"Sailor's Delight" Featured Painting of the Week

Welcome to JerryLStudio and my first blog. Ever.

I’ve worked with computers since 1970 and it still took a lot to convince me to take this leap into cyber-space with my art.

I'm an artist, I still don’t do binary code.

Yet, I came to realize that this world of tweets and blogs may be a place where my art can flourish.

People from around the world can view and hopefully (my fingers are crossed at this point) appreciate my work.

Here I hope to expand on my work, giving you a glimpse into my inspiration, my process and ultimately my feelings regarding the final piece.

So without further sound bites, here is my first Featured Painting of the Week :

"Sailor's Delight"
(2010.01.20, Acrylic paint and newspaper on canvas, 30” X 40”)

Many of my color field paintings are a reflection of my mood at the time I paint it. This canvas is a good example of that. In my current series, of which this canvas is a part, I began with a field of woven newspaper fixed to a blank canvas. This is/was my starting point.

January was a gloomy month with days of rain and little sunshine. The day was dark and brooding; that was my mood when I approached this canvas. There was no color in the newsprint weaving to suggest a paint palette. As I began, the canvas became dark blue with multiple layers of increasingly dark paint with lighter blues underneath the dark.

As the day lightened and the forecast brightened, so did my canvas. I added white and yellow to the brooding blues. I wanted transitions from blue to red. As I painted, I was aware of the storm front passing through and looked forward to clear skies and warmer days. My mood lightened as did my canvas.

I pause often to look at my developing painting and let it “lead” me toward its conclusion. An old rhyme from years ago was running through my head. “Red skies in morning, sailors take warnings. Red skies at night, sailors delight.” I rotated the canvas seeing which way was up. Ah! Sailor’s Delight!

If you are interested in purchasing this piece, reviewing my other work or wish to discuss a commissioned piece, leave a comment below or email: jerryl@jerrylhanson.com

Thank you for listening to my rambles and see you next week.