore, I asked the audience to hold questions and comments until the end.  I could have talked more as I painted but I was "in the zone" and focused on a finished painting.

I first drew spontaneous marks on my 36x48 canvas with charcoal, and explained that as I added paint these would bleed and that they could be covered with paint.  My purpose was to energize the canvas and to have something to look at other than a white-painted canvas.  I then applied acrylic cobalt blue paint with my gloved hands.  I used all the blues I had in addition to the cobalt: cerulean, light blue, ultramarine, phthalo, also dioxazine purple, red and white.  Blue is my favorite color followed by yellow.  I did not want to use yellow as combined with blue would create green which would dominate the painting.  I also used a tempera blue.  I use water and various tools to create textures and interest.  

After taking comments and questions, as a finale I squeezed sweeping lines of white and blue from their tubes (one fan called this     my signature)...    I titled the painting "Tango," afterall we wer at DF       Dance Studio...  Watch for the video.

Chameleon

At a weekly Toast- masters meeting, I painted a live, action per- formance painting and gave a pre- sentation along with it.  Because there was so much audience interaction, I was unable to finish.  I started with a white canvas, 36x36 on which I drew some haphazard lines with charcoal.  I concluded with the painting you see here.

I felt the painting was unfinished and I was unsatisfied with it.  I therefore brought it to my home studio and proceeded to lighten it.  If you look closely you may be able to see the charcoal lines beneath the paint.  I tried to preserve some of the elements of the painting.  See the blue on the left and the yellow shape on the right.

I further lightened the painting by scraping and wiping and using several techniques.  Note the blue on the left and the yellow shape on the right.  Finally, as you'll see in the next image, I had to give them up.

I had scraped back quite a bit of paint which was a dark brown due to all the pigments mixed together.  I then used this brown to highlight some of the charcoal lines underneath the paint.  I then painted within the confines of these lines.

Tada!  The finished painting became a chameleon as it went through several changes.  Note that I used scraping, dripping, and texturing to create....


Chameleon, Oil, 36x36.

Watch for the video to follow sometime next week.

www.JerryHardestyFineArt.com