End of January 2025!
The end is near... of January that is! The end of 2024 was busy. In this newsletter I'm sharing some recent work, most all of it completed between last Fall and the first half of this January. There are more pieces newly posted on my website at Marc Hanson Art
The Trail - Oil on canvas - 30x40 Available at Leiper's Creek Gallery
My apologies at the start...this is a long one!
For the last few years I've been working a lot in acrylic paint, and still do. However, at the beginning of January I felt that I needed to get back on the oil painting horse and see if I could still ride. As much as I love acrylic paints, there is something about oil paint that has always had my attention as an expressive tool. There are certain qualities about oil paint that I was feeling a little lonesome for, when working with acrylics. It's a lot more complicated than that, much of that is due to my eternal quest to find out about other mediums when I'm already knee deep (or deeper) in one. I've always felt the need to refresh things every once in a while by switching it up. ( I can hear my Mom's encouraging voice saying "Marc, sit still!" ) However, this time I took a big step and packed up the acrylics and the supplies I use with them, placing it all in storage. I still have some stragglers hanging around. So at least if the withdrawals kick in in a serious way, I can get a fix when needed.
Some of the recently completed oil paintings...
Sunset Trail is a 24x20 oil on canvas.
Pensive Mood is an 18x24 oil on canvas.
Slow Pass is a 20x20 oil on canvas.
Last Blast is an 18x24 oil on canvas.
Shifting Sands is an 18x24 oil on canvas.
Soft Morning is a 24x20 oil on canvas.
These are the last two acrylic paintings that I painted before switching it up a little and getting back to working with the grease paint (people kid about acrylic being the plastic paint, so... ) for a while.
Sunny Spot is a 48x36 acrylic on canvas, a studio painting.
Dog Play is a 20x20 acrylic on canvas. This is the last on location painting that I painted with acrylics, painted the first week of January.
Then there are the Monotypes! One reason I haven't put all of the acrylics away is because I love creating monotype prints! And I use acrylic paints to print these. The process of printing monotypes is the MOST expressive and creative endeavor I've taken on in a long time. These are cerebral pieces, all created from an initial idea, not from referencing photos. As paint is applied and a layer pulled, it suggests what might be good to do next, and I act on it, pulling multiple layers on a single print, hence "monotype", until the image suits me and is set aside. I can't tell you how invigorating it is to let go of reference and simply create from processing what is on the paper until you have an image that is satisfying. I have a lot of these listed in a sale on the website under the "Small Painting Sale" heading in the menu. These are at a "sale" price, really sort of an introduction to my making them. They're unframed, some matted, and I also ship free.
Thanks for reading and please, let me know what you think.
Keep your brushes wet,
Marc
Interior Fronds - Monotype 1/1 - 8x10
As an acrylic painter, daunted by oils, I'd love to see you take an image you've done in acrylics and paint it in oil, to be able to see the difference in what you can accomplish in oil.
And as a former printer of 30+ color silkscreen prints, your monotypes are fascinating!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and process, Marc.
Not to take away from these striking acrylic paintings, but II personally love the way you have painted the skies in these oil paintings! They are so beautiful and so believable!