Thirsty, 20x20", oil/canvas

I wish every painting was this much pleasure to make and I ended up with the sense of yes, that's exactly what I was going for.

Once I finish Tornado (Aftermath) I have a few tomato & knife paintings lined up. Thinking about what I want to do for a new series, the concept.

There are several more of the portrait-esque paintings I wanted to try, mostly using images from my modeling days in new contexts, but I don't know if I want to suffer through the ones that are dead ends or don't work. I'm pondering doing a few small studies of them, sort of like 'let's have coffee' instead of 'lets get married!'

There are also a few paintings left over from other series that,  like Thirsty, were either drawn or started or planned, but that I couldn't get done before the show date. There's a whole category - candles in churches - that I wanted to do back at the very start. I ended up doing Table for One instead. I might revisit that, for my own happiness. I've had every gallery owner tell me that religious work doesn't sell, but if ever I was free to follow my bliss, it is now. Actually I don't think of votive candles lit in Catholic churches in Italy as religious. It's about the spiritual impulse to add light to the world, to think of others, to wish for their well being. Something too about aligning with other human beings who have shared that impulse, for generations unto generations.

So maybe it's tomatoes, little portrait studies, and big candles in churches.

Thirst almost quenched.

Spent yesterday on Thirsty. Just flew along.

Down to indicating the sand texture. The base color is working for me, that mottled neutral. Hoping to not go all OCD and try to paint each individual sand crystal. I'm thinking lightly stipple, with an almost dry brush. Three values. I have an old stipple brush from back when I stenciled patterns on the walls - 1980-82?- and I'm not afraid to use it.

Tornado (Aftermath)

While Thirsty dries I'm back to its meteorological opposite, Tornado (Aftermath).


Worked on the wall to the right, the rhododendron shrub in the foreground, a terracotta sun sculpture on the wall, and gleefully added trash to the ground. Cleaned up my profile a little. This took all morning and I had to look at a photo of the last session to see any progress. This painting absorbs hours of work like sand sucks water. I've got three weeks and change to have this, Thirsty and one of the tomatoes done in time for the OCAF show. I may have to skip a few naps.

Thirsty

I started this back during the drought, when I was still working at Atlanta Magazine. The title is Thirsty. I was in love with the meretricious beauty of crumpled plastic waterbottles, the contrast of  light glinting off the water and dessicated sand sucking moisture away.

I got to one point and put it aside. Always meant to get back to it. Today I jumped on it. Four hours later, there's progress.

There will be more layers, more subtle shading and punched up contrast, but I have no doubt it will be done in time for the OCAF show.

Sgian Dubh #1

Laid in the background with a trellis, a pot with a shrub, and the back of a chair. What I really like is the cord wood cut and stacked behind the chair. Thinking of taking the chair out and just indicating the logs.
Reworked the sheath, the blade, the hilt and stone. Added a layer to the tomatoes.  Leaving the background loose, maybe even looser than it is here.

Sgian Dubh, times two.

I've started working on the Edinburgh tomatoes with the two vintage sgian dubhs (pronounced see-ann doo). They are small, singled-edged knives, worn tucked into the top of the kilt hose, and belonged to my host's family. Beautiful pieces.
This handle looked like wrapped and woven leather, with an amber-colored stone (perhaps a Cairngorm stone?) on the hilt and silver work on the scabbard. Added in the reds and did a bit of texture on the wooden table.  This was set up in a little stone courtyard filled with potted plants and plenty of light. I may make the background very hazy or I may not. Jury is still out.


For the second sgian dubh painting, the tomatoes and knife are balanced on a ledge outside my B&B bedroom door. This dirk handle appears to be made of antlers or horn. I picked up a bit of vine that was growing in one of the garden pots, and held in the corner for the shot. It's a variety of honeysuckle, obviously much hardier than its southern American cousins. I liked the leaf shapes and the curve of the red violet stem, the contrast of organic with stone. And then there's that great red/green thing.

Today I placed the stone, mortar and stucco colors. Love the stonework and stucco textures. The canvas is 14x18, bigger than my usual 10x10 for these. I wanted it to be as close to life-sized as I could make it.

After wrestling with that self portrait, this is pure pleasure.

Central Pillar of Frenzy

Here's the latest version of El Cap Swing, now re-titled Central Pillar of Frenzy - that's the name of a particular climbing route which is Parker's favorite. It's visible on the Cathedral Towers formation in the background. This round I worked on the trees behind Parker, the scree, and the specific routes on the lighter, left-hand face of Cathedral Towers.

