It's the Sweetwater that Carries Us On

practice - acrylic on mat board

​"It's the Sweetwater That Carries Us On" - acrylic on mat board - a practice piece.  

The truth is that we need each other even before we know each other, even before we know we are in need.  Like snow trickling down mountain cracks to form a stream, like streams washing over roots to form a river, like rivers meeting at the mouth of the sea, we run our course: destined to merge along the way.  And it's the sweetwater, Love, that brings us together and that carries us on.
- MARK NEPO, The Exquisite Risk

The rainy season is creating airborne waterfalls in Portland.  Snow is piled high on Mount Hood, trickling down at the base, filling the rivers and turning everything a vibrant shade of alien green.  Hello, happy mosses!  Hello, people bundled in rain gear and dogs sporting jaunty rain jackets!

​This week in the studio, I chose to push Brian Rutenberg's extreme limitation prompt even further, narrowing the tools down to just a rubber wedge brush and using a very rough, unforgiving mat board as substrate.  Continued inspiration came from Ornulf Opdahl and imposing, dark shapes.  The substrate, ultimately, was the opposite of last post's delightful mat board.  This one soaked up water and pigment, did not take paint well and did not allow the wedge to glide.   But I learned a few things about putting dark water against dark mountains, working with murky shadows and shapes.

In the meantime, the thrice-gesso'd large abstract is becoming figurative...so here is a rare work-in-process glimpse of a figure being born.  

work in process

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I'd love to send this practice piece to anyone out there who might use it as inspiration to try their own extreme limitation painting...leave a comment below with the parameters of your proposed extreme limitation prompt, and Wonder Mike will choose a winner at random to receive this piece in the mail.  Ready?  Set? GO!