New Rocket Doodles...

Stormwatch Station

(10 x 17.5", Oils on canvas board)   Price: $350.00  SOLD

 I needed some extra small paintings to fill out my art panel at Boskone in Boston this month, but it was going to be a bit hard since I hadn't painted in four months and it is always difficult starting something cold. I tried working up one idea in paint, but the oil medium I use, Drying Linseed Oil had been compromised in the bottle and was difficult to manipulate with any of its regular fluidity. So I put aside that canvas and chucked that bottle of oil, then opened a new bottle and put up a fresh canvas on the easel. I had an odd sized black frame that had been lying around the studio for quite a while, and the two times I'd attempted to paint something to go in it, both paintings failed or just failed to inspire me to finish them. So I pulled out the frame again to look at...and had a sudden urge to paint an asteroid space station in stationary orbit near Jupiter's centuries-old storm. I even got a bit more interest with the inner moon and its shadow against the ever-changing gas bands. The dark shadow of the moon offsets and compliments the dark bulk of the asteroid station, giving the composition balance. I rather like this idea and resultant image. It harkens back to my childhood, and looking out into space and space stories, and wondering "what if...?"

Beacon Point

(10 x 10", Oils on Canvas Board)    Price: $200.00  SOLD

Strangely enough, this painting was started for use in the frame mentioned above. However, upon mooching paint around for some time and getting a bunch of detail in, the painting no longer felt right, so I put it aside a year ago. When I was rummaging around near my easel, looking for inspiration and my errant muse, I found this half painted board again. I also had pulled out a 10 x10" square frame. With a long pause for consideration and perfect positioning inside the new frame, I cut down the canvas to fit it. Suddenly, it seemed to work again. So, out came the paints to noodle some of the foreground clouds and paint in the rocket. Lots of happy accidents. But, I felt like the painted story needed some added definition and some visual 'weight', so I painted a cloud bound space station near the bottom. I finally liked it again. I wonder what life would be like on a station situated among the clouds of a gas giant or moon. Magnificent vistas and gut-wrenching storms, I expect. :-D

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. I started a new painting of my Rover space dog and a bunch of Fairy Wren birds (Australian native birds) as a live painting demo at Boskone last Saturday. Come back and visit in a week or two to see how that turned out.
Cheers,
Marianne