Wasted on the Way

I've become increasingly aware in recent years that certain things resonate very differently as you get older. In a good way, I think...

Search YouTube for Crosby Stills and Nash, Wasted on the Way. Good stuff.

--

Look around me
I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way
It used to be
I am older now
I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started
Long before I did

And there's so much time to make up
Everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving
Underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away

Oh when you were young
Did you question all the answers
Did you envy all the dancers
Who had all the nerve
Look round you know
You must go for what you wanted
Look at all my friends who did and got what they deserved

And there's so much time to make up
Everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving
Underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away
And there's so much love to make up
Everywhere you turn
Love we have wasted on the way
So much water moving
Underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away
Let the water come and carry us away

--

Amen

Makes me more glad that I got to see Graham Nash live in a very small venue every time I think about it...

This video, and others like it, make several undeniable points. First, CSN is a group where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Second, Stephen Stills is an underrated treasure. Third, if you try to isolate David Crosby's vocal part anchoring the melodic middle between Nash's top end and Stills' gruff lower end, you can begin to understand why the band was willing to try to accommodate his bulls#$t for so many years.

On that sidetrack, this video of a Byrds reunion in 1990 has more of David Crosby's fantastic backing vocals on Turn Turn Turn. And then a mile-high mess with Bob Dylan, but I digress.......

Anyway, there is wisdom in these lyrics...

GV Football - Game 5 at Strath Haven

Friday night's away game at Strath Haven was being billed as the Central League game of the year, and the game that would likely decide the Central League title.

Downingtown West was going to be our game of the year, the game against the team we couldn't beat. We demolished them.

Last night...more of the same. We got off to a bit of a slow start before getting out to a 21-0 lead. A touchdown on our last possession of the first half coupled with a touchdown on our first possession of the second half put the game away, leading 35-0 just into the 3rd quarter. Our backups rode the lead to a 42-0 score before allowing a garbage touchdown late in the 4th quarter. Final score 42-7 good guys.

Total scoring for the year is now 241-47, or 48-9 per game on average.

Many more playings of "Saints" by the band, bringing the year's total to 37.

State rankings updated following the week's games now have Garnet Valley as the #5 team in the state of Pennsylvania in division 6A, and #9 in PA overall. Grace probably doesn't realize how lucky she is to be the drum major of a marching band that is supporting one of the best football teams in the state, and probably the best team Garnet Valley has ever had...

Anyway, we have yet another "game of the year" coming up this week, at Ridley, who is also 5-0 and 4-0 in the Central League, but on a pretty soft schedule.

I hope the team stays focused, and plays up to their abilities. If they do, we should be fine...

Desert Bluff

This is another little palette cleanser in oils, on a small 8 by 10 canvas panel.

Desert Bluff (oils on canvas panel, 8 by 10)

These quick little paintings are fun, but I need to get back to planning and executing a larger painting. Doing too many of these little panels in a short period of time starts to feel like a cop out (which it admittedly kinda is...).

Hopefully that would be a new post in the near future.

Art versus the Internet

As I fumble through the baby steps of my painting journey, I frequently stumble across the difference between what my heart tells me, and what the internet tells me is "correct".

The picture below is of an original oil painting. It is a 13.5" by 18" oil painting on canvas, by Filipino artist Andres Cristobal Cruz, dated 1968. It is a view across the verdant foliage of the Philippines, past some settlements in the distance, and on to the hills and mountains beyond.

Andres Cristobal Cruz, 1968

In person, it is a wonderfully colorful and vibrant painting, evocative of the scene it is intended to represent, and just all-around mesmerizing.

In the past couple of years, I have watched an awful lot of YouTube videos on art theory and instruction, technique, composition and every other conceivable aspect of painting. It's overwhelming at times, and thus under the conventional wisdom approach to this painting I would note the following:

• Rule of thirds is followed vertically, in general, with the sky being the top third and the land being the bottom two thirds. Rule of thirds on the horizontal plane is not followed at all.
• Composition is flawed, since the bright yellowy-orange patch in the middle of the painting draws the eye to almost the exact center of the canvas.
• Another compositional visual focus is the orangey-red-brown strip along the bottom edge of the painting. This draws the eye to the extreme edge of the painting, which is not what you want. You are always told to draw the eye inward to a specific point, and not outward, and thus potentially off the edge of the canvas.
• Atmospheric perspective would demand that the distance is rendered in lighter/duller washed-out colors. The blues and greens in the distance are just as vibrant as the foreground.
• Color harmony is important. Rich and vibrant viridian blue-greens don't mix easily with dull reddish olive greens, and so on.

So... Is this modest little painting good or not?

The internet art-advice conventional wisdom on learning to paint would probably say "not so much".

I've seen it in person. I know better. It breaks conventional wisdom rules, and it is magnificent.

But I'm biased, so what do I know...

