I revisited a painting from late 2018 that I wasn’t entirely satisfied with. I am gathering paintings for my February solo show making hard decisions. This particular piece was on the edge but now it will be attending the exhibit! The show is at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California.
I have a number of 30″x24″ panels primed for painting, I love working at this scale. Large enough that you have a sense of freedom moving around the surface but not so large that it is awkward in the studio. I did have to stand on a chair to get far enough away for a photo, so a little awkward!
I am pretty obsessed with brooding epic scenes. I keep getting wound up about new ideas but I realize this is a common thread.
I have never been an optimistic person. In grade school, learning vocabulary, the teacher asked us if we were optimists or pessimists. A girl I had eyes for said, “Oh, we are both optimists.” She was a bit smarter than I was, but as she explained the difference, I knew she was horribly mistaken.
For some odd reason, I am filled with an unrealistic optimism for the new year. I am making my living painting, it’s not easy. My days are only getting shorter, never mind. I have a vision for my work, mastery of my materials. For the first time in my life I know my greatest work is ahead. I am excited to make it.
It struck me when I walked into my studio this morning that my current painting feels very much like a ghost. I have it on my table easel and it seems to hover on the table.
This painting is almost a study in subtlety. The color and values easing into one another. This kind of painting seems difficult to capture digitally but for now here is an iPhone version.
The app said these were my top 9 of 2018, who am I to argue? Thank you all for your support and positivity in 2018, happy Holidays and here is to a great New Year!
It seems like I always have a lot of “series of paintings” I want to work on. This is one I am going to boost up a bit higher in priority. A sort of heavenly view of the skies. Dreamy and a bit surreal or at least that is my thought today.
I painted this little study this morning. I am also prepping a bunch of larger panels to move forward with these paintings…
This painting will soon be headed to the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California. I have a solo show there the month of February and I am super excited about it!
I painted this one three or four weeks ago. Just got around to taking a high resolution photograph this morning. I still have so much varnishing, framing and photography I have to do before the show. So many details go into the preparation of an exhibit. I just want to paint but it’s all part of the gig… I can’t really complain.