Thoughts

Making a conscious effort to respond to positive  thoughts  and picking just the right way to express is a life work in progress. So much wasted time spent on negative thoughts. I Am in control of my own thoughts or I should be. The brain is an organ with a shelf life but the mind is E=mc2. No one has ever looked inside a brain and seen a thought. The brain produces electrical impulses or thoughts which demonstrates power/energy. Thoughts or ideas brought into form took us to the Moon and put mankind's technology on Mars.

 

Quote "The mind is matter in solution and matter is mind in form"

Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866) Unquote.

 

Basically he is saying that what we think about can and does come from no-thing 

(The Mind) manifested into the physical universe as matter in form or some-thing. That's some very positive thought manifesting itself into words and one amazing life work in progress that began over 200 years ago. 

 

The Sculpture looks with mind in solution into a block of stone and sees the desired

form. The painter applies thought and pigment to canvas and brings a masterpiece into form. A writer puts pen to paper and magically thoughts enter the world as form and great works of literature are born. But wait all of these things were just thoughts before they showed up as real. So in a way we can see thoughts after all.

 

Here's a thought from 2010 (oil on panel 18 x 24)

Called: returning  

 



 



www.sodenkampart.com

 

 

  

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

It had been over two months since I last painted. Although I work out side the home three days a week many summer chores pull me in one direction or another. Not sure if this has been the longest dry spell but good feelings were washing over me as I stepped into the studio. Some cleaning and organizing always sets the mood; a clean slate as they say. Couple months ago I printed off some landscapes taken in black and white and one in particular caught my eye. It had a sense of simplicity with a nice composition of elements. I wanted to keep this painting simple but interesting. I decided to limit my pallet as well and selected four of my favorites. Two from the iron oxide group, Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber. For my cool side I used French Ultramarine and of course a generous portion of white. Going directly into the 48 inch x 24 inch hard board panel with a 3 inch brush I roughed out the main elements with pure Burnt Sienna. Using a 1.5 inch flat I went directly into the drawing with 

ultramarine to establish a sense of water. A mixture of Burnt Umber, Ultramarine and a small amount of white were used to establish the closest upright elements. A lot of white was introduced into the sky mass and highlights with mixtures of all of the above. This painting happened so fast it seamed to paint itself. Perhaps it is true; absence does make the heart grow fonder. Anyway I was pleased with this one.

 

48 x 24 inches oil on panel unframed $500.00

Prints available at www.sodenkampart.com then link to Fine Art America.

   

Change is good

The studio has been quite for a wile.

The warm weather draws inspiration into the garden. Not unlike the canvas the soil also calls for attention. The silent beauty of life coming forth from a tiny seed. A profound lesson for the involved viewer and caretaker. Painstakingly the medium is prepared to receive a tiny container of atoms looking nothing like what it will become. Then once committed, the act of love and care must exist when the gift's emerge. Like first strokes of green they come into existence. A reshuffling off atoms has taken place. Now life has arrived from what seams like nothing into something. Tending this new life must become the artist's obligation in order to produce a masterful outcome. As the days pass into weeks and then months a profound connection between the artist and his work becomes apparent. The work grows strong and beautiful then one day it is barring fruit. The connection becomes more pronounce as the gift of life sets upon the table. Not unlike any life there is the appearance of a beginning and an ending to it. However as the fruit is prepared the artist recognizes that container of atoms and knows it did not die it just changed into something else. It will live again in another place and time. Every moment that passes change was taking place. Nothing stays the same, Every-Thing is in a constant state of change and movement. The universe contains all of existence. Nothing happens outside of it. Everything comes from it and is influenced by it. Nothing dies; it changes. Change is good.

Acrylic on 48 inch round panel called (change)

 

www.sodenkampart.com

 

Bob Ross

Bob Ross

Robert Norman "Bob" Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host.

 

To this day I love to catch one of Bob's 30 min painting episodes on TV. I never tire of watching him paint as he gently talks you through in that soft, kind voice. His unique method of applying oil pigment wet into wet enabled thousands to embarked on an amazing journey he called the "Joy of Painting" 

 

There are no mistakes just happy accidents he would say. His gentle encouragement to plunge headlong with him into the unknown improved the lives of so many.  He really didn't want folks to just copy him but rather to take a chance on themselves. He made it look so easy that many viewers no doubt felt unable to do what he did. But those daring soles who took the leap with him discovered something that profoundly changes their lives forever. And by the way "Bob" would if he could would say, its never to late to start.

 

Bob realized that everyone has the creative source flowing through them. All he wanted was to encourage as many as he could to find their own soft, kind, voice.

 

Thank you "Bob Ross",

 

Len Sodenkamp

www.sodenkampart.com

208-484-0792

 

The image below is my version oil on panel 24 x 36 using Bobs method inspired from an episode I watched last week. Painted on a black panel using equal portions of Phthalo blue, Ivory black, and tints using titanium white.

 

Bob Called it, "Surprising Falls"

 

 

John F. Kensett

I have been following a great PBS series called Landscapes Through Time with David Dunlop. see: http://www.landscapesthroughtime.com/

The most resent installment covered John F. Kensett (1816 - 1872) 

See: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/kens/hd_kens.htm

 

Kensett was referred to as an Illuminist. His work reflected this idea with obvious vigor. To capture light on canvas in the way that he did was I should think  be the intimate goal of the landscape painter. David points out something that I should tattoo on the back of my hand "Less paint more light." The more paint the further away from the light you get. To watch a great painter emulate one of the masters wile simultaneously sharing theories of the thinking process is just amazing. David does this so beautifully. I highly recommend checking out his web page and your local listings on the PPS Create channel: for David Dunlop's Landscapes Through Time.

Often Kensett's pallet would be (Oil) iron oxide red or (burnt sienna) raw sienna, ultra marine blue, yellow, bright red, and white. He also often used a 2 to 1 ratio format. The entire canvas would be tinted with burnt sienna and then a mixture of ultramarine blue and white painted directly into that. Immediately you can begin to see the steel blue water and sky emerge.

Len Sodenkamp
www.sodenkampart.com

 

 



 

 

John F. Kensett

 

Yesterday I used the Kensett palette and format to paint this oil on panel 24 x 48 inches of the Idaho Snake River Country; a work still in progress. Eventually oil glazes and washes will be added. 

 

Len Sodenkamp

Black and white then color









Black allows the painter to study value shifting. The gray scale from 1 to 10 pure white to pure black and the graduated values in between can be an amazing self teaching tool.

 

Also converting images of a color painting to black and white in the computer provides the artist with lighting fast truth. If it doesn't work well in black and white you may need to reassess your value shifts. With out realizing, one can become dependent on color to do this critical work. Painting in the gray scale will sharpen your minds eye to see opportunity. Monochromatic; any (1) color and white is another great way to develop strong artistic language.

 

Below is a new Cosmic Light Series painting 48 inches x 48 inches recently completed in the studio using just black and white acrylic. The other two images were developed from that same painting adding color by means of colored lighting not pigment.

 

Black is perhaps the most misunderstood pigment. Why not experiment?



 

 



 



to see more Cosmic Light go to http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/cosmic+light/all