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Antiquerra, Spain revisited

by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 12/31/2009 8:06:15 AM
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Here is an interesting progression I have been working on when not feeling like painting on the works in progress lined up in my studio. I went through some of my older paintings and found the painting below in the stack. I have always had a warm spot for this particular piece even though I have never been satisfied with it. The original plein air piece is at the bottom of this post. I added the dumpster back in - and using the photo reference, changed the shadows. I also added the vehicles and lamppost for more visual interest. Feels more complete. The version above I did in 2007 trying to salvage the scene, but I think I did more harm than good, and taking out the dumpster and the driveway just left a very bare and boring foreground.

I was in Spain painting a few years ago and the bus stopped atop a knoll over looking Antiquerra. We were literally parked next to the city dump, but there was a wonderful view of the town. That view was a bit overwhelming to me at the time, and there were 60+ people lined up to paint it, so I went back to the bus to find some shade. The door to the "hold" was open and provided a great seat with shade, but the only view was of the end of this little street with a trash can. So that is what I attempted to capture. My relative relationships were not very good, to say the least. I had run out of film (hadn't gone digital yet) so I borrowed someone's polaroid (now this is seeming very dated) and took a not very good photo of the scene.

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It has been awhile...

by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 12/30/2009 6:57:58 PM
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This holiday season saw a few things happening that have kept me from doing much computer work. First, we signed a contract to remodel our kitchen, with work to start on Dec7. The next week, on Thanksgiving Day, my laptop died. I just could not focus on replacing my laptop with having to move everything out of the kitchen and keep some of it handy for use during the two week remodeling. The second week into the project, my husbands car died. I have not had the inclination to do much in the studio, with having to make so many other decisions. That is not to say my mind and brush have been idle. Just quieter than usual. I did go out and paint on Christmas Eve Day, at my favorite little park. I am not overly thrilled with the piece but I was blinded by the light reflecting off the freshly fallen snow. I am not making excuses, just observations. I will post it for everyone to make their own assessment. Now that I have a new laptop up and running and am using the trial version of photoshop CS4 for a month, I will get some photos taken.

I also have been reworking some older pieces, all of which are in varying states of "work in progress." On that note, I would like to post from an article I just read written by Ron Riddick.

"As a great teacher once expressed to me "no great masterpiece ever just hastily happened." There was great searching, questioning, working, reworking, caressing, redefining and patience."

Through my reworking of older pieces, I don't expect a great masterpiece, but I do learn so much and I can't help but believe, I have improved both myself and the painting. In sharing both my triumphs and my not so successful works, I hope to strike a chord within each of you. We are all "works in progess" after all.

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An Interesting Development

by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 12/4/2009 7:10:39 PM
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http://autumnpaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/ Notice that I won Judge's Choice award for my painting High, Wide and Lonesome. I am honored to have been one of the few chosen and to know that my "voice" or view, resonates with others. Artists from all over the world participated in the Facebook challenge. What fun!

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High, Wide and Lonesome is moving on

by Victoria Morris Ekelund on 12/4/2009 7:02:25 PM
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I finally am ready to send this painting in to the juried show, Paint America. Since they only accept 100 paintings into this show, the probability of being accepted is not high, but if I don't try, the answer is surely no. It has been widely exclaimed over by those who have seen it. I have taken it in twice to be critiqued and thus, reworked. I am ready to see the end of it for awhile at this point and I will have just made the deadline for posting in the mail.
The last critique had me lightening and simplifying the road, again.

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