 



Plugged away on Gripland. Have got most of the detail in, except one sandbag. Could use a few more leaves, and Robert's hands need attention. Next time I'll be working on unifying it and pushing the darks and lights. It's all about the glow.

Mountain sides and Moochie

Worked on El Cap Swing - entirely on the right hand side of the canvas, punching up the darks and adding texture, plus another layer of paint on the climber.


If you remember the Sanctuary painting, I made one final change to it - added Moochie, sitting on the chair/throne.

Here's a detail. The eyes aren't finished, but the rest is.

I have my own reasons as to why I did this, but I think I'll let the painting speak for itself.

Gripland, the c-stand and sandbag jungle

Back to Gripland today. Mostly worked on cleaning up the set wall on the left hand side, mottling the floor, and adding shadows to C-stands. More c-stand edges plus artificial tree leaves tomorrow, then starting on the heaps of electrical cords.

I've pretty much decided this is what I want on my October solo show card, so the pressure is on to have it finished and photographed by mid-August.

Storm debris and strands of hair.

Worked on Tornado yesterday while Gripland was drying. Re-did the darks, and added lots of debris, especially on the slate path. Pretty soon it will be time to tackle the pine needles, and they are legion.

Also worked on the self portrait. Lots of cussing. Some hair pulling out over painting individual strands of hair. Not unlike painting pine needles, now that I think about it.
The rose patches on the back of the coat, the paint brush, and the texture on the edge of the mirror frame went well.

Self portrait x 3

I worked on the self portrait today.

Here's a detail of the face - It's too wet to put in all the fine lines, but the shapes are there.

Except for a few more key sags and wrinkles, I am going to use great restraint and not polish this. If I get the urge, I'll work on the mirror frame. heh.
The hand and brush need another few rounds, and I'll and clean up the sleeves and the edges where the hair lies over the coat.
The solemn expression? The curse of an overbite -  I didn't want to paint teeth and I can't smile without them showing.
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Adding figures, while chanting 'NOT a portrait NOT a portrait NOT a portrait'

I spent the afternoon laying in the two figures and adding some paint to the brick lattice. Somewhat daunted by the amount of hours I'm going to have to put in to get this where it needs to be.
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I had my OMG moment of realizing how much work it's going to take to cover this much canvas with leaves, pine needles, and bricks.
I got past it with the idea that sometimes all you need is boldness and bigger brushes.

Down in Gripland again

Today it was Gripland's turn at bat. 




I placed the raw lumber back of the set wall on the right, darkened the ceiling, started filling in the floor, indicated some of the leaves on the various silk trees, and did a few of the c-stands on the right. Also threw another layer of white on the glowy scrims. My eyes are ready to roll up in my head. It's a tad...complex. It's a matter of patiently working my way across. I'm saving the ladder and the male figure on the lower left side for desert.
Time to clean the brushes and make dinner.

Tornado Aftermath

Here's the start of Tornado Aftermath.
Yesterday I painted in the main tree trunks and broken limbs, and parts of the garage, brick lattice and the house wall. The tree crashed into the roof over our bedroom during a tornado. It's a good visual metaphor for the tornado that was Emily as a teenager, roaring through the home.

Today I worked on the shapes indicating sky, branches, and pine needles. Below; adding fallen limbs, greens that will become the pine needles, the walkway to the house and the coiled water hose that hangs on the side of the house. Worked on the raw ends of wood here and there and the dark in between the brick lattice.Yet to come are the figures of Emily and I on the right - she's standing next to me and holding an apple, looking at the camera with this pleased little smirk.

Emily dropped by, and said that, as usual, this is her favorite stage of my work. She loves it semi-painted, with part of the grid and drawing visible.

Gripland begins, triple self portrait gets a mirror and easel

Here's the beginning of Gripland. I spent several days on the drawing; a forest of C-stands, behind a tv series set wall, with a small figure of a naked man walking through it. It's the literal behind-the-scenes jungle where the film techs live. It's monochromatic in a glowy way, mostly variation on burnt umber and ocher.


I revisited the triple self portrait, adding a silver frame mirror on an aluminum easel.

I still need to invent some kind of shimmer to signal the mirror's surface, and to refine the painted portrait without losing the 'in progress' look of it.