Coffee Thoughts ~ Wednesday

Well I'm about done with my coffee.....LOL. Took a break from the studio yesterday and was doing more of the stuff that makes me "self taught" - STUDYING!

I was feeling somewhat in need of a challenge. I've been painting "normal" things for quite some time now and have a good array of work on the website for viewing. And I feel more than confident with the medium I've chosen to work in as well as the support (the watercolor canvas). So now it's time to step things up a bit.

I love surreal art (Surrealist works can have a realistic, though irrational style, such as "dreamlike fantasies"), and I also like Trompe L'oeil (French term meaning "trick the eye"). Trompe L'oeil is seen the most in mural work - where a doorway or window is painted where there isn't one really there, or a skylight might be painted on a ceiling showing a view of the blue sky and clouds. It's the type of work which really adds a cool effect to a room, and can open and expand rooms tremendously.

I discovered yesterday many have done trompe l'oeil works on canvas and found this interesting, as in many cases, it crosses over into the surreal art I love. So I studied both types of work all day, as well as read some demos and tutorials online of how to do specific scenes, etc.

Now I feel challenged to create a surreal painting, with a trompe l'oeil feel to it as well. There are some rules in trompe l'oeil - one of which is to make things painted of a realistic size in order to make the viewers think what they are seeing is "real", to the point they might actually reach out and try to "touch" or "pick up" the object. In the painting I've designed, I am currently off a bit on the realism of the size. I don't know if it's something I'll be able to fix - but even if it's not exactly to size, it will still be a really cool painting with the surreal look/feel I am after. I plan on beginning the painting today - it will be size 18x24 on gallery wrapped canvas.

Also on the agenda for today is a small 8x10 of a piece of chocolate mint chip ice cream cake. LOL! Hey, why not? My birthday is Friday and each year when I was a child I had a chocolate mint chip ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. Since I haven't had one for many years, and I doubt I'll get any cake for my birthday this year, I figured I'd just paint a piece! LOL It will go well with the chocolate chip cookie painting I have listed currently.

And speaking of listings, looks like the rooster painting "Walkin' the Talk" is going to sell as it has a bid. Several people are watching the other auctions as well - I hope this means Ebay is picking up a bit now that the end of summer is around the corner!

Well, off to see if I can fix this surreal piece before beginning the actual painting. Then I'll have me a bit of chocolate mint chip ice cream cake......:)

Jai