All that being said, it reinforces the point that it is important to remember to stay true to what you want to paint, enjoy the process, and leave it to others to tell you whether what you have painted is good or bad. And then perhaps more importantly, pay absolutely no attention to what they say. As long as painting gives you joy.

A Few New mid September Paintings

Here's a few things I've done in the last week or so.

The first is a small "palette cleanser" using some of the darks and earth tones left on my palette at the end of an evening. Seems I've been painting a lot of pinks and purples recently. And that's fine.

Sunrise in the Hills (6 by 8, oils on canvas panel)

The next is a larger more tropical scene using brighter happier colors.

Tropical Shores (16 by 20, oils on canvas)

The last is a small semi-abstract color study.

Two Trees (8 by 8, oils on canvas panel)

After a year and a half of painting, and copying lots of other artists' styles, I finally feel like I am starting to develop a style of my own. I'm not there yet by any means, but baby steps....

GV Football - Game 4 vs Upper Darby

Garnet Valley football went to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Central League with a 61-12 win over Upper Darby. We have outscored our opponents 199-40.

QB Max Busenkell was 7-7 for 211 yards, 2 TDs and a passing 2 point conversion, all in the first half before being pulled for the second and third string. We've been watching GV football for about a decade now, and I don't ever remember a more consistent and effective passing attack. We generally run. And run. And run. And then run some more. This year we actually throw the ball, and with deadly efficiency.

It also seems like our star running back will be back from injury in the next week or two. He's been out since the second play of week 2.

From the band's perspective, we have now played "When the Saints Go Marching In" a total of 31 times in 4 games (29 TDs and 2 safeties).

Next up is a road game at Strath Haven, also 4-0, which may well be for the Central League title, despite only being week 5 of the season.

Fingers crossed.

Abstract Sunset #1

It's the end of the day and the house is quiet. Grace has had her friends over and they are gone. Julia is done her Penn State football watching, and they won. Amp has watched her US Open women's tennis final. All is right with the world.

Having painted a lot of very small works recently, I wanted to do something larger. So I pulled out an 18 by 24 canvas and painted this. It took perhaps 30 minutes. Probably less.

Abstract Sunset #1 (oils on canvas, 18 by 24)

I think I like it quite a bit.

Squint, and then look closer.

I think I like it even more.

Weekend Painting

Getting home from the GV football win last night required some "cool down" time before going to bed, so I painted a pair of very quick beach studies.

The first is a 6 by 8 canvas panel similar to what we see at the shore in Avalon every year. The shoreline is far too regular, but that can be easily fixed. I'll try to remember to post an "after" picture...

Beach in the Evening (oils on canvas panel, 6 by 8)

The second is a more dramatic 4 by 6 "postcard" of similar theme. I am content with painting similar content multiple times in the hope that I learn something from each effort and get better over time. The wet sand is too dark of a purple color, but in general I like it. I won't ever go back and touch up a 4 by 6.

Beach at Night (oils on canvas panel, 4 by 6)

Today, I started a couple more things, one of which is shown below. It is yet another version of a path through the fields. Again, it's a learning experience. This one was more about painting a foreboding sky that anything else...

The Road Goes Ever On (oils on canvas, 10 by 20)

Eagles season starts tomorrow. The first day of the hopefully-long Jalen Hurts era. We shall see. Go Birds!

GV Football - Game 3 vs Marple Newtown

Our first scheduled home game, but second actual, was against Marple Newtown, who we played (and beat) in last year's abbreviated-season Central League Championship game.

Without our star running back, we were still able to beat the Tigers handily 42-7 in a somewhat dull game. We scored a little over a minute into the game on our first possession, and then allowed penalties and dumb plays to let Marple to take up most of the rest of the first quarter on a very long drive. We scored a couple more times, they scored once, and it was 19-7 at the half (extra points apparently aren't our strength this year...).

In the second half our defense clamped down, our offense was solid but not spectacular, playing mostly backups, and we got the win. I haven't seen the stats posted online yet, but our QB had another ~80 yard TD pass which was the biggest play of the game, and coming early in the second half, pretty much put the game away.

Drum Majors getting some last minute instruction (Grace at right)

This was the first game this year that our band wore their full uniforms and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it gave me a great deal of pride to see Grace in the Drum Majors' dress whites. Proud Papa.

From a football perspective, we are 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Central League, with a combined score of 138-28. From a band parent's perspective, with 6 more TDs and 1 more safety, we have now played "Saints" a total of 22 times in 3 games (20 TDs and 2 safeties). Not bad by either measure...

Shattered Skull Pass

As I've mentioned before, I like to mix in a fantasy painting for our D&D campaign amongst the other stuff that I am working on.

Tonight, I wanted to take one of the cheapo 10 by 20 Michael's brand basic "value" bulk canvases and start a beach scene for practice.

I did this instead.

Berith and Shattered Skull Pass (oils on canvas, 10 by 20)

In our D&D campaign, this is a view westward past the lakeside ruins of Berith toward Shattered Skull Pass and the Orinak Peaks beyond.

