Provincetown Painting...

So the weather has been good and I have a ton of things to take care of and plenty of distractions to keep me from getting to all of those things. I’m afraid that all of this good weather may keep me from posting as frequently as I did all winter. I’m still going to aim for at least one post a week.

In the meantime, I’ll just mention two new sources of inspiration for me. One is a book that was suggested by a friend, “What Painting Is” by James Elkins. I am still in the beginning of this book, but so far it is great. The other is a movie that I was just told about, “Painters Painting.” It’s a documentary about the abstract expressionists and some of the artists that came after them,  and it has alot of interesting interviews with them. This movie is chock full of goodies. It may be hard to find, but is REALLLY interesting. And I love watching these heores of mine move around and talk about their work. It’s so fun to get a sense of what their personalities are like, since some of them are painters I have looked up to for a while. I’ll try to get some quotes from the book, and thoughts on the movie into a future post. Until then, I’ll be painting, framing, stretching, gessoing, gardening, reading…

8 Responses to “Provincetown Painting”

1. barbara says:

   May 1, 2009 at 7:45 am

   We always love to hear about the different sites that you like, from the teeny houses to the books, movies, etc. Thanks for the suggestions! You are a huge inspiration!
2. Maryanne says:

   May 1, 2009 at 4:11 pm

   Lovely painting, not sure if it is new, but your light and color are very very nice.

   Thanks for the reading recommendations. I did go out and get “The elegance of the hedgehog,” and so enjoyed the essays from the points of view of the 2 women.

   I agree, James Elkins book is great throughout, discussions of how a painting is viewed, an image is “remembered”.

   “Painters painting” is lots of fun to watch, (those guys smoke a lot of cigarettes). I found a vhs copy at the county library.
3. admin says:

   May 2, 2009 at 10:56 am

   Hi Barbara and Maryanne,

   Thanks so much for letting me know that you enjoy these recommendations. I like having a place to share these resources that excite me and I’m glad to know that someone out there is enjoying them.

   Colin
4. Frank Gardner says:

   May 3, 2009 at 2:02 pm

   Nice painting Colin. I like they way you massed all of the stuff in the background. One of the best tower inclusions that I have seen in PTown paintings.
   Great colors.
5. Marc Hanson says:

   May 5, 2009 at 11:18 pm

   Hey Colin… I love your broad approach to all subjects. And your color. Are you getting ready for Door County? Should be almost like home to you, minus the smell of the salt air. Kind of weird really, but those are the great lakes. I look forward to meeting and painting with you there.
   Marc
6. admin says:

   May 6, 2009 at 6:52 am

   Hey Frank. Glad you noticed the tower. I wanted to try to put it in without going crazy about it. I wanted it to just be a quiet part of the background.

   Hi Marc. Thanks for the encouragement. I enjoyed watching your painting marathon on your blog. You did some solid work with that project. I haven’t thought too much about Door County. I need to start thinking about supplies and how I’ll get all of my stuff over there. I’m definitely looking forward to it. And it will be great to meet you. Thanks for checking in.
7. Pam Holnback says:

   May 11, 2009 at 6:59 pm

   Another great piece. I really like the little bit of red/pink in the large boat. It keeps your eye moving back and forth between the boats.
   When I taught, i used to show a movie called “4 artists paint 1 tree”. Disney was the narrator (my students had never seen him in “real” life). The move was made in the early 60′s and the 4 men were from his studio, but all 4 painted this tree so incredibly differently. Your comment reminded me of that movie.
8. Mary Sheehan Winn says:

   May 21, 2009 at 7:32 pm

   I agree with Frank about the tower inclusion especially from such a low angle. Briliant.
   I can’t say enough about the light in these paintings.