New Painting: Clobbered by Picasso
“Clobbered by Picasso”
Oil on canvas
12″ x 12″
© 2011 Marilyn Fenn
After copying a Picasso last week, I started seeing so many things differently! Palette, shapes, composition…my copy of his painting in among my own paintings made my work pale in comparison. 
OK, well, no surprise there.
I tried to return to what I had been doing before the Picasso copy, and started using colors from his palette to attack this work that was already in progress. Picasso kept interfering as I struggled with thoughts of the strength of his work.
A few days and many changes later, I finally got back into the rhythm of my own vision, and ended up here. FWIW.
New Painting: Quest for Magic
“Quest for Magic”
Oil on canvas
12″ x 12″
2011 Marilyn Fenn
The greatest work of an artist is the history of a painting.
- Alberti
The title of this painting could embody a state of grace that many people seek throughout their lives. It could symbolize the wishes that most artists aspire to obtain through their creations. Or it could represent my recent series of abstract paintings. In this case, it represents another painting in the series through which I am beginning to achieve a long sought after enchantment with my process and pleasure in the final result.
Every painting, and perhaps especially abstract paintings, start out as a journey with the destination unknown. The thrill of exploration is a great part of the goal. What can I make my colors and brushstrokes do? How do I push the paint around in interesting ways? How can I make an intriguing composition out of nothing but colored oil paint and a few shapes?
These first few works in the series are small and slow, and I’m still finding my footing, but I’m really looking forward to more and larger and more confident works. I’m thrilled to have reached this part of my journey, and excited about the rest of the trip. I hope it is a long one!
New Painting: Escaping the Eddy
“Escaping the Eddy”
Oil on canvas
12″ x 12″
© 2011 Marilyn Fenn
I started this painting as a new work a couple months ago, but didn’t bring it to completion at that time. I was using a palette knife to apply oil paint mixed with cold wax medium. I picked it up again last weekend, leaving some of the original palette knife work in the center of this painting, and reworked the rest of it.
New Painting: “You Earthlings Have Made Me Very Angry”
You Earthlings Have Made Me Very Angry
Oil on canvas
8×8 inches
copyright 2011 Marilyn Fenn
I love Marvin the Martian. He’s probably my favorite cartoon character of all time (though Bugs Bunny is a very close contender, and some new 3D characters, such as Rango, are quite fabulous as well). However, Marvin’s been with me since I was a kid. I’ve drawn him, made a 3D model of him, made a tiny and very short animated 3D film of him with a spaceship of his (that I also designed and modeled), I’ve dressed as Marvin for Halloween, and now I’ve finally painted him.
I was hoping that if I painted a slightly larger object than the little 1.25″ – 1.5″ characters I painted before our vacation, it would help me loosen up some. Maybe it did, a little; maybe not as much as I’d like. I think I need to paint soft things next. But I am very happy with how Marvin came out. He does look almost exactly like the little plastic toy I used as a model.
Marvin is painted on a 1.25″ deep gallery-wrapped canvas, and this time, I’ve painted the sides the same blue as the negative space (or background).
Another New Organics Painting: Organic Sketch 26
Organics Sketch 26
Watercolor pencils on Stonehenge paper
8″ x 8″
© 2011 Marilyn Fenn
This time, I interwove the layers. I love how it turned out!
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