Two Women, A Man and A Boat

Today’s blog entry is about process. It is about the way I use photography to help create my pastel paintings. The painting from 2 years ago was based on 4 photographs all of which I took with my digital camera. The photographs were the following: a picture of my husband, Joe standing on the beach, a picture of two women standing on the beach, a photo of clouds, and a photo of a boat. It is important to note that all of these photos come from my digital photo morgue - a categorized collection of photographs used to help in art production - that I keep on my computer and add to regularly. I used Adobe Photoshop to cut the people and boat from their particular photographs and then paste into the picture of Joe looking out at a calm south Florida ocean. I chose to reverse the image of the two women and have them look away from the boat and off the edge of the painting. I suppose that had to do with a philosophical notion that the artwork serves as a window into an alternate reality and that if the women are looking off the edge of the painting that suggests the extension of the artistic vision beyond the picture plain. I was relying on the strong triangulation between women, boat, and Joe to hold the viewer's attention on the picture plain, and I hope that worked. I include the individual photos and the photographic montage below.

There are some obvious differences between the painting and the photographic montage. First I moved the horizon up in the painting in order to achieve a more interesting division of space. Second, I moved the boat over so the triangle created by Joe, the two women and the boat is less obtuse. Third, my colors are much more blue and intense than those in the photographic montage. Forth, I’ve made more contrast in the colors of the painting in order to make the clouds more interesting. The added contrast helps me to achieve a glow in the water that is present to the eyes when I am at the beach, but that doesn’t show up very well on the photographs. Additionally, the way I work by making marks with the pastels creates an overall texture not present in the photograph.

The final photographic montage that I named "Two Women, a Boat and Joe."

By working with and continuously updating my morgue of digital photographs I am able to assemble images that I would never find in reality, images that sometimes speak to me of the calm spiritual nature I find within myself when I am at the beach. And, I get to work in the calm and cool space that is my well-lighted porch in Florida, or studio in Delaware with everything I need for production at hand. Change is the one constant we deal with in reality. By working with this process I can make a reality that becomes it’s own constant, never changing as I work, whether the artwork itself is peaceful, or tumultuous.

LGBT Pictionary and Pastels

Artworks from the LGBT Pictionary and Pastel Seascapes by yours truly are Currently on Display at Stork's Bakery and Cafe in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

LGBT Pictionary and Pastels Exhibit

The exhibit was installed Monday, November 4, 2013 and will remain through Thursday, January 2, 2014.

Closet, The LGBT Pictionary (June 7, 2013) 8" x 8," 10" x 10" framed.

An exhibit of some of the small works from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pictionary and some of the pastel paintings is at Storks Bakery & Café in Fort Lauderdale, Florida through the New Year. Arts United of Fort Lauderdale sponsors the exhibit, and it includes 10 of the small works from the LGBT Pictionary. They are Amphierotic, Closet, Dyke, Faggot, Fairy Dust, Flannel Shirt Lesbian, Fruit, Pansy, Pink Triangle, and Poof. Two of the pastel paintings are included as well, and they are South Florida Sunrise #4, and Supermoon, March 19, 2011. All the artworks are available for purchase. The Pictionary originals, framed are $145.00 each, 3 for $375.00. Prints are available unframed at the extremely affordable price of $25.00 each. The Pastels are much more expensive, but priced reasonably for size and quality. South Florida Sunrise, $1500.00, framed, and Supermon, $400.00.

For anyone in Dade, Broward or Palm Beach Counties wishing to view the exhibit, my favorite time of day at Stork's Bakery and Cafe is mid to late morning. That way I can enjoy a cup of coffee and one of the delicious pastries made at Storks.

November Graphics

November Graphics for the past 4 years 

 This is the 2nd in the series of Graphics from my blog. Looking back trhough the years I was amazed at the variety of graphic illustrations in The Art of John Bittinger Klomp.  Though the October review has more variety of color than the November there is never the less a great variety in shape and line, and I see a trend toward unity created by the constant use of the square format, patriotic colors, and similar font, Century Gothic.

