Painting

NARRATIVE PAINTINGS, FIGURE AND STILL LIFE STUDIES

Since August 2017 I've started migrating personal work and painting to my Instagram account, but will keep older work here.

 

PASSAGES

The first series below are from my 2011 MFA Thesis Show. At 30 inches by 40 inches, these are large canvases for me. Working at this size presents challenges in design and execution that are very different from working with 3 inch by 5 inch storyboard panels.The size forced me to simplify composition. I  desaturated the color palette to give the color a narrative role through evoking a sense of history.

Compositionally, the paintings are about constructing volumetric space within each image, and creating relationships between the sequential images.The narrative follows my grandparents' journey from El Salvador to the United States.

The Big Step, acrylic on canvas, 40 inches by 30 inches.

 

 Flooded, Istmo de Tehuantepec, acrylic on canvas, 40 inches by 30 inches.

Washed Ashore, Salina Cruz, oil on canvas, 30 inches by 40 inches  

 

Executive Order 9346, acrylic on canvas, 40 inches by 30 inches.

Stray Dogs, oil on canvas, 30 inches by 40 inches.

After School, oil on canvas, 30 inches by 40 inches.  

Last Walk, acrylic on canvas, 40 inches by 30 inches.

Preparatory Studies

Golden Hour. Gold light on black surface.

Travel Town, Griffith park.

Travel Town, Griffith Park.

Palette study -  Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna and White.

ART PROCESS - Ongoing study of color value and form. After stripping color out of my work, I'm trying to learn how to push the color composition while keeping a strong sense of form.

Same tools as above but with a more saturated palette of Ultramarine Blue, Quinacridone Red, Hansa Yellow and White

FIGURE AND HEAD PAINTING

Monotone 4 value head study

Pushing color in Head Studies with Orange, Green lighting gels.  Orange 50 mins, green 35 minutes.

These are three separate quick color sketches of the same Pose. The model sat for three hours.  Each hour the lighting conditions were changed by placing a Viridian, Magenta or Yellow Gel over the main light source.

STILL LIFE COLOR STUDIES

Orange Set Up with contrasting Cool Blues/Greens

Violet Set Up with constrasting Oranges (and some Greens)

Below, making friends with the color red.

Warm yellow light source on red/orange still life.

Cool blue light source on red /orange still life.

All images copyright Danelle Davenport.