Love Thy Neighbor

My new series of small giclee prints will be published this week. Most of my recent work has been on paper, and I completed many that I was happy with. Choosing which to print was hard. In the end, I chose mostly painting that I did several months ago.
The newer paintings, like this one incorporate lettering and very thick textured layers of gouache.

אלטע היים
The Old Country
Oil on canvas
71 x 111 cm, 28" x 44"
George Washington Bridge, NY-NJ.
My signature circa 1961, is copied from the inner cover of "The Man Who Didn't Was His Dishes", by Phyllis Krsilovsky

Greeting Card Designs











My greeting cards are now distributed by Palphot Ltd. Last week, I completed a collection of 20 new cards, which will be printed within the next few days. I added this preview of a few styles. (Sorry, the blog program wouldn't let me add more to this post.)

I have been experimenting in abstraction, monochromatic palettes, large areas of color, and in general, breaking old painting habits. Alas, these canvases are hard to photograph in a way that looks half decent on a computer screen. Even when seen "live", subtle changes in lighting, can tun them dynamic, deep, flat, or just into a mass of shiny reflection. Sorry for not posting them, until I figure out what to do with the photography.

Yet, this work in oil paints has had a wonderful influence on my gouache illustration work:

Unlike aquarelle, gouache can be used in layers, taking advantage of the thick textured brush strokes and papers. When working with little water, the brush bristles only catch on the bumps and ridges, leaving the undercolor revealed in the little "valleys", as may be seen in the Bar and Bat Mitzva cards.

My use color had progressed as well. After a hiatus of several years, I had rediscovered the sophisiticated and quite beauty of muddy colors. When placed next to a bit of purer shades, they never cease to complement each other. And these neutrals are tricky chameleons: The same batch of color can look green when painted next to gray violet, an then rich purple when painted by lime green. We may not notice it happening, but the visual cortex in our brains tries to make sense out of it all. Quite engaging!

I have painted many canvases, and designed dozens of greeting cards recently. But I have also been delinquent about posting any images here. I beg your pardons.
The intensive card work in gouache has given me opportunities to experiment with less conventional color palettes.

Mud colored gouache, 15.5 x 23 cm

Archeology of My Current Painting:

Undercoat - all complementary colors. I was happy with my choices.

Strong! Good depth and vibrancy. The "empty area" in the center works well.
I like the open contours of areas of color

Too busy! The universal use of dabbled paint and pattern flattened the painting.

Looking for contrast between "noisy" and quite areas.

Present coat of paint.

I'm not sure if it is done yet. I liked the freshness and excitement of it's second coat of paint, and the quite sophisticated colors of the present coat. Sometimes I wish that I could go back and make a clone of the painting as it was, so I could have both!
חג שמח

Layer 100
It's almost done. I guess. Please compare to earlier stages of this painting in earlier posts, Layers 4 and 8.