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This was one of a black bird series I was working on a few years ago. Part of that time period where I was creating paintings in unstable ways and letting them crack, run or erode. I liked the idea of a paintings forming with me just guiding the process. I have completely changed the way I paint a number of times since then but it is interesting to look back.
I have been playing around with some atmospheric cloud images. This is a sample of a work in progress.
Oh wait, I did not!
Do you ever derail your own plans? I have been working on some ideas to move forward with for my next show. These water paintings are not part of that plan and yet I seem committed to them. I don’t know if I am sabotaging myself or just following my artistic spirit…
These are all 18×18″ paintings and I am thinking of bringing 3-5 of them to a finished state. Currently I am just roughing out motion and the gestures, really the heart. I am going to cull it down to my favorites and go from there.
I also plan on showing more “work in progress” if that is interesting to people? I know I like to see other people creating so I will give it a try. Either way spending my time in a filthy shirt with paint on my hands is the way to go!
This painting goes back a few years.
I was working with really thick translucent acrylic paint. I would pour it on and aggressively dry it in front of a heater and the surface would craze in unpredictable ways. A person can never entirely dictate the way materials will interact when used in unconventional ways. That unpredictable outcome can result in something that feels akin to magic but more often results in wasted materials. I was caught in a loop basically lured along by glimpses of success but wasting too much time. Quite literally hanging around watching the paint dry! The method of painting, used in this particular piece along with scores of others, I have moved away from. It started to feel more and more like that definition of insanity…
This blackbird painting was one I considered a success, he seemed to know the score.
Another moon related painting. This one had some interesting texture variations in the sky.
Another study in desolation. A large squeegee and a few different flat brushes were used to paint this one.
This painting was more of my atmospheric cloud work. I was particularly fond of the energy and chaos that the brush strokes expressed.
Water is mesmerizing and soothing to watch. This year I have painted a number of vacant water scenes. They are also fairly mesmerizing to paint.
A simple cloudscape that I completed the other day. This one has a lot of subtle character that was difficult to capture with the camera.
A pretty simple little painting with some textural experiments that seemee a bit intriguing. More continuation on the moody landscapes.
brian sostrom 