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.
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.
I have three paintings in a group show at the confluence gallery. The show is called “Shadow & Light”, a pretty nice theme for an art show that can be extended in a lot of psychological as well as literal directions.
These are 18″ x 18″ paintings, they appeared gigantic when it was time to box them up but they look so small here! I will not be able to attend the opening of the show so ended up mailing the paintings… always seems a little scary!
This was a 10″ x 10″ cow portrait I did in acrylic not too long ago. Once again using the cow as sympathetic subject. I have been working on highly atmospheric environmental scenes of late. I have largely abandoned opaque colors since doing this painting. I am trying to make work with a lot of transparency and light penetrating the paint. I hope to bring it back around and do some large sweeping landscapes with shadowy cows. We shall see where things go… Best to follow the work rather than trying to map out a plan.
This painting that goes back a few years. I was playing around with Brewer’s Blackbirds as stark symbolic subjects. Lacking the stature and mystique of the crow they are nonetheless interesting birds. The strange light ring of their eye… the surreal dark shapes they create in the sky with their multitudes. I dusted this one off recently as it was purchased by my brother in-law as a Christmas gift. I realized I didn’t have a decent photograph so I took a little time to capture one!
I started this painting January 1st. It is going to be a busy year, best get started!
Winter Snow, vacationing in Sandpoint Idaho. Rare non art post!
I am working on more cloud and atmospheric work. This is the latest painting, it is an 18″ x 18″acrylic.
This poor crow electrocuted himself on a poweline in Seattle. My buddy Ryan knows I have a fondness for crows so he gave it to me. I have used it for reference a number of times and then pop it back in the freezer! Ryan’s electric crow has seen better days!
This is another painting with a lot of interesting textural depth. I built up heavy vertical lines with acrylic medium. It also has an undevrcoat of interference pearl that results in a dynamic lighting that you can pick up a bit of in this photograph.
This was the third in a triptich that I did called “Other Spaces”. The images were simple and bleak but interesting, particularly together. I used paint brushes and a 24″ squeegee to create these paintings that are 20″ x 20″ each.
brian sostrom 