Copyright: All artwork/content protected under ©2007-2011 Lynne Ciacco

All content herein copyright © Lynne Ciacco


Saturday, September 5, 2009

What's in a Painting?

This is how it begins, a stitched fabric composition is glued onto a canvas.



A colour from the fabric is chosen to set the tone, but really just to begin covering up the stark white background as quickly as possible with paint...





Things progress quickly, with much applying and wiping off of paint à la The Karate Kid": "Wax on, wax off." Don't forget to breathe!





And eventually, the piece feels finished. Did you notice how the turquoise door was transformed from its original green? This is the same photo image that was used in the Red Door painting below.


24 comments:

  1. I didn't now that its works on that way :)
    Its beautiful in the beginning but when its finished its AMAZING !!!
    You are a great artist :)

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  2. Thank you, Anya! "Amazing" is a wonderful adjective to have applied to one's work. I don't know if this technique would work like this for anyone else, but it seems to be working for me.

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  3. It's amazing, Lynne, what you can do with one photo image! It becomes so three-dimensional it seems like you have the whole village! I love how the teals/greens/turquoise blend together. I actually also like the denuded piece--a stark, modernistic feel to it, not at all what you were going for, but kind of surreal.

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  4. Hi Margaret, I like your comment that it seems like I have the whole village in my painting. I guess that sums up what I'm after in this series...being more about context than subject (if that makes any sense!)

    And it's interesting how "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" in that you like the starkness of where the painting began. The fabric pieces actually started out as compositions in their own right, without photos, but I didn't know what to do with them as such so pushed the envelope. I toy with fabric art but consider myself more of a painter. Mixed media provides a vast field in which to play!

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  5. Oh, Lynne, I love seeing your process... I'm breathing, I'm breathing, already! I feel a glowing from by heart with this post... maybe the excitement of fall creations! I also love how you transform the door in various art pieces. I love doorways -- I used to do pen and inks of the front doors of homes, especially in our historic districts.
    Great work, and I can feel the texture from here!
    David

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  6. Hi David, Thanks for the enthusiastic encouragement. Cool that you love doorways...aren't they wonderfully symbolic? And textured and mysterious and whole statements in and of themselves. I do have quite a few photos of doors from Calabria...maybe they'll be my next series? Meanwhile, about 5 more canvasses to go in this one that already have the fabric comps glued on.

    I discovered texture long long after my art school days and am making up for lost time!

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  7. Girl you did it again!This is your best work ever!
    Great composition and the colors are just amazing.I feel like if I walked through that door I'd be walking into a dream.
    ♪If I had a million dollars
    I'd buy me this painting♪♪♪

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  8. It's great to see your process and watch how you transform all the pieces and integrate them into a unified whole. Love the atmosphere in this piece!

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  9. That really is so clever, I wouldn't even know to think of anything like that. Amazing process indeed! Cheers.

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  10. What was that song... Baby I'm Amazed ! ? !

    Definitely amazing, and incredibly fascinating, and many other superlatives... this is really great Lynne, a pleasure to see it unfolding and transforming... maybe one day I'll win the lottery and be able to have a few of these in my living room...
    :-D

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  11. Bonjour Jacqueline, You'll have to drive out and see the real deals: You know how art is always more exciting up close and personal! I'm enjoying myself with this series and learning as I go. Givng my self a "master class" as it were. (I enjoyed your singing comment)

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  12. Hi Robin, I'm so happy you came by and liked what you saw! I like that you used the word "atmosphere" in connection with this work. I'm pretty surprised myself with how the parts are transformed into a whole, as it's all a process of discovery.

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  13. Hi Saj, Am I not just the cleverest thing ever? Hahaha! Hopefully, it's not just a fluke and the rest of the series will turn out well.

    I'm glad to see you found a clean glass to sip from during tonight's studio tour.

    Salut!

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  14. Bonjour M. Owen,
    Lovely to see you here. I'm sensing from your own blog that you're pretty much knackered of late so it's great you're able to squeeze in a little visit to my humble studio. As for the paintings, so far so good! The next one up is rather of a darker mood, so be sure to come back for a look later this week.

    Did you call me Baby? I'm sure it was inadvertent. And more of a commitment to liking my work than saying "Maybe I'm Amazed" so I do appreciate that vote of confidence. Honey.

    hahaha. Just joshin'. Saj and I were giggling in the corner just now. You know how girls are when they get together around a boy they like.

    Drink up now, Owen, it's getting on time to close.

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  15. actually, that's not a glass i'm swillin' from...it's someone's shoe! How dedicated is that eh? And I don't even feel a heel for doing so, bless my soul!

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  16. OMG, Saj--I think you've been hanging out at Owen's blog too long and Punningitis has got a serious toe-hold on you!

    My WV is "castrit". Isn't that what you had done to Ernie?

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  17. Poor Ernie, had him back at the vet this morning actually as his swollen paw isn't healing as fast as I would expect. However, we're going with more antibiotics and will see what goes on. he was very patient. :-)

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  18. I enjoy seeing the process and I, too, like the original as a composition, and the 2nd, and the last. Each could stand alone as a finished work.
    I want to try adding fabric to my collages and being lazy may just skip the sewing stage and just lay them down.
    I find it fascinating the way you used, placed, and altered the photo in both posts.

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  19. Anonymous9/10/2009

    you go girl

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  20. Hi Saj,
    Poor Ernie. He does have a patient, tolerant air about him in the photo you posted on your blog. I hope the new batch of antibiotics will do the trick. Maybe you should have arranged a tail tuck, lift or crop for him while you were at it.

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  21. Hi Karen,
    That's interesting that you find each stage of my painting could stand alone as a finished piece. It's sometimes tricky to know when to leave it alone but there comes a time when it just feels "done." (or keeps getting worse instead of better!) I find when I look at another artist's work in progress I often wonder why they didn't stop at a certain point that I found just wonderful. But then, I guess, that wouldn't be their expression.

    I heartily encourage you to stick down some fabric in your collages!! I probably wouldn't bother sewing them together in the future, myself. But these fabric compositions started out as a means to use up some of my fabric stash and I didn't originally intend to use them in paintings. I use Golden acrylic matte medium for gluing purposes and it works great.

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  22. Hey Anonymous,
    I'm going as fast as I can! Have actually finished two more canvasses since posting this one. Stay tuned...

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  23. Hey Lynne!
    The world is waiting for #3 so go faster please. We're all holding our breath here in blogland. Hahaha!

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  24. Your wish is my command! (when it happens to be convenient for me, that is!)

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