Once upon a time: A Journey into the Blue

in #abstract5 years ago (edited)



Once upon a time, a painting's progress that had stalled…

...due to a lack of inspiration, but also due to some technical failure, by lack of knowledge and mastery.

But during the work on a more recent painting (The Waves) the desire took me back to restore this old stalled one, in order to continue the journey that it had made me begin...

Just a little more...

Or, maybe, way farther.

(Aller à la version FR)

Started in 2016, I believe, at a time when I wanted to test other tools than pastels, Voyage dans le Bleu is one of the first paintings I tried on the theme of the passage between reality and imagination.

  • Characteristics:
    • Made on 80x60cm wooden fibreboard (MDF).
    • Acrylic mix and water-miscible oils (Cobra)
    • Intermediate varnish layers.

From abstract lands, to surrealist countries…

Starting from a totally abstract impetus, the various stages of work have gradually brought it into surrealism, in particular through the modelling and extraction of concrete forms, sometimes ephemeral, sometimes more perennial.

Painting - Travel in blue - step 01 Peinture - Voyage dans le Bleu, étape 01

I remember that the initial intention was to represent a solid, translucent surface, a bit like ice, allowing the elements of an unknown world to be seen on the other side.

If there were times when I was able to achieve this objective, I quickly wasted them due to a lack of technical expertise.

Voyage dans le Bleu, étape 01 - détail - "Sous la glace" Travel in Blue - step 01 - detail: "Under the Ice"

Various graphic researches followed, without much consideration for the work already done.

But I must admit that here, the main goal is to learn and gather new knowledge. The production of a painting is ultimately only a material side effect of this learning process.

Painting - Travel in blue - step 02 Peinture - Voyage dans le Bleu, étape 02

... Up to the Veil between Real and Imaginary.

This impalpable desire for knowledge's materialization in a very tangible object could well be the crossing of this border, between Reality and Imagination.

Painting - Travel in blue - step 03 Peinture - Voyage dans le Bleu, étape 03

Thus, the Concrete, figurative, crosses the Abstract in the form of a ship… Which seems to fit nicely our Imaginary wanderlust :p

An incursion into the Real

For the moment, the work is focused on our ship, its details, but also its integration into the overall picture.

This type of work is not an area with which I am particularly comfortable, but once again learning is the main goal, whether the painting survives experimentation or not...

I move forward very slowly, with small cautious strokes, as well by fear of committing the irreparable, as by desire to give a chance to this painting of...

Continuing the trip.

Even if anything can happen with this type of work, I don't foresee any major changes at the moment. It will essentially be a matter of refining and cleaning the area of the boat, but I also plan to work with the more abstract bottom area.

In particular, I would like to find again these transparency effects that I was able to obtain, somewhat luckily, during the first working phases.

The results of these experiments will probably guide the next painting's evolution.


For now, thanks for your time !

See you soon :)


You may also find this blog post on Publish0x.com



Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://berien.com/techniques-mixtes/en-a-journey-into-the-blue/
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Appreciate your effort. Sometimes it is confusing that even for making an art there are mood swings. But your determination to get back to complete the work might succecded.

For me, or I would say that sometalents are in born or gift of God. I tried a lot even at the time of school to draw or do painting, but I failed. So not everyone can become an artist or a painter. It needs calibre and you are one among them. And as a steem member we need to support and encourage this creativity.

I have a question though, is it comes under the category of modern art, the fact is that for normal humans it is very difficult to recognize or understand the original meaning.

Anyhow, Thanks

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Thanks for your comment @angelro :)

I think what's important is the will to create, more than the way we do it.

I mean, there are exuberant and easy- to-notice ways to create, like painting drawing, singing, but the 'gift' you mention can be expressed in a myriad of different more common and discreet other ways.

I'm pretty sure we can find it in everyone that have to solve problems, and manage these situations with their own tools and environments: parents with their kids, plummers confronted to unreachable leaks to plug up, etc.

We all get that thrilling feeling when we find by ourselves a solution to a problem in our lives...

That's the same feeling we get when progressing on a painting or in any artistic domain... Except that in these domains, problems encountered are somewhat artificial and superficial compared to every day's life :)

Oh ! And about your last question... I'm not sure: my artistic culture and knowledge are really bad ! :D

I call that surrealism, because I put some realist cover above spontaneous abstract art, but I'm pretty sure someone else with better art education would find another label to stick to this kind of work :)

Anyways !
Have a nice day ;)

hey dear @berien,
I must admit that I do not mean art, so my considerations are only the result of my emotion, but it seems to me a really good job, I do not know if you have achieved the goals you wanted, but I really like to see all the details that you photographed and the shades of blue you got are beautiful. can I ask you why the central part is inside a black circle? Does it have any meaning for you? it seems to me that the center is like something solid and lasting, while all the rest, around, rotates and changes and transforms, like life.
congratulations,
I must admit that I do not mean art, so my considerations are only the result of my emotion, but it seems to me a really good job, I do not know if you have achieved the goals you wanted, but I really like to see all the details that you photographed and the shades of blue you got are beautiful. can I ask you why the central part is inside a black circle? Does it have any meaning for you? it seems to me that the center is like something solid and lasting, while all the rest, around, rotates and changes and transforms, like life.
congratulations

Thanks a lots for the comment :)

I can only guess myself the meaning of what appears in the painting, as it comes as it wants. Circles in my work are often some kind of passages or windows, that make things go through the superficial surface of the painting or allow us to to see what's at the other side.

I some cases they are also symbols of clearly defined boundaries, like a bubble surrounding its own small universe. In this painting, I think both kinds are present, but the larger one would definitely be a frontier between two universes :)

I'm not very good at symbol interpretation, but the more I work on abstractions and surrealism, the more I have the feeling a painting could be some kind of veil between our material reality and some kind of deep spiritual state.

That's something I try to follow during work, but I think a painting has a different story to tell to each individual that looks at it. The person who carries the brushes and pencils might just be an interpret who was here at the right moment with the right tools to do the job.

yes, you are right in the end the message that comes to the viewer is different depending on the sensitivity of each one. your inspiration translated into a painting represents a message for those who know how to look carefully. for some, perhaps it means nothing, others instead manage to see that window that takes them to another dimension, the deep one, of the soul. continue to paint, and experiment :-))

Hi berien,

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Thanks a lot, much appreciated <3

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Thanks a lot ! :D

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