Night Train

"Night Train" - Acrylic on Canvas - 18" x 24" - 2014

  

I've received a fair amount of feedback regarding this painting, so, I thought I'd post it here and share a little commentary about it. This piece was essentially the result of experimenting with new techniques. Initially, it was intended to be a loose image of an oncoming train at night, but it evolved as I painted it. The entire painting was executed without brushes, only palette knives were used - and perhaps some fingers here and there, but that's not unusual for me. (You can probably find my fingerprints in every one of my paintings.) 

The first happy accident that occurred was the - obvious, I think - skull-like facade of the locomotive. When I first noticed it, it was faint, so I embellished it while staying relatively true to the shadows which naturally might've occurred on the locomotive. I didn't want to overdo it, though I think I may have, in hindsight. Anyway, this visage made the piece all the more unsettling, so, I continued on that vein. I made sure the tracks were off-center, and gave them a slight tilt to boot, in order to counteract their otherwise stabilizing static lines. Additionally, I wanted the train to come from the right to the left, a psychological tension-creating visual trick (common, and more effectiv, in visual narratives like comics) due to Western cultures' natural left-to-right tendencies. You may also notice some other vague images in the piece as well. Some are intentional, most are not.  I added some more bright white to the upper left of the composition and emphasized the light on the train, then balanced it a bit with some dark in the lower right.... Yeah, I'm gonna' stop here, otherwise I'll start getting into a formal analysis of the composition and that's probably dull for most. Y'all can do that yourselves....

What I particularly enjoy about this style is its dreamlike quality. I've noticed that even the images that I think I've "spelled out" for the viewers have been interpreted and seen differently. For example, one friend noticed the train and and was later surprised by the skull, while another saw the skull and overlooked the train. Others see completely different images in the piece first, then come around to the primary ones. Many see things that I never intended to be there. The Rorschach test quality of these paintings is great. It's enjoyable witnessing people getting lost in - or perhaps finding themselves in - the compositions created with this technique.

I'm still pushing ahead with this style, and we'll see where it takes me. The next painting I did, "Scarecrow," is more deliberate, but I'm very fond of it. I'll post it here in a bit, but you can see it now on my Facebook page.  

Thanks for reading!

I have a blog? Oh! Hey! I have a blog!

Man, I've neglected this thing for a while, huh? So much for regular posts, or semi-regular posts, or... well, you get it. Now that the wedding's over - and it was a f*cking blast-and-a-half, thanks for asking - perhaps I can get get back to my life. Wedding planning is a full-time job, let me tell ya', but damn was ours worth it, and I think it paid-off in spades. Good times....

For this post I'll cheat a bit and upload the sketches that Rachelle and I gave away as wedding favors, and, particularly for those of you that asked, tip you off as to the specific sites. (Click on the images to enlarge them)

First:

This is a view down the sidewalk of Chartres at the corner of Esplanade. Rachelle and I got caught in the rain and took shelter under the awning.

Next:

This is a row of tombs from Cemetery No. 1, if memory serves....

This is the Napoleon House at the corner of Chartres and St. Louis. It's one of our favorite eateries in the Quarter with a multifarious and reasonably priced menu.

This is the north side of Jackson Square looking down St. Peter from Decatur (the Mississippi River would be behind you).

The Faulkner House is in the foreground. Just past the immediate buildings on the right is Pirate's Alley and to your left - out of frame - would be the rear of St. Louis Cathedral.

A tight, forced perspective view of Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop at Bourbon and St. Phillip. This is probably our favorite bar in the Quarter. The street signs have been absent for a while, but I referenced an old photo to insert them into the drawing.

So, there you go! The top 4 sketches were rendered "straight-up" with a Sakura Pigma Micron (.03 mm) pen, that is, I didn't plan them in pencil first or anything, I just used the pen. The bottom 2 were done entirely in pencil: 2B, and a 6B for the darker areas. I also used a kneaded eraser to tighten them a bit, increase contrast in areas, and add highlights.

I was rather pleased with these sketches, and I truly hope that all of our guests were, as well. Methinks I will crank out some more, and I will be sure to post the ones I like - and maybe one or two that I don't.... I am also going to get back to painting. I have a big unfinished painting on an easel that's really irritating me, as it's been there - and untouched - for faaaaaaaar too long.

Bye, for now!

- Ian