Watermedia Works: Supes Moon

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Supes Moon

Haven't painted with pure transparent watercolor in a couple years. What a challenge. Did not get the desired results but this is it. I call it "Supes Moon" short for Full Moon over the Superstition Mountains. There will be a full moon on the 29th and a couple friends and I will be backpacking into the Superstitions starting Friday night, the 29th and coming out Sunday. We'll hike into Garden Valley the first night and decide where we are going from there the next morning.

6 comments:

Myke LocksmithMonday, January 18, 2010 at 11:45:00 AM MST
Lovely painting. Not sure what effect you were going for, but I think it came out nice. Enjoy your full moon hike.
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Tonya VollertsenTuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:23:00 AM MST
Congratulations on your beautiful new blog! I look forward to seeing your new works emerge. Your comment on your sidebar about repeating the title over while you paint reminded me of what the snowboarding instructor told me recently. "where ever you are looking, that's where you will go. If you look to the ground you will fall. Look in the direction you wish to travel". Surely you are doing that with your titles! Nice work! Thanks for following my blog and best of luck with yours.
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Stan KurthTuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:00:00 PM MST
I've been painting with acrylics on gessoed Yupo for the last year or so and not at all used to transparent watercolor. The effect in this painting was really just one of salvage. I glazed large amounts of gray onto colored areas trying desperately to obtain some sense of value and and it looked horrible. So I did some scrubbing and really got quite carried away with lifting. I did no drawing and had no preconceived notions other than color. I Painted around the moon and then did a lot of scraping on it. I doublt that I will ever submit this painting for a juried exhibition and there is a good chance it a will get burried with gesso. After all it's 400 lb Arches. Yes that's right 400 lb.

Thanks for the nice comment Myke.

Thank you Tonya. I'm new to blogging and having a great time checking out all the really nice blogs out there. Your work is a feast to my eyes!
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Stan KurthWednesday, February 3, 2010 at 8:18:00 PM MST
Ended up not doing the hike. Maybe the February full moon will work.
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GlenMonday, February 22, 2010 at 9:44:00 AM MST
Stan,
Just stumbled on your web log: great material here. I have an affinity for moon images myself; admire your expressive style and themes.
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Stan KurthMonday, February 22, 2010 at 10:51:00 AM MST
Thanks Glen, I gave a quick look at your blog. Nice journalistic sketching and prose there! Will contemplate more later.
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Statement

One definition of intuitive includes words like feeling and instinct. These terms are mildly interpretive, and who can argue with artists who “feel” their way through paintings. My definition of intuitive painting is beginning the work without any preliminary thoughts or plans for a particular object or subject as an end, but rather starting on a blank substrate, making marks with a variety of tools, creating a library of design elements and applying design principles until a personal aesthetic is achieved. I do not use any external reference.

Marks are mostly random early on, but sometimes lines or shapes of thoughts occur during the process. Many of these are repetitive, my archetypes. It is not uncommon to find vague human anatomy, non-specific animals, interiors, buildings, furniture, vessels, surreal botanicals, automobiles/parts and a multitude of objects I have found interesting over the span of a lifetime. Some of these shapes may look familiar but are ambiguous enough to allow the viewer a personal narrative. This may be intentional or not on my part. I prefer mystery and intrigue over the obvious.

As paintings progress, more elements including color are introduced. These are random at first but as the process continues a shift towards design takes place. A dominant color temperature may emerge, or a glaze might unify colors beneath it. Values can shift to dominant light, mid or dark. Elements are enhanced, obscured or covered up. There may be multiple layers and quite often evidence of the beginning will peek through. I use a variety of tools to apply pigment or remove it in varying degrees. These tools include brushes, palette knives, scrapers, sticks, sandpaper, my hands, my fingernails and more. Gradually principles such as rhythm, harmony, unity, pattern, gradient, conflict, dominance, contrast, balance, repetition, alternation and movement coalesce into a composition I find esthetically pleasing.

It is one thing to make a pretty picture with good composition, but quite another to bring the viewer into a painting by such means and hold their attention with content. My objective is to evoke a pleasing visceral response from the viewer.

"There's a complex simplicity in Stan Kurth's paintings that is both paradoxical and straightforward. As he works with multiple layers of watercolor and gesso, his provocative images emerge. Ambiguity and form coalesce into a singular, cohesive vision that holds the viewer spellbound"

Betsy Dillard Stroud - Watercolor Masters and Legends: Secrets, Stories and Techniques from 34 Visionary Artists

About

"Artist and workshop instructor Stan Kurth has drawn and painted most of his life. An aunt, who was an artist and art instructor, became a big influence even before he began school. Stan lives with the conviction of “fear not” and that same attitude permeates not just his life but his art. His focus and dedication to his work have earned him signature member status in several watercolor societies including the National Watercolor Society, San Diego Watercolor Society and the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies - Master. He currently lives in Arizona."