I like most of this as a first layer, with the exception of the woods on the near right side of the rocky ridge in the middle distance.

Running Before the Storm

The following is a picture of stage 1 of a new painting. I intended to start on an alpine landscape. I did this instead. Go figure... It's a 12 by 16 canvas panel done in oils.

Running Before the Storm (oils on canvas panel, 12 by 16)

There will be touch ups needed, especially with the lighthouse. But it's a good beginning.

GV Football - Game 2 vs Conestoga

Last night, GV Football played our second game of the season, beginning our Central League schedule. We were supposed to travel to Conestoga, but in the aftermath of the power outages, flooding, and water supply problems that came with the tail end of Hurricane Ida, it was moved to a GV home game due to issues with the Conestoga field and facilities.

The final score was GV 55, Conestoga 14. Our quarterback, Max Busenkell, had an outstanding game, especially given that we run the ball almost exclusively, completing 12 of 13 passes for 165 yards and 3 TDs (by halftime). That makes him 15 for 18 for over 300 yards and 6 TDs in two games...

Part of this air attack may have been caused by our star running back Shane Reynolds leaving the game after just a few plays with a sprained ankle. News after the games was good: low ankle sprain, no fractures, and expected to miss maybe 3 weeks.

From a pure football perspective, we are 2-0 with a combined score of 96-21. From a band parent's perspective, we play "When the Saints Go Marching In" for every GV score (TD, Field Goal or Safety), and after 2 games we have played "Saints" a total of 15 times (14 TDs and 1 Safety).

Go Jags!

Palette Cleanser 9/4/21

I've posted a few others like this... At the end of an abbreviated painting session tonight, I grabbed a 6 by 6 canvas panel and did the "what's left on my palette" thing.

I had Payne's Gray, yellow, orange, and a Charvin color called "Pink Shade" which is a dark purplish brown.

So...literally 5 minutes, and this is the result. [Try sitting back and squinting...it gets better that way]

Last Light (oils on panel, 6 by 6)

Tomorrow I want to start an alpine mountain scene (with composition planning and everything!).

August Paintings

As my often-impaired attention span dictates, I go through stretches of doing one thing, and then move to another, and another, etc... I had done a lot of painting in late spring/early summer, and then didn't lift a brush in the six weeks or so leading up to our week at the shore in early August. For whatever reason, coming back from the beach inspired me to pull out the paints and brushes, and paint. A lot. Here are a few of the things I have done over the course of the last month. (Another post will have to cover the rest)

The first is a 9 by 12 canvas panel with a scene of a path along a stream. Revised from the version posted a while ago. I try this kind of scene often for a couple of reasons. First, I like the subject matter. Second, I don't do water well. Colors are off, too much blue, and not realistic enough. I am OK with just about everything in this work but the stream, which is pretty important in the composition. Keep practicing... [When this dries, I will have another go at touching it up, and I will post the results to see if I got closer to what I wanted]

Path Along a Stream (oils on canvas panel, 9 by 12)

The second is a 9 by 12 stretched canvas with another scene of a path along the shore of a lake, with distant hills in the background. Also revised from the preliminary version posted earlier. This is...better. I think.

Lakeshore (oils on canvas, 9 by 12)

The third is a 9 by 12 canvas panel indulging my penchant for painting scenes that are evocative of our Dungeons and Dragons RPG games. This is a scene of a vibrant red and orange sunset behind Blackthorn Keep.

Blackthorn Keep (oils on canvas panel, 9 by 12)

Lastly, a tiny 6 by 6 canvas panel of the kind that I often do when I get to the end of a painting session and ask myself "what can I do with the excess paint left on my palette?" The answer is generally something like this, a simple impressionistic sketch done in a matter of minutes. As I have noted before, there is something free and spontaneous about these little sketches that I sometimes find lacking in some of my other paintings.

Distant Lakeshore (oils on canvas panel, 6 by 6)

Anyway... Practice, practice, practice. Be accepting of the fact that you will probably get "meh" more often than you get "I like that!" And don't forget to appreciate the moments when you do get that feeling of "that's pretty good!"

It's a process.

Atmospheric Perspective Study, part 1

I'm not the best planner when it comes to my painting. I sat down Thursday evening to do a simple practice sketch of atmospheric perspective and color mixing. Mountains receding into the distance.

Desert Mountains, block in (oils on canvas, 16 by 20)

Then I got to the point where I realized I should actually try to make a painting out of this since I had used a 16" by 20" canvas (albeit a cheap one).

Desert Mtns, adding foreground (oils on canvas, 16 by 20)

So now I am stuck with trying to figure out how to backfill a composition in the bottom half of the canvas when all I had really paid any attention to was a first layer of blocking in on the top half.

Desert Mountains, sunset sky (oils on canvas, 16 by 20)

Not sure where this will end up, but I may be able to salvage something out of this. More to come...