My exploration list

January 28, 2023

My exploration list

The following are 10 painting ideas I want to explore when we get home. They are inspired by photos I have taken and styles and techniques of other artists.

1. Expression of Family

I took this photo of two brothers walking down the street. I love how the older one is looking out for his younger brother. The care in his expression is something I want to capture in a style I admire of an artist name Azuela. I want it to feel Mexican in colour, tone and texture.

2. Horizon

This is one of my favourite photos taken over our three weeks in Mexico. It is so simple, yet so intriguing. I’m inspired to try different textures to tell this abstract story.

3. Faces

We met an artist, Edgardo Kerlegand, on our first trip to Le Aurora, who uses facial features in all of his abstract work. These are not real people, but they could be.

4. Orange background

Several artists that we have met use an orange background for their landscape painting. The one I most appreciated is Juan Zaragoza. The result is landscape paintings that capture the beauty and the light of this magical place.

5. Hummingbird

One of my obsessions on this trip has been the hummingbird, or colibri in Spanish. I’m seeing a long canvas and one beautiful bird in my near future.

6. Music

I’m really interested in doing a painting that captures the music aspect of San Miguel de Allende, but in an abstract or impressionistic way. I have several great source pictures to get me started.

7. Cactus

I’m curious to explore how I might represent cactus on canvas. Ever since we first saw cacti in Arizona, I have longed to paint them.

8. Splatters

I’ve been a fan of Jackson Pollock since I first saw several large pieces in New York. In San Miguel I saw several large pieces using pointillism in a unique way. I’m keen to try something like this to see where it goes.

9. Doors/ knockers/ handles

Between Heather and I, we have gathered hundreds of door pictures with absolutely unique handles and door knockers. It would be a fun subject to explore.

10. The Bull and the Bust