Untitled in Progress

"Untitled"

36"H by 48"W, on canvas. 

(click for enlargement)

I had been working on this background on and off for more than a year before I realized what I needed to put on top of it. Some paintings are a struggle, but once I started painting the figure, I instantly knew that that was what it needed. A little more work in the shadows and some on the face and hair, and it will be done, except for the title, which I plan to settle eventually. 

Commuter

"Commuter"

11"H by 8.5"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

I really enjoy small figures. Breaking down the forms into simple blocks of color, flattening some areas, using the viewer's knowledge and empathy to fill in details, that's what I love about little things.

Mine and Yours

"Mine and Yours"

48"H by 36"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This painting is 36"x48", and went to the California State Fair this year. It won an award of Merit, and more importantly, represents a new path for me. Having it hanging in my space while I work doesn't slow my process on other paintings, it serves to inspire me.  I am in love again with the human figure. 

Studio Ruminations

This past weekend I resolved to create enough new art to fill my walls again.
Open Studios sees a lot of people that seem to be familiar with the studio complex and the artists inside, and some of them have seen my work three or four times. So it looks a little lazy to have so many pieces that are older than a year.
Time to make some stuff.

In Progress: Ex-Latte Six, Seven, and Eight

"Ex-Latte Six, Seven, Eight"

8"H by 6"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

 Began this by drawing on some panels a couple of Saturdays ago. Blocked in the background and shadows quickly, and they'll need more fine tuning.

"Ex-Latte Six, Seven, Eight"

8"H by 6"W, on panel. 

(click for enlargement)

This is after three hours of work. It needs a little help where some of the spaces between planes are, as they're still devoid of paint. 

In Progress: Cleft

"Cleft"
30"H by 20"W on Silver Mylar
(click for enlargement)

This was started last night at Kaleid's Two-Buck Tuesdays, where I like to paint live in front of people. Unlike the last two paintings I did while I was at that event, this one isn't even close to being done, because as I got more involved with the painting of it, I realized that I really needed to treat this carefully and not just jot it down as a sketch as I did with the last two.

Lately I've been doing quite a lot with the shoes, and it's not that I'm less infatuated with them, but I think my attraction to them might be more about gendered objects and the concept of what is appropriate in masculine and feminine roles.  The notion that an inanimate object can be assigned a gender is intriguing to me because it can leave a lot of room to play with innuendo and still remain comfortably within the genre of "still life." Above, in the painting "Cleft," we're looking at an ordinary garden hose bisecting a shiny purple bow. What it means isn't nearly as important as what the viewer believes it represents. 

Float

"Float"
36"H by 24"W on Matte Media Dura-Lar
(click for enlargement)

This was my second live painting session at Kaleid Gallery, and went pretty well. In less than three hours I was able to paint a new stack. I really love the surface I was painting on. It's a large sheet of matte dura-lar that has been glued to a piece of gator board that had the greenish pattern stenciled on it. The only problem now is that I'm out of boards and matte sheets.