This is another large acrylic painting (48″x36″).
I am working on a number of large paintings currently. This one is basically finished!
Tag: painter
Finished Wandering
I completed the unwieldy cow painting I started about a week ago. The finished painting is 48″x36″ mounted on a 3″ deep cradled board.
I could not fit the painting in my photo cube and had to take a photograph of it leaning against a wall. This painting has a lot of interesting shine beneath the surface which makes it intriguing in person but difficult to photograph.
Wander
This is a large bovine painting I am currently working on. The painting is 48″x36″.
Little Rain
This is an 18″ x 18″ acrylic painting.
Dead or Alive
I just received the postcard for my art show in the mail! It looks a lot like a “wanted” poster which is pretty great.
Big Water
Big Water
For a long while I have been meaning to paint some much larger works. I finally finished one of these paintings. It is 3 feet by 4 feet (not huge but for me very large). It is tricky to work on a surface this big as you not only use a lot more paint it also feels like it is drying faster than normal. The painting also got heavy and difficult to move around without bumping the ceiling or walls in my work space. I tend to move paintings around and look at them from various distances and angles, tricky with this one.
This painting morphed and just about fell apart but then I switched to a small squeegee I occasionally use and suddenly it really started to work. Most of the mark making is done with a squeegee tool that is maybe 1.25″ in width… it leaves very decisive and clear marks. Once I found the rhythm it painted itself.
All the difficulties aside it is exciting to see something that feels like it has some legitimate scale. I am really hoping to do a couple more paintings of this size in the coming weeks… we shall see!
It is also a bit challenging to take photos of a painting this large! It doesn’t fit in my photo cube and it is difficult to get even lighting on the surface. I have attached a detail of some of the brush work so that you can get a little better sense of the surface. Still these photos don’t quite do it justice.
Billowing my mind
Somewhere along the road I fell back into another painting habit, cloud scapes. Often the most simplistic image speaks to me the most.
I think this is probably the reason I still paint. You have fun making a mess and then there is a flash of magic. You can’t take credit for it because it can not be reproduced. The brush was in your hand so…? It is the mystery of life and everything unknown suddenly feeling fine.
Clouds in my mind
This is a cloud painting I’m finally getting close to finishing. I guess when something is “finished” it has officially run out of potential? Maybe that’s why I’m dragging my feet these last few weeks. I am trying to wrap up a number of paintings… Of course I have to start some more to keep the wheel turning.
I’m also attaching a photo I took last night. I was thinking this particular corner of the studio had a lot of interesting things happening. It isn’t the “landfill” style of decoration I have used around the rest of the space. Anyway just got nostalgic looking at objects representing the last 6 years or so. One of the last crazy Halloween masks I made was in the shot along with paintings and show flyers. I did a terrible job framing the shot but it was good enough for Instagram!
A little more nothing
working late in the studio with a ridiculous number of unfinished pieces. I keep starting new things and jumping around. Generally I think it is a good approach to have a few works in progress. It keeps them fresh to the eye… allows for drying etc. these days I feel like I am always starting projects but nothing seems to roll across the finish line. Maybe best not to over think it.
Dust Portrait
I’m making a number of pretty large cow portraits. So far they are all 20″x20″. I’m trying to strike that balance between subtle atmosphere and interesting brush work/mark making. The paint in this one is harmonizing with the shining texture beneath the surface.
Last weekend I took a lot of reference photos not only of the ocean but of pastural scenery and the incarcerated cow. It seems there is no such thing as too much reference.
brian sostrom 