open.studio

Alright, I'm back to painting now. Here's my latest.

Terrier Pup, 24x18", $300 (click for larger image)

Painted this one late last night - took me maybe three hours, all told. Felt like only an hour or less the way it just came together. Painted it from a photograph of a friend's dog (though I did not bother making it look exactly like the dog . . . same breed and basically the same as the photo, but the owner might not recognize it as their dog, that's all).

One thing that has kept me from getting back into painting [perhaps] is the big unanswered question in my mind: What should I be painting? Both subject-matter-wise and style-wise, but mainly the problem of style. My paintings have a definite style, in terms of "my brushstrokes", "my sensibilities", "my color balance", or whatever, but have always varied greatly in what I might call "artificial style" - where I am always trying out new ideas or styles, always changing things up in that regard. Anyway, I finally put aside the idea of style . . . deciding that the majority of my paintings share a certain style that I tend toward anyway, and that's what I should paint. As in this painting, there is a certain amount of messiness to things - lots of movement within major shapes, lots of busy-ness going on. A trope of mine that one might call "wessiness", where the History of the painting is evident, where various layers-beneath-layers show through, giving the final layer a more interesting, exciting aspect.

So, that question solved in my head, it's on to subject matter . . . for that, I'll just take it painting by painting.

I've not been painting very much these last few months . . . a few one-off paintings here and there, but not in earnest, as they say. It has given me time to dabble in other interests of mine - writing, reading, other things I can't think of right now but surely they were constructive in some relevant, enjoyable way - and, of course, lots of wasted time in between [but that's normal, whether I'm painting in earnest or not].

All that to say, I'm back at the easel now, brush in hand, poised and ready, set, painting! Feels good, though I'm struggling, as always, to find the right subject matter to put to canvas. Anyway, I should have a plethora of new paintings at the next NorthShore Art Market [October 10th], where I will probably be painting throughout the day as well. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions of subject matter for me to paint [paint more of this or that, et cetera], post a comment or send me an email - thanks!

This is a large painting - a bit over five feet tall. I was commissioned to paint it based on the painting Returning Home. It was a fun painting despite a lot of ancillary problems that came up during the painting process (several days of foul weather, an artshow, and an evil bout of lower back pain from which I am just now recovering). The slideshow, of course, shows some of the painting process. The photos are in order, but as you may notice, the painting took a circuitous route to completion as I experimented with different techniques, especially in the sky and trees. Click the slideshow to get a larger view of the finished painting.