New Work in Progress - Carlos Creek Winery

I'm currently working on a larger vineyard painting for a Minnesota winery, and while I don't really like showing something that's not yet finished, I thought I could show a small part of this piece in progress.

For me, there's a period during production where I really can't stand the work, and there are thoughts of abandonment and starting over. At this point in the piece, I'm emerging out of that phase kind of with one foot in and one foot out. There are areas that are starting to sing, but most of it is a fingernail on the chalkboard. At least I'm starting to feel the image, and design directions and decisions are becoming more clear.

The next phase is the momentum phase in which I'll really start to make progress. Areas that are now ambiguous and weak will begin to resolve.

Green is a very challenging color to work with, and this particular landscape is tough due to the fact it is dominated by very similar greens. I'll be departing from reality a bit in order to provide for a stronger composition and avoid monotony. This day was a very bright and glorious summer day. Foliage on everything was in full maturity, and it was GREEN. Variety in the finished piece will result from purposefully pushing and pulling the green hue to create subtle ranges of warm and cool, thus imparting depth and movement. That is my goal at least. We'll see how successful I am.

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Cloud Study

Cloud Study, 2013

Jay Raymond, Leap and Rise, oil on panel, 30 x 40 inches In a previous post this image appeared as a digital painting. This is the final piece in oil. All of my current works, including this one, begin as abstract compositions drawn in a 3.5 x 5 inch sketchbook. There is no preconceived idea about what the image will be. Instead, I begin with a few lines and begin playing with forms to develop interesting positive and negative shapes. My natural inclinations sometimes emerge in hints of figurative or landscape elements, but many times there's really no obvious references to those, and the image becomes an exploration of interesting ways to divide space and experiment with color effects. I like to use color harmony and dissonance and effects such as simultaneous contrast to infuse energy and vibrance. Josef Albers' Interaction of Color is a recent re-read for me, and while it was once simply required reading during my college art days, it is now very interesting and relevan...

Jay Raymond Art

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