C. k. Agathocleous • Painter

Race

2012-01-29T13:50:00.000-08:00

6"x12" gouache on canvas panel

We were able to get some tickets last minute to see the Rembrandt exhibit at the DIA next Saturday. We're going with a group from church and will be hitting Greek Town for dinner afterwards. *big smiles*

Golgotha

2012-01-28T13:15:00.000-08:00

10"x10" gouache on linen panel

Land of the Midnight Sun...

Battle

2012-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

8"x8" gouache on linen panel

I love it when the colors make interesting value patterns.

This piece has childhood colors (pastels) because I see a wooden horse and knights at a play battle.

Cone or dish?

2012-01-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

12"x12" gouache on canvas

For me, color is inseparable from emotion. Even when I try very hard to pay attention to value only, the colors I choose still reflect my emotions.

This piece has a fun, retro feel to it. I've noticed myself being very interested in the colors from my childhood recently. Watch out for that kitchen lime green! ;)

Pinwheel

2012-01-24T15:03:00.000-08:00

8"x8" | gouache on linen panel

The older I get, the more I paint -
the more personal my images become.

It is a very delicious kind of freedom.

Beetle

2012-01-20T11:24:00.000-08:00

6"x6" | gouache on canvas panel

Clean up with oil paint takes me about 30 minutes after a session - with the gouache 5 minutes! And no paint stubbornly taking residence under my fingernails. Lots of times I would wait overnight to layer or scumble colors on oils - with gouache, no wait! Yet if I want to remix the color on the canvas panel I can just wet it. The colors are also what I was shooting for in oil - matte and kind of grayed or dusty. I am happily going to pursue gouache for a while and see what happens!

Recreational Sailing

2012-01-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

6"x8" | gouache on canvas panel

Gouache can be used like oil paint in thick strokes but the texture, feel and coverage is different than oil. It lifts from the canvas in a different way than oil does. You can make watercolor washes with gouache. Gouache dries faster than acrylic.

I used gouache on stretched canvases for about a year when I was studying the figure. I used it like an oil. Now I am interested in exploring the different textures and layering that gouache offers, as well as its matte, opaque fields of color.

Spinners

2012-01-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

I'm thinking about trying a new medium for these maybe gouache? I like a matte, opaque look. Suggestions?

Fish with Eggs

2012-01-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

I felt like I had taken a trip and painted at a new location when I used my newly tidy-d up studio today.

Circle Play

2012-01-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

This small painting was done with a limited palette of umber, gray and white. I'm planning on exploring the severely limited palette further. I'm interested in looking closer at value relationships and patterns and this seems to be a good method.

After my year on abstracts, I have found that the meaning and pleasure of the geometric abstract is very similar to music (without the spoken word). It really is about pure movement, pleasure in shape and color and most importantly perhaps - process.

Pine

2012-01-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

6"x12" | oil on canvas panel

If I am not surprised while I'm painting, I feel bored and stuck.

If I am surprised while painting, I feel anxious until the very end.

I have to remind myself that in painting, as in life, you can only control your own actions.

If we make the best choices we can along the way, that's all we can can ask of ourselves. And at least surprises are never dull!

Wedged

2011-12-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

8"x10" | oil on canvas panel

You can wedge yourself so tightly into a situation that if one element fails, it all comes tumbling down... better to have points of support located in several places, so that if one element passes you can build again on another base.

Martini and Olives

2011-12-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

I got the square bodied pen by Moleskine. I really like it! It's a roller ball pen. I bought black, blue and purple inks. There is something about a black line that is so appealing... and the pen makes a little squeaky noise while I sketch.

Twilight Tee Off

2011-12-27T12:49:00.000-08:00

6"x12" | oil on canvas

I had a chance to paint today. I'm experimenting with texture and transparency to create more visual interest and a less uniform surface.

We are getting a couple of inches of snow here in Michigan, which makes it feel more like Christmas!

Snow and Ice

2011-12-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

10"x14" | oil on canvas panel

Merry Christmas!

The Thinking Life

2011-12-19T10:19:00.000-08:00

8"x10" | oil on canvas panel

Here's a higher contrast piece than I've been doing lately. It has as its basis the same sketch I used for 'dolphins at play'. The colors are still greyed but there is a wider range of values used and more value steps in between.

Dolphins at Play

2011-12-16T08:44:00.001-08:00

4"x6" | oil on canvas panel

The most basic units of all types of known matter are the same.

Orange Slices with Seeds

2011-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

6"x6" | oil on canvas panel

I'm currently really interested in how dividing the space of the picture plane causes certain perspective effects and how shapes and colors can tell a story.

This is a happy picture with dancing orange slices and floating seeds. Triangles reminiscent of trees; greens receding creating a park like atmosphere. Think picnic fun.

Dock

2011-12-11T08:50:00.001-08:00

6"x8" | oil on canvas panel

We have many languages to communicate our experiences to each other (and to ourselves): writing, visual art, music, dance...

My current passion for simple geometric forms and neutral colors reflects my need for simplicity and peace.

Falling

2011-12-10T11:16:00.001-08:00

8"x10" | oil on canvas panel

Fall.
Falling.

A controlled fall.

Like floating.
Floating down like snow.

Moonlight Butterfly

2011-12-08T12:47:00.001-08:00

8"x10" | oil on linen panel

I was born in the mid 60s and grew up in the 70s. These retro color schemes remind me of home.

Park View

2011-12-06T16:49:00.001-08:00

6"x12" | oil on canvas panel

I like controlled surprises.

Hangers

2011-12-06T09:58:00.001-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

Muted colors seem more serious and peaceful than their super-saturated counterparts.

Criss Cross

2011-12-04T16:25:00.001-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

Looking into the horizon,
time passes.

The sun rises and sets.

Sky and earth unite.

Lightning Strike

2011-12-03T09:13:00.001-08:00

8"x8" | oil on linen panel

The values of colors can differ slightly based on lightness and luminosity. It becomes a very subtle thing. The desaturated versions of the same painting can look quite different depending on which you choose as your basis for grayscale: lightness, luminosity or an average of the two. I want to paint a piece that looks the same, no matter the basis. Some kind of absolute value scheme...