Contemporary Paintings

                                             
                                                   A Man of Few Words but Read Many                                                                                                                       Acrylic on Paper

It has been good to work solely with brushes again. Big brushes. You can't get too many small details but you can make your color values work harder for you instead. This is a painting of my Dad reading the newspaper. This is a cropped section of it. When you see a photo of someone you don't always see their personality...that is what the artist adds. My recent studies have been contemporary paintings.


If you're on Instagram visit @carolyapfineart

Modern Expressionism Self Portrait

If anyone wants a good laugh try painting a self portrait. They are amusing. Modern art is meant to entertain. The shocking part is that you also see some family resemblances right before you. Can that be? Yes. Very much so. So those artists of old who painted many self portraits were no doubt had a great sense of humor. They also learned valuable lessons from each portrait.

Here I am with all of my flaws and stories that show on my face...  A wonderful truth about modern expressionism is that we can put equal amounts of feeling and color in our paintings.

A painting can tell as much as a novel!

View more of my modern expressionist paintings on Saatchi Art

Just My Feet Beach Painting

                                                                        Just My Feet
                                                       Acrylic on Hardwood Panel Board  
                                                               July 30, 2015 Carol Yap  



Yesterday was one of  those days where I got the run around trying to get a simple document. I was told that I would need to get additional documents even though I brought what I was told to bring. So one quick stop turned into many stops. Now the good news....it brought about this painting.

One way to unwind for me is to paint. Paint something calming, soothing and make the churning colors look like they were made for each other. Being energized can yield some creativity on the canvas as I unleash it rapidly with a palette knife and paint.

There is something calming about walking on the beach. The waves throw themselves at my feet and yet the ocean is so powerful. The sand crabs scurry along in bursts. They are some of the tiniest creatures that call the beach their home. Their safe haven.



    

Paul McCartney Beatles Portrait

                                                                       
                                                                        "Vinyl Man"
                                                                     Portrait Painting

When the Beatles came to America I was probably seven years old. My older sister carried a transistor radio with her as the Beatles were catching on fire everywhere they went. This also was about the time Barbie dolls came out and this was what I thought about...but the Beatles tunes are very catchy. My older brother had an old-school-bus-yellow-Chevrolet station wagon that he called,  "The Yellow Submarine." We didn't get to live in it though. He drove it to high school, his part time job at Baskin-Robbins, and school dates.

Fast forward quite a number of years (key words, quite a number)  and I was at Union Station in Washington DC. I went into a Starbucks and asked to buy a limited edition Paul McCartney Starbucks gift card. The young man looked at me and he turned to another young man and told him my request. Of course, he looked at me and there was a gathering in the back while they chatted out of ear shot. Finally someone came out of the office as they were locked in the safe and I got one of the last ones! I think these young men thought that I was there in the day and they were witnessing a Beatles fan relic. I was looking back at a group of young Beatle fans.  That card is still in my possession hidden away so well I don't know where exactly it's at.

All between then and now Paul McCartney is now Sir Paul, but the same likable musician. My portrait of him is painting in a modern expressionist style of Sir Paul in his youth.

Painting available for sale and in print at Saatchi Art online. Enjoy.

  

Hawaiiana Paintings

Work in Progress

I've been working on some Hawaiiana paintings at home. This one I started one day but didn't have enough time to finish. I feel like my paintings are more fluid and flowing when I begin and finish in one setting. There are perks of  painting in different settings. I analyzed the colors and made some changes. I'm not sure I am 100% happy with this one yet so that is why I am not showing this in full color yet. It looks more vintage in black and white here. That brings up the subject of photographing your paintings in black and white to critique paintings. . It helps to analyze  pattern, texture and all over design. Let the camera be the silent critic. Smiles.

When this acrylic painting is complete I'll be listing it for sale on Saatchi Art 

Painting Montana's Prairie

                 
                                                                Painting In Progress


I'm currently working on this acrylic painting hoping to finish tonight. It's a painting of the Montana prairie, a mustang pony, and a family member. I'll be the first to say this has a punch of color. My Dad would always say he thought the most beautiful landscape was in Eastern Montana. When I was little and we visited I thought it looked barren, but these grassy plains were my Dad's playground when he was growing up in a large family. They raised sheep and cattle and they didn't have fences except in a barnyard corral. They all herded sheep. Someone had to be out there with them all of the time. These days you see field after field of wheat in the Summer. Also pheasant, elk, quail and a long list of fowl and animals.

I tried to get the richness of the colors when the sun gets a bit lower.There is so much sky out there. I made it darker than I normally would to set off the grasses.  The grasses are remarkable in the late afternoon and much darker. For this painting I actually brushed in a sketch of the mustang pony (what you see) and now I have to paint it with a knife and touch up the man. That of course will prompt me to do a little more here and there. The creative process. Some days it's so smooth you can't believe it. Other days, well, it's a little longer road to the finish line.

Thank you for visiting. Leave a comment if you like.

This will be for sale online with Saatchi Art