As a painter I have the freedom to follow my whims wherever they ramble. I am pursuing some work that is a bit more fantastical with no specific plan. The day I started to make real progress on this piece I found out Mark Lanegan passed on. Sadly that is burned into my brain, maybe appropriately so.
Some of the most dramatic colors at sunset occur in the opposite direction of the descending sun. A wild punch of color illuminates the mountains to the east. I ran through the snow to film this and the color was intense and fading fast. Summer is gorgeous but that low winter light is magic.
Spending a little time focusing on the moon. With the short days of winter the moon has more time to shine.
This one was varnished, framed and shipped to its new home in Florida.
Another small snow painting. This one from the deck of my studio which has far too much snow weight on it. I should have done more shoveling before it turned rock hard. I guess painting wins out on most of the projects I need to do.
A large new painting in the studio this morning. Continuing work on these 24”x36” panels, great size with room to roam. Inspiration is from my home water, Lake Pend Oreille.
Short winter days often bring dramatic conclusions. As pretty as the sunset is looking to the East is often more dramatic. The snow covered mountains get blasted with the final shot of sunlight.
A sunny little piece of sunshine here in the midst of winter.
These small paintings are from a bonus instagram account named cult_of_doodle. Last year I was using left over paint at the end of the day and painting little images without planning. It was a liberating and exciting way to paint. I found that it spawned new creative ideas and helped me generate more expressive work. We shall see if this continues…
Another recap in 9 photos. 2021 had some bright spots and good memories but the shadows were deep.
Best to everyone for the coming year!
brian sostrom 