I have always loved big empty spaces. No buildings no roads. There are not enough of these places today.
Besides the glorious desolation it is the atmosphere. The feeling of distance and light. I try to capture that feeling in my work, try is all I can do.
I realized I am neglecting the beauty of the season. Frequently we have grey winter skies in North Idaho. The bright snow and steely water. It has an undeniable beauty even on the darkest days.
Three surf paintings together on my studio table. It is still full night and snowing in North Idaho. I stomped the powder off my boots at the studio door. It was a nice greeting, scenery from some other place.
The final painting for my upcoming solo show is shipping out today.
The show opens February 2nd at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, Ca. It will run the month February.
This is the last of my smaller wave paintings. I am moving on to the large commission at long last! It is not going to be a recreation of any of the recent wave paintings. It will however pull ideas from each of them. Most of all I was trying to get my brain in the mindset of the ocean and surf.
My small wave paintings continue! This is an aspect ratio that is interesting to work with. It is well suited for something as potentially horizontal as waves breaking.
My next step will be to start the actual commission. That painting is much larger, 60″x23″. Sort of a challenge dealing with a hefty oddly shaped panel.. I tend to flip paintings around and move them about the studio… trying to see it with fresh eyes. Some people keep a small mirror around to see it in reverse. That is something I used to do with digital paintings, flip them. Maybe I need a mirror…
Enjoy your weekend!
Friday is just another day for me these days. One advantage of the winter in North Idaho, it encourages me to be hold up in the studio!
I am playing around with some waves trying to capture the sense of power and beauty. I will be starting on a large commission and wanted to do some experimenting first. This painting isn’t the direction I will be taking but it is an interesting piece.
I have been swamped with work lately, my studio is a mess but no time to pause. I am doing some wave studies in preparation for a large commission. This first go is the same aspect ratio as the final painting. Giving me a chance to play around with some compositions and color schemes.
I am continuing my recycling of boards. Half a dozen paintings I liked but not enough to keep have been stripped off to become something new!
I am really pretty addicted to apocalyptic cloud formations. The beauty and power are fascinating. This one is small but mighty!
I painted this over the weekend, just a final glaze this morning.
I am doing a little series of cloudscapes with the sun concealed but still very present.
brian sostrom 