Working with it

Postlude, 2008
oil on panel

7 x 8

This is one of my smaller pieces in my show. I am still playing around with the whole purple/green combination. As I'm getting more comfortable with the color structure, I think I may try a larger piece soon with these same color cords. The sky color was the big surprise, I can remember mixing it on my palette and thinking, "this is never going to work, its too green!" but when it began working together with the other colors in the painting, it felt right. This is one great reason to work out problems on smaller paintings. The time and energy spent on a smaller painting is not near as much as I would spend on a large paintings. So I tend to take as many chances as I dare in my smaller works, I play around and see if something new will work. But in my larger works, I can't afford to spend a lot of time on something and then have to throw it away. I need to have a pretty good idea of what I am doing on a larger work before I start. That is not to say that I don't improvise on larger works. I do. Just because something works on a smaller scale doesn't mean that it will work in a larger scale, so I am still solving other painting problems. But, if I can work out some of issues of a new visual idea on a smaller panel, then I feel I can be more effective in my larger works.



At least that how I feel this month....

A remodel, a broken foot, and a broken arm

Even Later, 2008. oil on panel, 7 x 8

Sorry about the long silence, but I have been kinda occupied. In the last month I (with the great help from my good friend Lee) refinished all of our hardwood floors, about 1000 square feet. ( I really had no idea how much work it was going to be, but we sanded the floors for four days straight!) and then redid the linoleum tile in our bathroom. But then in the middle of all this sanding, in the course of two days, my lovely wife broke her big toe and my youngest broke his arm. So we had many visits to urgent care centers, doctors, and specialists. Which put us way behind. Did I mention we are living with my parents? I think the painting above is one of two small paintings that I finished in the last month. Didn't I use to paint for a living?

Life kind of kicks you in the butt sometimes...

We're almost done with everything at the house and will probably move back in this weekend, maybe life will get back to some kind of normal soon (or maybe not).