Abalone Cove Shoreline

"Abalone Cove Shoreline" © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

My desire to paint daily is still there, but time isn't always available. However, this has not caused me to put the brakes on my attempt, but rather paint when I can and try to piecemeal a painting in little moments.

Today's entry into the 30 paintings series is "Abalone Cove Shoreline". It is another palette knife painting (except for the tiny lighthouse on the hill). The photograph of reference was provided once again by my friend, Ryon Collins. If, or should I say "when", he gets an online gallery of his photography, I will be sure to share it with everyone.

Ryon's photograph of the shoreline of Abalone Cove was perfect for one of my small canvas daily paintings. The shot was taken from a really great place. In the foreground was high grasses, which helped in creating distance. Dare I forget the lighthouse that sits afar on the hilltop. These two elements made it easier to give the illusion that the crashing waves were as low and distant as they are in the painting. When painting from a photograph, you tend to study the subject a little more. With each glance at the photo, I wanted to see Abalone Cove for myself. Maybe one day.

The Art of J. Travis Duncan

You Make The Call

Barn In The Field © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

I'm trying to paint at least five (5) small paintings a week until I reach a total of 30. Today, I was having some trouble thinking of what to paint. Don't get me wrong, I have some ideas for a few pieces, but I wasn't ready to start on them. So, I did what most people do in a jam; I asked for advice.

I had a few ideas thrown at me, but didn't know where to start them as well. However, when I spoke to my friend, Ryon Collins, he reminded me that, over a month ago, he had sent me a picture to paint. It was one of those "Oh yeah" moments. From there, I grabbed the palette knife, set my son up with some paints of his own and the two of us went to work on our little canvases. From the looks of his painting table, he went a little heavier on the impasto than I did, but I'll keep that photo for my own personal collection.

The Art of J. Travis Duncan

Capturing The Moment

"Today's Catch" © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

There are many mediums we can use to capture a moment: video, photography, audio recording, the written word, sculpture, and painting. I thoroughly enjoy each of these distinctive mediums. When Dumas wrote about Edmond's imprisonment and escape from Château d'If, in what I consider one of the best works of literary fiction, "The Count of Monte Cristo", I could not find any other medium that would trump his words. I own the 2002 film adaptation and, though great in it's own way, it can capture the outer dealings that Edmond is dealing with, but much is missing of the struggle as a whole. By the way, I highly recommend the book and the movie. Read the book first!

My newest piece, "Today's Catch", is an homage to my father-in-law's great catch he made a few months back while fishing Lake Thurmond (Clark's Hill Lake). Moments like these are fun to paint. It was not just another still life that's been set up for artistic purposes, but rather one that I happened into like a young boy in an orchard who's come face to face with a ripe fruit dangling within reach. I had to reach out and pluck it. I apologize that I could only share a visual presentation of the day's bounty. If there were some way, I would have also stimulated the olfactory sense as well, but I digress.

The Art of J. Travis Duncan

Local Flavor

Sacred Heart - Augusta © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

There's a theme in my paintings. My wife has seen the theme. She has even asked that I would move from that theme to something else. I have a hard time doing something other than flowers. It is not because I feel that I am incapable of doing a different subject, but that they are so fun to paint. So, I did what any good husband would do. I said, "Yes, dear!"

What subject would adorn the canvas of my newest painting? Before I could ask myself this question, my wife had some ideas. Specifically, she felt that I should paint a local landmark that is recognizable by anyone who lives around our city of Augusta, Georgia. My first thought was The Augusta National Golf Club, specifically a hole from Amen Corner. Yet, her thought was a little different from my own. She wanted me to paint a former church turned cultural center that is in the middle of downtown Augusta.

The building of reference is Sacred Heart Cultural Center. It is a building I know very well, for I saw the double spires of this former Roman Catholic church almost everyday as a child. Architecturally, it's a very beautiful building. I didn't even have to give a second thought on if this would be my next painting. Still wanting to play with a palette knife versus brushes, I looked forward towards the task of trying to capture those two spires and the doorway to the church.

The Art of J. Travis Duncan

Tempering The Mettle

"Fire and the Sky" © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

Have you ever realized that most painters continue to paint until the end of their lives or are physically unable to do so? They never stop. They never quit trying new techniques. There is a continuous metamorphosis of what they do and how they do it. Daily, they are doing something with art; sketching, painting, photographing, or trying to find new subject matter or reference material.

Painters try new things and sometimes they gravitate towards something that others might not find aesthetically pleasing. Picasso is a fine example. Most people only remember him for his works in cubism and surrealism. A lot of people do not like either style. Yet, many have no idea that he was well versed in realism earlier in his life. You read that right, he could paint realistically. He handled the brush quite well if you want my opinion. However, being an artist, he didn't want to stop there, he sought out a way to express himself on the canvas in different ways. He is not alone. Others before and after him have done, do, or will do the same thing.

In order to find that new means of expression, an artist not only has to take a chance, but has to do it on a rather regular basis. No one becomes great at color theory overnight. Most of us know the complementary colors, but do we truly KNOW the complementary colors? Can we grab any tool of the trade, and even some we've created ourselves, and paint? We can and we will, but it is vital that we work at it as often as possible. That is what I want to do.

I want to try to paint one (1) painting a day for 30 days for the sake of advancement, becoming focused, and better stewardship of not just my artwork, but every aspect of my life. Internally, I believe that with any worthwhile endeavor, more than new knowledge can be gained. Deficiencies can be uncovered and dealt with, fears can be overcome, skills can be strengthened, and the whole being benefits from walking such a singular path. Proverbs 14:23 states, "In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty." I pray I follow through.

The Art of J. Travis Duncan

First Solo Attempt

"First Solo Attempt" © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

This was inspired by a photograph I took of my son trying to swim last summer. I know I'm impartial, but he truly was the cutest little boy, decked out in his swimming trunks, shirt, and matching hat. The yellow of the swimmies (water wings) broke up the blues in the picture. I even had to have the water noodle in the painting as well!

Constraint Versus Restraint

Bed of Red Day Lilies © 2014 J. Travis Duncan

Quick vocabulary lesson. According to Webster's, a constraint is something that limits or restricts someone or something and a restraint is a way of limiting, controlling, or stopping something.

I know my limits. I'm not a gymnast. I'm not a surgeon. I'm not a mason. There are many things I am not. Yet, there are times when we look at what we do or don't do and in that moment, we subconsciously turn a restraint into a constraint. To put it another way, we tie our own hands behind our back.

For my artwork, details have always been paramount. Be it an illustration of a comic book hero or a barn, the lines had to be correct or my satisfaction would be absent. Thinking back, I wonder where such a thought would come from, for my taste in art is quite diverse. The art movements that have come and gone are delightful in their own way.

Since brushes allow me to paint even the smallest details, what could I do to break from my self-imposed restraint with my art? The answer is simple; I imposed another restraint upon myself: a palette knife. No longer tied to detail-oriented tools, I was forced to paint unimpeded. "Bed of Red Day Lilies" is an acrylic on canvas panel with a palette knife. A slight impasto technique was used with the acrylics. It is liberating to loosen the weak knot I placed upon my own hands. The greatest shame is how long I've imprisoned myself. Lesson learned.

 The Art of J. Travis Duncan