About
My Art
I always sign my paintings on the back “B. Gitchel.” They speak for themselves. I have come to understand, however, that not everyone understands the painting's language. The following may help. I am using “Gardening,” finished in November, 2014, as the vehicle.
How I Think Of My Paintings
A painting is a universe. As our universe is made of particles, a painting is made of pieces of paint. To give it life, I translate the pieces of paint into brushstrokes which represent an object such as a feather, a flower petal, etc. These brushstrokes are then assembled into images like the “Gardening” chicken and flower studies below. This added dimension makes everything something.
How I Make My Paintings
I start with a subject and begin drawing with a pencil either in a sketchbook or on art paper. At this stage I explore many ideas. Finally, I pick the image to pursue, sometimes by dowsing with a pendulum.
Next, I make ink drawings with brushes on paper. Sometimes I draw only a piece of the future painting. I also may make water colors to choose colors. This is when the pictorial elements, the lines, the chiaroscuro, the depth, the brush strokes, are set. I make many of these drawings. At this stage I am practicing much like a musician.
Toward the end of the drawing phase I begin preparing the canvas. I use linen canvas with several coats of sanded Liquitex acrylic gesso. A final coat of Titanium White and the canvas is ready. The paint colors are now mixed in advance with Liquitex gloss medium and/or gel in sufficient quantities to finish the painting. The canvases are painted in sections, front to back, with one coat of thickly applied transparent paint which precludes any drawing on the canvas. Since they are rapidly drying Liquitex acrylics, you get one shot. “Gardening” details in various stages is below. I'm working on the tree.
Toward the end of the drawing phase I begin preparing the canvas. I use linen canvas with several coats of sanded Liquitex acrylic gesso. A final coat of Titanium White and the canvas is ready. The paint colors are now mixed in advance with Liquitex gloss medium and/or gel in sufficient quantities to finish the painting. The canvases are painted in sections, front to back, with one coat of thickly applied transparent paint which precludes any drawing on the canvas. Since they are rapidly drying Liquitex acrylics, you get one shot. “Gardening” details in various stages is below. I'm working on the tree.
The canvases are brilliant. In some senses they are like stained glass. The paintings take a long time to produce. “Gardening”, 32 x 40, took four years start to finish.
The Story
Mel, my wife of 46 years, was planting seedlings in the garden with our chickens. When the row was done, she stood up, looked behind her, and saw the chickens eating the last of the seedlings.
About
Born in Arkansas and raised in the West, I received a BA from Dartmouth in 1961 and an MA from Tulane in 1965. Modeling for a drawing class taught by Paul Sample my freshman year introduced me to art. In 1958 I painted and sold my first painting while spending a semester abroad to study Spanish at the University of Salamanca, Spain. In Salamanca I took a course with Prof. Laines-Alcala, El Greco curator at the Prado in Madrid.
While living in New York's East Village and working as the fitter in Henry Rothman's frame shop, I was fortunate to have the advice of such artists as Irving Marantz, Michael Lekakis, and Ngoot Lee among many others.
I live with my writer/photographer wife, ML Gitchel, in Piermont, NH.
While living in New York's East Village and working as the fitter in Henry Rothman's frame shop, I was fortunate to have the advice of such artists as Irving Marantz, Michael Lekakis, and Ngoot Lee among many others.
I live with my writer/photographer wife, ML Gitchel, in Piermont, NH.