Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010

White out! So much snow that I was housebound today. So I'll post a photo of a 9 x 12" painting that is currently in process.

Last Tuesday I struggled with that thing mightily, as if it would kill me if it wasn't subdued... It was really one of the most difficult days of painting I've ever experienced; so much paint went on, came off, went back on differently, et al.

It looks absolutely NOTHING like it did when it was begun about two weeks ago but now it seems to be heading in a good direction. The colors are weird but I want this to emerge as it wishes to emerge. Who'd think that a tiny painting could be so tough?

Friday, Dec. 10, 2010

Here are two recent paintings. The relative scale is WAY off as it appears here. The darker painting is actually much smaller in size (click on it to see the larger image). It was based on a small sketch that consisted of 6 oblong shapes. It's always fascinating to allow the paintings to evolve as they wish, because this looks nothing like the original sketch.

The blue painting is a diptych that was just recently completed. I especially like the "antler crown" object, as well as the dripping dots below it. It was roughly based on a dream from two years ago that still has resonance today. It's an organic tornado/crown/antler something with a peaceful sky blue background.

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010

It was an honor to have Dick Brewer stop by the studio today. I've know him for a long time - since the days of the Barry Richard Gallery in the late 70's! His work on plexiglass is astounding and totally unique; no one else is doing work like his.

So we hung out and chatted. His ideas and insights are invaluable. I'm not going to get into the specifics of what we discussed but, again, I was honored to have the benefit of his experience.

Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010

These photos were taken on Monday, Nov. 29. Kind of a weird figurative work, eh (photo #2)? I don't know where that is coming from. A lot of yellows, pinks & oranges! A Saint Stephen theme, except that this guy is being shot by a huge flowery heart object. You could say it's an self-portrait abstraction if you wanted to do that. It is still "in process" though; I don't know exactly where it's going. I'm trying to avoid overworking it and yet it needs SOMETHING. The figure got darkened today.

The vertical light blue diptych (photo #3) is finished now. It's a big tornado-y form with an antler crown of sorts. It kind of relates to a mega dream I had almost 2 years ago. Both paintings deal with personal transformation. Because that's what's going on these days, spiritually.

And the little 9 x 12 (photo #1) is just a goofball painting with a lot of detail. It's weird to paint in such brilliant yellow. It has changed quite a bit and is "rounding the bend" towards completion after today... Sometimes it's nice to have a painting that is so small that it can be handled easily & painted differently than the larger works.