Somewhere along the road I fell back into another painting habit, cloud scapes. Often the most simplistic image speaks to me the most.
I think this is probably the reason I still paint. You have fun making a mess and then there is a flash of magic. You can’t take credit for it because it can not be reproduced. The brush was in your hand so…? It is the mystery of life and everything unknown suddenly feeling fine.
After wrapping up this series of skull paintings, I wanted to shift gears. I decided to paint another lonesome cloud image. This is a “work in progress”, though it is nearly complete. There are six more paintings I hope to create before late March… We shall see how it goes…
These images were taken along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. A beautiful and giant lake in the the northern portion of the Idaho panhandle!
I spent much of the afternoon driving around on the Oregon Coast. I took a lot of reference photos. Here is a collection from the day. Difficult to take a bad phot here!
This is an atmospheric painting I have just been working on. Working with thinly applied paint with very little opacity. I blend and remove paint while it is still wet and try to work out a sense of shadow and volume. It is an exciting and odd method of working that can help create that haunted forsaken feeling that seems to be my endless goal. I struggle not to overwork the image, it is incredibly difficult to find a balance between not enough and overwrought (it turns out too much is never enough! is nonsense 1980’s MTV!). I continue to create a large body of unfinished work. Ultimately I need to step up my game so that I can put together a proper show by late March.
R.I.P. David Bowie
I started this painting January 1st. It is going to be a busy year, best get started!
I am working on more cloud and atmospheric work. This is the latest painting, it is an 18″ x 18″acrylic.
Blue is such a powerful color. I’m continuing my efforts with atmospheric clouds but in a more nocturnal setting. These are two of my most recent works.
Clouds, the mighty transporters of water, are a beautiful presence above. Morphing and shifting they are never the same from moment to moment. Casting darkness as they steal the sun’s light they set the tone, create a mood. There is a meditative quality to clouds, something primitive and soothing. To me painting clouds creates that same hypnotic feeling, I hope the result echoes the creation.
I have been playing around with some atmospheric cloud images. This is a sample of a work in progress.
brian sostrom 