Tag Archives: painting a series

Exodus

Posted on August 18, 2019 | 3 comments

Exodus, Intimate Spaces – Beach Series, acrylic on linen, 50 x 34, Kit Miracle

When I first planned this series of paintings back in January, it was in order to drill down and challenge myself to sticking with a theme. In this case, Intimate Spaces – Beach Series, was meant to depict how people seem to stake out their territories at the beach, and then to presume that they are invisible to the outside world. They aren’t, of course. The Artist’s eye is one of observation, especially of the human animal, and how we go about our lives in public spaces.

There are sixteen paintings planned in this series. I planned each one back in January, including doing preliminary drawings, NOTAN studies, and approximate sizes. Some are fun or humorous, some relay my quirky sense of humor in observation, but some are more serious.

I am painting each work in the order that I’ve planned them. However, as I drew closer to working on the painting Exodus, it seemed as if my thoughts turned to more serious matters. That is due in part to the turmoil that our country has faced in recent months regarding the influx of people seeking sanctuary here. This led me to reflect upon the Bible and the story of the flight of the Israelites from Egypt. (Exodus is the second book of the Bible.) Even up to the past few centuries when our country was populated by people seeking a better life than where they were from. My mother immigrated to the United States when she was only nineteen. I can’t begin to imagine the courage it took to leave everything and everyone she had ever known for the promise of a better life. It still gives me pause to think about.

Exodus – Intimate Spaces, Beach Series, detail 1, Kit Miracle

So while this painting actually depicts a family leaving the beach at the end of a long day of sun and surf, with the young boy looking back wistfully at the ocean, it seems to hold so much more meaning.

Exodus – Intimate Spaces, Beach Series, detail 2, Kit Miracle

The actual painting is 50 x 34, the largest of the series. No faces are revealed except that of the young boy. And the family seems to be marching off into the sunset.

The sky ended up with multiple layers and the beach sand is heavily textured. However, the figures are meticulously painted in a manner reminiscent of Renaissance religious paintings. Even the children have slight halos. I haven’t totally examined all my reasons for choosing such a method of painting but I’m sure it will dawn on me later.

To actually view the step-by-step painting of this piece, click on this link or go to the tab marked Artwork and scroll down to Exodus.

Thanks for stopping by. Your comments are always welcome.

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Posted in art, contemporary impressionism

Tagged acrylic, art, Bible, contemporary impressionist, kit miracle, painting a series

More series, Intimate Spaces – Beach Series

Posted on May 26, 2019 | Comments Off

Go! Number 11 in the Intimate Spaces – Beach Series. Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 16. Kit Miracle

I completed the twelfth painting in my Intimate Spaces series this week. My thoughts behind painting this series of beach paintings is that when people go to the beach, they carve out their little spaces, arrange their belongings, and then seem to act as if they are invisible within their own little territories. They’re not.

Maybe I’m just a voyeur, or just have an artist’s eye for observing, but I have always been drawn to people-watching. The beach, of course, is a great place to be an observer of the human animal, but there are many other places to do that, too. More thoughts for future series.

Many artists have created series of paintings around themes in the past century and a half. Most notably are Monet and his haystack paintings or Van Gogh and his sunflowers. Some artists work the same theme for their entire lives like still life painter Gorgio Morandi who essentially painted the same objects over and over.

And what is the point of painting the same thing over and over? you might ask. For some artists, like Monet, it’s to study the object or scene in different lighting conditions. For instance, he would often have several canvases at different points of completion, and then work on them when the same lighting and conditions presented themselves. Most notably, his Rouen Cathedral series, but he was known for this throughout his life.

For me, it is the challenge to drill down into the subject. I like to paint the human figure in situ, or it’s natural, unposed state. How do people interact when they think no one is watching them? With each other, or with their surroundings?

My series of beach paintings, I have sixteen planned in all, does exactly that. Children, families, individuals, seagulls, the landscape – all of the interactions within a limited scope of place. If it were a different beach or place, there would be different subjects and activities.

But I am surely getting tired of painting sand and sea and sky. Not doing the beach for the next series, for sure but I already have ideas rolling around. First, however, will be a little plein air painting for a change of pace.

Comments Off on More series, Intimate Spaces – Beach Series

Posted in art, contemporary impressionism

Tagged acrylic, art, beach, contemporary impressionist, kit miracle, Monet, Morandi, painting a series, series painting, van gogh

A Day at the Beach – Painting a Series

Posted on April 10, 2019 | Comments Off

A Day at the Beach, final. 24 x 36, acrylic on canvas, Kit Miracle

As a working artist for over three decades, I find keeping interested in painting involves challenging myself. Sometimes this means new subject matter or new materials. Even a new location helps. The challenges keep me inspired and allow the mental juices to flow.

My latest challenge is painting a series of paintings revolving around a day at the beach. I love slice of life subjects, catching people going about their lives without thought of an audience. One thing I’ve noticed is that when people are at the beach, they stake out their territories, bringing the chairs and the umbrellas, the coolers and the toys. Beach goers seem to operate under the illusion that no one can see them in their little sand kingdoms.

But the artist’s eye can.

The planned series includes vignettes of life at the beach. Families, couples, kids playing, people just enjoying the sunshine…or totally ignoring their surroundings with their noses in books or napping. My inspiration for these seaside paintings are John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, and Burt Silverman. It took a lot of effort to make their seaside paintings seem so, well, effortless. Unstaged even though they often were. And that is the aim of this current series that I’m working on.

The painting above depicts the settling in and establishing of territory by a family. Mom gets the lounge chairs ready while son is waiting patiently for her attention. The composition with overlapping umbrellas and tents is like a little city, each with its own slice of life.

The beach walkers and people playing in the surf add distance and perspective to the scene. I also chose to flatten the color of the sky (no clouds) and the foreground. This allows the emphasis to be placed on the middle plane where all the action is.

A Day at the Beach is number six in the series. I have sixteen planned but we’ll see. A series is an exploration of an idea and I’ll keep at it until I don’t have anything else to say about the subject.

If you’d like to see how this painting was created, click on this link or go under the tab Artworks and click on A Day at the Beach for step-by-step photos.

Thanks for stopping by.