OT: New painting!

[MovieStuff]

This was a quicky I banged on out Sunday. It's called "Clear Night, Warm Fire". The lighting on it was fun. Kind of an old style, Indiana Jones, ILM matte painting look. Small, too. Only 11x14 inches. I'm used to a really big canvas so this was kind of tight.



Larger version can be seen here.

http://www.rogerevans.tv/clear_night.html

Later, dudes....

Roger

[CHAS]

Very cool, Roger! I like the way you did the light on the rock...

[flatwood]

You would have made a great cartoon illustrator back in the days of celluloid overlay. I love the tipi. Great work.

[marc]

My brother is an artist and a very good one. He has illustrated a children book. Most of his early work involved oil painting which was very good. But his evolution as an artist, supplemented by his degree in art, allowed him to move away from "real life" art. His line of argument, which is supported by many in the art community, is that since we have cameras we don't need artists in the traditional sense. In other words, artists in the conventional sense had their hey day in the era before photography. I guess, like cinema and cinematography, it is something that evolves. But who am I to talk when I prefer film over video? Certain niches will always have their following!

[MovieStuff]

You would have made a great cartoon illustrator back in the days of celluloid overlay. I love the tipi. Great work.

Thanks. Yes, it does have a kind of Disney look it, doesn't it? A sort of Jungle Book air about it.....

Roger

[MovieStuff]

....His line of argument, which is supported by many in the art community, is that since we have cameras we don't need artists in the traditional sense......

I've heard this argument before and it's interesting but my take is that, since we have memory, we really don't need painting or photography of any kind. Ah! But the argument is then that, since our memory is not perfect, we need something that records the past accurately. Okay, but if technical accuracy is really the only goal, then why are programs like Photoshop and Boris used to alter the reality of a photo when all we need is just a raw, well exposed record of the past? Ah! But then the argument is that we, as humans, need an emotional trigger to go with the record of the past so that we "feel" the image and are not just witnessing it on playback. Okay, but if the photographic image is being manipulated to create the "warm fuzzies" and spark an emotional link, then it is no more technically accurate to the past than a painting is. In the end, there is a reason that people prefer the look of a painting over a photograph, just as people prefer the look of film over video or a physical book over a PDF download. It's a touchy-feely thing, I guess.

Roger

[marc]

Yes, and we need cinema to create a reality that does not exist. So, there are many ways to spin that argument. Ultimately, it's what you do with it that matters. If you paint something as it really is, then I guess we don't really need the paint because we can just grab a camera. if you shoot action as it really is and not something that is scripted, grab video camera. If you want to create your own reality, grab a movie camera. But even my last argument is flawed because people like to film their vacations with movie cameras. Ultimately, it comes down to what makes you happy. We all certainly have interests that others may or may not critique!

[Blue Audio Visual]

Hi Roger,

What I find fascinating about your (excellent) paintings is that, as a born and bred inner-city Londoner, the sort of subject matters that you seem to choose are so very American. As such they are completely alien to my own life-experiences.

It's interesting for me from an anthropological viewpoint to realise -to paraphrase the famous quote- that England and America are two countries joined by the same language, but separated by completely different history and culture. Texas and Tottenham are very different places indeed.

As an outsider my comments are probably pretty crass & facile, but hey, I'm used to being told that already!

Nevertheless the 'emotional trigger' and the story that this snapshot in imagined time tells me works even across the cold expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. The fundamental stories which inform us of the Human Condition are the same in all cultures worldwide, so even though I find it weirdly alien, I can also relate to the message that it conveys, even though I have to interpret it through the prism of my own experiences. Bringing the whole argument back round to cinema, that is the reason why Kurosawa can be as emotionally resonant as Kubrick, despite the language barrier that we as Anglophones have to deal with.

Going to give up at that point, I have obviously had too much to drink...

[Scotness]

Hi Roger - nice but I think the sky needs to be darker -- if there was that much ambient light around (especially low on the horizon) the rocks would be lit up by more than just the fire.

Not that you have to paint it as the eye sees it though!


Scot

[MovieStuff]

Hi Roger - nice but I think the sky needs to be darker -- if there was that much ambient light around (especially low on the horizon) the rocks would be lit up by more than just the fire.

You're quite right. The sky would never really be that blue at all except at sunset where it is just about to loose its luminance (very common out here). But in terms of illumination on the cliff face, the horizon light is behind the rocks , which would actually make them go almost black, even in late day if the sun were behind them.

Not that you have to paint it as the eye sees it though!

Of course! None of this really means anything as I was sort of going for a warm and fuzzy, fantasy feeling and not so much reality.

Roger

[MovieStuff]

Okay, so this painting has been bugging me a bit. In all, I think it was a bit too cartoony. So I repainted the sky, the rocks, the bushes, etc. I like this better. A bit more real and a bit less Disney.



Larger version can be seen here:

http://www.rogerevans.tv/clear_night.html

Thanks again for lookin'!
Roger

[JCook]

Again, nice work, you completed that painting during a single Sunday?

I'm lucky to get anything done on a Sunday the family always has something going on.

[MovieStuff]

Again, nice work, you completed that painting during a single Sunday?

Pretty much. I mean, I started it on Sunday afternoon and the finished it Monday morning. Originally about 8 hours in it and then about 3-4 hours this evening to make the changes. Probably a total of about 12 hours in it. It's only 11x14 so there isn't a lot of paint to push around but doing detail work at that size is a ballbuster for me so I usually work larger. At this size, I sort of have to suggest the detail, which can save time but isn't always as satisfying.

Roger

[Actor]

The rest of Texas is running away from a hurricane and you're painting a picture? That's dedication! :lol:

[MovieStuff]

The rest of Texas is running away from a hurricane and you're painting a picture? That's dedication! :lol:

Wellllll......It helps that I'm 300 miles away from the hurricane. I've been text messaging with my engineer in Houston. He says he's got no power in the shop, no telephone, etc. And it's hot as hell everywhere in Texas. I can only imagine what it must be like down there. We've been in a drought here for about a year so we were hoping to get some badly needed rain as a spin off of the hurricane but no dice. Not even a stiff breeze.

Roger