The following outlines briefly the purpose of each of the graphics. First, the black square with the white speck held in a circular halo of shaded values was used to represent God, the universe, as well as nothing. "Vote Damn It" was my reaction to the lack of voting Democrats in the 2010 election which led to our Tea Party do nothing congress. The "Plutocratic Capitalism" piece voices in part my frustration that the Military/industrial/technological complex has managed to convince us as a society that it is a capitalist system despite the fact that the competitive aspect of capitalism died with "mom and pop" businesses in the last century, and that anything labeled "socialism" is bad. In 2012 and 2013 I have been working on my GLGB Pictionary of which "Gay" was one of the first words illustrated in the mixed media distressed painting technique.

During the next ten months I will make the graphic review the first entry every month.

Graphic Designs

October Graphics At The Art of John Bittinger Klomp

I often use illustrations and graphics in my blog. These often appear as addenda in the top or on the side of the blog. Sometimes they are part of an entry. And of course, much of the time the blog is about my fine artworks, so of necessity it includes illustrations of that fine art. Whenever possible I use my own graphics to make a point, or to illustrate an entry, and I think anyone viewing my journal would be hard pressed to find any artwork that isn’t my own. When an artwork is not mine, I make a point of that through notation. Most often my graphics are political, though sometimes they are made just to emphasize something I am writing about.

I’ve decided to run a series of entries that take a look at the graphics from the past and present. Today’s entry is an illustration of four graphics from past October entries.

Claude Monet: The Manneport

The Manneport, Claude Monet (1882) oil paint

In general, looking back at Impressionism from the perspective of the Post and Metamodern, the paintings are always too pretty for my taste. Having said that, I love the rough, dry painted surface texture in this painting, though it doesn't quite work for the water. Yes I can be critical of Monet's choices. He was a master - never the less - he was not perfect, as none of us are. I've had friends tell me I'm too critical of my own work - and hy not? If Monet could make choices that wern't optimum, and I can see them - I should certainly be critical of my own poor choices.

So, back to Manneport the rocks are incredible. And, of course, as always Monet's color is fabulous!

The Mini Critique is done.

Leonardo DeCaprio as Gatsby: Part X

It Is Finished!

“Gatsby” is completed and installed in the banquet facility at Meghan’s Characters Pub in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We drove the six panels to Lancaster last weekend. They were boxed and stacked in the back of our white Terrain.

Birthday Dinner at Characters

We had a birthday dinner Saturday evening at Characters in order to celebrate three birthdays, Joe’s, Millie’s, and yours truly. As always we enjoyed the world-class cuisine that Meghan and her souse-chef prepare. I had Meghan’s stuffed peppers. They were spicy/hot, stuffed with deliciously sweet/sour pulled pork and swimming in a marvelous brown gravy/sauce. They were so good that I thought about ordering a second batch. However, as I am the slowest eating bottomless-pit on the planet, I did not order them. It just wouldn’t have been fair to make my dinner companions watch me eat that second batch before we had our birthday cake.

Back to Gatsby

I put the six Gatsby panels together Saturday afternoon before dinner, and Meghan’s handy person, Beck hung it Sunday. Meghan has completely redecorated the banquet space since our wedding reception last year, and the first photo above shows how the painting looks in that huge room. The second is a close up of the painting. Beck and I have just admired her handy work, and my partner, Joe took our photo standing with the painting.

Leonardo DeCaprio as Gatsby: Part IX

The Final Section (C2R3) is Complete.

My color is so different in this image from the original Adobe Photoshop sketch! However, all the colors are from the same set of premixed colors used during the entire project, so I have to think that some of the fault lies within the digital photo. Actually, this photo was taken with a flash, and indoors. All the other photos were taken outdoors in the shade. It is amazing what a difference these things can make in color.

I will take one last set of photos of the entire painting when it is put together and installed in the Banquet facility at Characters Restaurant in Lancaster, PA. That set will be done with a tripod, no flash, lights out with only the light from the windows to illuminate it. The camera will be set for indoor light. Never the less, I imagine I will have problems with the ambient light in the space because that light comes from 4 floor to ceiling windows in the front of the late 19th century space. The space is quite large, and the windows do provide a lot of light, so I’m sure I will be able to work with camera and Photoshop to work out the difficulties. I can’t wait to see the painting installed.

Next entry will show the painting in its entirety though not at this stage installed at Characters Gastropub.