"Whole Piece #46"

"Whole Piece #46"
4" by 4"
Oils on Panel

Bunnies!

"Whole Piece #46"
Side View

First things first! Does anybody have a pet bunny they'd like me to paint for free? I'm interested in adding a rabbit portrait to my pet portrait portfolio. Please contact me at ambergoulet@yahoo.com with your pet bunny photos. 

Fascinating Cavernous Ears

Before working on the Whole Piece Series I had never done in-depth painting of ears. Usually an ear is important to get to look "right" but not much more than a sidenote or afterthought. What I have found thought is that they are enjoyable to dive into much like a beautifully lit rock formation might be. There are so many value shifts and spaces to explore. They seem to exhibit personality in a curious abstract way.

Speaking of Sidenotes

In many of the recent Whole Piece paintings I'm intrigued by the effect of little bits of personal objects or style on the periphery. There are many bits of glasses, and in this piece perhaps even a hair color choice can count. I enjoy how they complicate these images. Even in these snippets of faces we can be influenced by context. We may even snatch hold of what little context we are given with more fervor. Our interpretation of others is never straightforward.

"A Speckled Pair," Daily Painting # 2

"A Speckled Pair," Available (Click Here)  5" by 7" Oil on Panel

Two Moldy Leaves

     I love the way leaf mold started to grow on these sturdy leaves but had yet to make much of an impact before the leaves dried out leaving only a variety of speckles. They were most similarly speckled of all the leaves I collected. They nudged me asking to be shown off together.


Andy Goldsworthy

Leaf Horn by Andy Goldsworthy
This image is from a well thought out
blogpost exploring Andy Goldsworthy's
work and process.

    All this painting of leaves and thinking on leaves is connected to a recent pleasing intrusion of my interest in Andy Goldsworthy's nature art. I was wondering what he might do with leaves that hold a three dimensional shape. Usually he plays off the color of leaves, their flatness, and their transparency. I've seen him work with leathery thick flexible leaves to create horns, but none of these leaves are truly three dimensional.

Andy Goldsworthy 

      These leathery oak leaves I've been painting hold a distinctive three dimensional shape. I imagined he would carefully stack them on a still day, controlling his breath to prevent disturbing their balanced layers.

Green to Yellow Leaves
by Andy Goldsworthy

      I was not ambitious in my stacking for this painting,  I balanced one leaf carefully atop the other. (A whisper of a breeze came though my window halfway  through the painting. Even as unambitiously cautious as I had been the upper leaf toppled!)
     I imagine spending whole days outside contemplating form and my understanding of natural objects to then thoughtfully create my own impermanent sculptures. (I'm not romanticizing this at all, am I?) With quick paintings and some sketchbook brainstorming I'll dream further. But my mind drifts on to buoyant playful painterly thoughts too.



I'm thinking about bunnies...

     I've decided to not limit my subject matter on these daily paintings, at least for now.  So for a big shift in subject matter, my next daily painting will be of a wild rabbit with afternoon light glowing through the pink of its ears.  I'm itching to capture an animal facial expression.

     Too much yacking, not enough painting. Ta-ta 'til tomorrow.