Casey Painting Large “Towd Point” Canvas in Oil
I never liked basketball. I spent countless hours in the schoolyard watching the guys play basketball. I resented it; why wasn’t I doing something I wanted to do? Instead, all the girls waited around in our bell-bottom jeans and hugapoo shirts.
I was frustrated. It appeared that the important people were the guys. I’m sure this is part of what propelled me to be an artist. Being a painter is self-directed. You set up your space, grab your supplies, and get started. You don’t need a team; you get to enjoy a moment with yourself experimenting.
That is not to say there aren’t times when I’m painting of complete frustration. I wouldn’t say that painting is relaxing, not for me anyway. On the contrary, it is intense; I’m driven to make all the parts of the painting work to make it a success.
What defines a successful painting? Balance of the shapes across the canvas, luscious color, and new color combinations. My mixtures are recipes that I devise and improvise on. Every color I use is a combination of colors, very rarely straight out of the tube. Don’t get me started on the possibilities of green. You might think, ok, so mix up some yellow and blue. With all the blue paints available and yellows like Naples, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Medium, Yellow Ochre, and Radiant Yellow, you could spend a lifetime figuring out what effect you want to create when layers of colors are spread across the canvas.
I use my recall of how I felt at a place. I have a lifelong commitment to thinking about the spaces we inhabit at the beach. I try out colors that parallel my memory of the pleasure I experience by the water. The colors must strike a delicious chord, like falling in love. It invigorates my entire body, and I can’t stop painting while I ride that wave.
Now that’s a complete turnaround from my teen years waiting around for something to happen. There’s no waiting for anyone or anything. It’s all up to me. These days, as long as I get my painting time in, I’ve even started to appreciate basketball.
Until next time!
Casey
Interested in stopping by the studio to see paintings next time you are in Sag Harbor? Please text me 631-680-7834
Interested in beautiful seaside prints of paintings click here: https://www.artfullywalls.com/art-prints?query=casey%20chalem%20anderson
