Untitled 3 (shoes)

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This painting is heavy. It dominates the corner of my studio, waiting and reminding me that I must finish it soon if I wish it to be on the fresh print run of business cards. While I work on other, more pressing projects, it looms and draws my attention whenever I glance at my supply corner.

I may call this about half-finished. Color is absent from too much of the darks, and a few spots are still simply sketches. The editing process begins as soon as I am satisfied with the way the whole is painted, and consists simply of emphasizing the areas which I feel deserve the eye's attention. It is easily the most meditative and difficult part of the painting process.

Two Pugs and a Labrador

"Lily the Pug"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

"Naomi the Pug"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

"Mo"

8"H by8"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

Here are the dog paintings I've been drawing for the last week. I'll start to paint on them tomorrow. The Labrador was my mother's and I used to try to ride it like a pony.

New Studio

From the entrance of studio 5A.

The move into the new studio has gone very well. It is in the same building and has about four times the amount of space I was in. It's about 250 square feet, and most of that is lengthwise so I can get a little distance on some very big paintings.

I'm also working on applying wordpress to my website and converting this blog to be a part of it. So far I've checked out a library book and stared at the cover without actually opening it to read. I know less about wordpress than I do about dreamweaver. This should be fun, and by 'fun' I mean it's like all that homework I've been missing for a year or so.

Holding Pattern

I've been presented with an oppourtunity to shift my studio to a much larger space and I'm taking it. If the blog goes dark for a little while it's because I'm buried under all the art supplies I've aqquired over the years.

In Progress: Untitled 2 & 3 (shoes)

"Untitled 2 (shoes)"

24"H by 24"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement) 

"Untitled 3 (shoes)"

48"H by 48"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

I wanted to play catch-up with these paintings, to get them to the same level as the first painting of the shoes. Of course, the first painting benefited from having a pthalo-greenish wash before I painted the subject at all. Once these three shoe paintings are of the same quality, I can then begin to pick out batches of shoes to detail and finish; all the red shoes at once, all the gold at once, all the black, etc.

The biggest dilemma is that I don't really know what to call these pieces. I have ideas about the titles, but I really want to make sure it fits just right so I'm holding off. In cases like this, I'll often write a prospective title repeatedly on a piece of paper and examine it. If I still feel satisfied after twenty times or so, the title will probably stick.

In Progress: Gulf

"Gulf" (on the right) pictured next to "Junction"

Both of these paintings are in progress, and this is a photo of them hanging in the hall at my studio, which is how they are stored. I noticed, however, that they correspond very strongly. Gulf is on its side to save some space, and while it doesn't seem finished (as though there were an amount of brustrokes or paint tubes that make a painting "finished"), it seems to work well in this orientation so it may stay this way. Gulf is 54" long.

In Progress(?): Junction

"Junction"

48"H by 36"W, on panel.

(click for enlargement)

I've reached a place with this painting where I can almost call it done. It buzzes with the amount of shapes and colors inflicted on it, seems overcrowded and disjointed. I'm going to look at it for a few weeks, see if I can figure out how to fix it. For now, it's hanging in the studio highway, taking up some space.