Mango Show: No Luck

Sometimes a painting just doesn't work out and this might be one of them.  I think the composition issues of the mango being too close to the center may have been too much.  It's a little wet right now, though, and the paint will change as it dries, so maybe it will do something interesting tonight and look better tomorrow.

Regardless, we'll keep our commitments and submit it tomorrow anyway.  I hope it least has the virtue of looking unlike anything else.

So for now, no pic, it needs to dry and then needs a frame slapped on it.  It will be interesting to see it hanging and in the context of the show.  Will definitely take pics of that! 

Mango Show Update 4

Tomorrow is work-turn-in day for the Mango Show and Umami is still woefully not ready.  Did finally get the mango in place, but the whole concept of some oranges and yellows on the left was not working out, resulting in the large dark blue blotch on that side.  There is still some of the color under there, but very much submerged now.   The compositional issue now is that the left side is not really there and needs to brought out, probably with washes of whites and blues.  Running out of time, though, so we'll see what happens . . . regardless, it will have to be done tomorrow.

Mango Show Update 3

After maybe an hour the surface got really too wet to work, so stopped at this point.  The value shifts are stronger in this photo than in the actual piece.  Not sure why that it is.  The "mango" placement is less problematic now, though because (I think) the viewer's eye goes from the mango, to the crook of the "v" on the right, then "back" to the "v" on the left.  If I put a thin line of orange just to the right of that "v," on the horizon line, the view should go through the painting into the deep space in the middle.  Painting would basically be laid out at that point, with just fine tuning to do.  Maybe a couple of hours away from completion at this point.

Mango Show Update 2

Here's the latest iteration of the piece.  Painted Wednesday while also watching "Work of Art" on Bravo.  Umami thinks it's really funny that the artist's narrative about his or her work (answering the "what does it mean???" question) on that show seems to be critical to doing well.

Anyway, starting to add in the "mangos" to this piece.  As it stands, the orange curve is too close to the cetnter-bottom of the painting to be a strong composition.  Had planned to add more orange anyway, so will try to adjust composition that way.  Also lost a bit of the value changes, so will need to restate the lights, perhaps emphasizing the large, tree-like "V" on the right and smaller, thinner vertical lines to the left.

Will take another crack at it tonight, but first, need to eat something . . . need strength for the battle ahead!

Mango Show Update

Umami got some more painting done yesterday . . . essentially, bled some diluted titanium white (a "neutral white") and parchment (a "cool" white) to try to define the verticals, then worked the spaces with the blue tinged "dirty water" from two days ago (basically, the water used to clean the brushes; it has all the remnant paint in solution).  Interestingly, what happened was that the whites tended to settle in the lowest parts, revealing the brushstrokes from the underlying painting in darker blue.  There's some interesting things going on with the surface now, but it might be too subtle to pick up from a distance.  Still nothing that says "mango" yet either.  Considering dumping the old plan and treating this is an extreme close up of a mango surface, i.e., introducing, reds, oranges, yellows, purples into this.  Probably won't, but still playing with the idea.

Mango Show

Umami got invited to submit a piece for "The Mango Show."  The press release for the show says:  "Mango season is officially here!  In celebration of this delicious summertime delight, local artists will present original works showcasing the mango’s diverse varieties and flavors at The Mango Show.  Through drawings, paintings, photographs and more prepare to take a look at the majestic mango like you’ve never seen it before.  The exhibit will take place from August 9 to 26, in the Courtyard of Honolulu Hale.

The show is not strictly representational, so "interpretations" are accepted, even encouraged.  As if you could ever tell artists what to do in the first place!

Umami's jumping off point, then, is the end of the mango season, prompted by the fact that his mango tree had a lot of fruit a month ago, but is now fruit free.  For a while, though, there were a lot of mangoes on the tree . . . and on the ground.

So here's Umami's reference photo.  The "Blair Witch" lights and darks are cool, so if the color palette goes to blue, the dark orange and yellow mangoes on the ground ought to pop.  Actually, this would actually be a pretty decent piece by itself.

How to translate it to a painting?  Umami's never been particularly interested in representational painting, capturing the scene, or making pretty pictures.  Far better to play with the paint and make a huge mess of it.

Not a lot of time for that though.  Show is coming up soon and Umami doesn't have a decent painting and is running out of time to put something together.  It's hard, too, because he hasn't painted in a while . . . so the work is proving difficult!  But this is what we've got so far:  heavy gesso over an old painting, with multiple diox purple and pthalo blue washes.  Some cad red mixed in to try to build some complexity.  Not a mango in sight yet, though!  Will have to see what happens next.