Ephemeral Light

Ephemeral Light
6" by 9"
Mixed Media
by Amber Goulet

I have been playing with landscapes as subject matter of late. I'm enjoying the opportunity to employ abstract design, focus on mood, and play with broad symbolism. Above is my most recent finished work.

I was focusing on conveying mood through lighting. I blocked in the scene en plein air (on location) with open acrylics. Then later I used my photos from that day to finish this piece with oil pastels. I'm enjoying how the texture of the canvas is emphasized when oil pastels lightly overlay the acrylic underpainting. I believe the textures created add to the dreamy quality of light in this painting.

Statue Portraits

I Surprised Myself

Lingering Contemplation

I used to hate drawing statues. That went along with my oblique feeling towards setting down lines to represent architecture. I want a subject with some life, so maybe he/she/it tilts their head to the right a bit oddly or has the most awkward stance, that is exactly what kept me absorbed.
Gut vs. Mind
I'm still not sure that I love to draw, paint, or otherwise represent statues or anything inanimate, but I am more and more drawn to them. Creating 2D art from a statue is more to me now than just drawing something static. There is something to be said for doing portraits of statues.
Plans
I'm sure more thoughts, and deeper insights about statues will be coming. Right now I don't trust my written thoughts on that subject to really get full ideas across. Of course, part of the point of visual art is to convey what can't entirely be said with the written word. :)

Something Playful

Starting Point

Since I recently took a two day oil pastel workshop, I have done a total of four oil pastels, one just a tiny study. I've decided to share the latest. This is a little jersey calf that my local dairy farmer/organic food stand owner will be sharing with visitors for the next couple of weeks. (If you are ever in the North County of San Diego, specifically Ramona, stop by her stand on Dye Road. She makes scrumptious kumquat marmalade.)

Tolerance

Inspiration

This little calf is amiable and playful while seemingly just slightly resentful in her tolerance of so many obstructions to her freedom. I'm not entirely sure of the reasoning behind the bunny ears. :D (Though I'm sure the kids that come by enjoy the novelty of the second set of ears.)

Results

I did this portrait of the calf, Tina, because I was interested in the expression on her face. I had never seen subtle expressions on a cow's face before, perhaps I just never got close enough. ;) I'm enjoying the immediacy of working with oil pastel, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with oil pastel mixed with oil paints. So far, I think I'm getting a nice sense of movement with this medium.



Thanks for your interest. Leave comments if you wish. :)