Painting Demonstration: Corn at the Window: Marie Antoinette (Let Them Eat Corn)

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

New Painting in process- Marie Antoinette as Corn at her window

So I am thinking now of Marie Antoinette as corn. She stands, aloof and haughty at her window and surveys the rows of corn growing outside. She is indoors, living a luxurious life whilst the rest of the corn is sweating it out in the misquitoed humidity. The start of this painting is shown above on my studio easel.

I began this oil painting by toning my 40"x30" canvas with a wash of yellow ocher (see drips of underpainting showing). I love to have a washy, drippy underpainting- besides covering the white of the bare canvas, it creates an abstract start to the painting.

I have laid out the landscape through the window and have a good start on the distant clouds and sky. I like that a bit of the underpainting is showing in the clouds- plan to leave that as-is. Have used the same dark color (dioxadine purple mixed with cad orange) to make her hair and the windowframe. Will use this same color to unify her hair with the window as one compositional element.

Next step is to get back to HyVee for another ear of sweet corn- hard to find this time of year! They did have some shipped in earlier - it gets old quickly under the studio spotlight... I will continue painting this picture and show progress in future posts.

Thanks for a Great Turnout at the Light, Energy, and Color Exhibit!

by Dena Tollefson
http://www.denatollefson.com/

Thank you all for such a wonderful turnout at our exhibit "Light, Energy and Color" held at the Lowe Center in Marion, Iowa sponsored by the Marion Arts Council. The exhibit runs until July 16, 2010. It was great to hear fellow artists Paul Monska and Abby Jones explain how they made their art and thoughts behind it at the reception. I really liked Paul's Minimalist paintings of the iconic Cedar Rapids smokestack and Alliant Energy building- and Abby's Abstract Expressionism/Primitivism paintings - how she goes into a meditative state and then goes to town, getting paint on walls, floor, etc in the process.

"Self Portrait in Corn" 24" x30" Oil on Canvas copyright 2010 Dena Tollefson

"Corn IV" 24" x36" Oil on Canvas copyright 2010 Dena Tollefson

I have received quite a few positive comments on my Corn Series- especially "Rapunzel", "Addonis", and "Self Portrait in Corn".  I am thinking about the corn as people- and trying to show their emotions through the paint. Since I don't do any nude paintings of people, personifying people through corn is a way to be naughty through paint, but still be conservative.

In "Corn III: Attraction", for example, the man stands behind her, she is dripping in butter. 
If you look closely at each pair of kernels in my corn series (especially evident on "Corn IV", shown above), the corn is painted in a way which looks like pairs of well toned men's bottoms. Scandalous- yes. More of the Corn series can be seen on my website .  Will be starting on another corn painting soon.

Art In Action Event a Success

by Dena Tollefson

Thanks to everyone who made the outdoor event "Art In Action" at Catiri's Art Oasis a success. Ithiel Catiri put a tent up for me which provided shade- made a huge difference and allowed me to paint the whole day for the demonstration. Met hundreds of people who walked by to see the demo, and got a good start on a new 24" x 12" tulip painting which will go into their July exhibit. It was a good day.