Monday, August 26, 2013

BLACK SWAN

Diane Mannion, BLACK SWAN, 6x6" oil on Gessobord

This painting is a DAILY PAINTWORKS FB Pick of the Day!

PAINTING LIGHT

This black swan is a famous resident of the Sarasota Jungle Gardens.  Have been working on a series of birds lately, but no matter what my subject is... my main focus is light.   
Portrait, still life, or landscape... whether it's a child, toaster, or bird in the water, the play of sunlight and shadows is what motivates me to paint.   And if it isn't sunlight, the muted colors of a cloudy day, fog, dawn or twilight inspire me just as much.  
I find the luminous glow of lamplight on a still life, wrapping around the subject bouncing and reflecting colors delightful!  Doesn't take much for me to sling that paintbrush.   It's not just reproducing visual material that makes me slap paint... there's also the mushy topic (another post) about feelings and emotions, love, angst, etc.
Sometimes, having too many subjects can be a problem.  Galleries like to see work in a series.  Artists are encouraged to think about "branding" to market their work.  It's all too easy to fall into a trap of turning out the same subject over and over.  Seascapes, anyone?  If they sell and an artist is known for that subject, it becomes difficult to explore new horizons.
So tomorrow?  Maybe I'll paint a duck.  Or a swamp.  A tourist or a garbage can... 
It all depends on how the light strikes it!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

The colors and the flow of the water are so gorgeous in this piece! Congratulations!

Diane Mannion said...

Thank you for your kind words, Katherine!

Wendy Barrett said...

A lovely painting Diane. The black swan is the bird emblem of my state of Western Australia. They are native to Australia.
It is clear that light is your main focus in your paintings - you do it so well!!

Diane Mannion said...

Thank you, Wendy! Your comment means a lot to me... coming all the way from Australia.