Division, again?!

Midnight Rambler

Jelly Bean

I just can’t get away from Division. The diminishing line of street lamps, the web of power lines, and the clatter of stores and trees continues to beckon. ‘Midnight Rambler” is a robust 48″x36″ and “Jelly Bean” a diminutive 18″x18″. Midnight Rambler is the third painting on this panel – but the first oil. The photo I took has a white blob heading toward the viewer (headlights). The car is undiscernable. This time it became a 50′s police cruiser. Smaller Jelly Bean (as well as Midnight Rambler) was begun last October. It came to a finish quickly, and with some lovely color and gesture. I really like this one.

Walking the Dog

Dog Walk

Many of my recent cityscapes, well maybe all of them, are paintings of places I go. I have a dog and when I walk Stella we travel around the neighborhood. Harrison is one beautiful street we often walk along, another is Stephens. When the sun is low on Stephens it is beautiful to the west (especially the glowing power lines) and to the east (orange light bathes the houses). Usually I paint looking toward the sun, but this painting looks to the evening east. I took the photo last summer and began the painting in October. I loved the composition. The utility lines and road create movement and their triangular composition complements the triad of stop sign, fire hydrant, and sewer cover. I’ve been aching to bring more gesture and feeling into my work – and when I went back into the sky I did this, thinking I would get some ‘ya yas’ out and then paint over that. But, in the end I left it and rather like it. Currently, I am looking forward to painting larger and will quite possibly continue bringing more gesture back into my work.

Another Portrait

Sebastion

This is a larger portrait – a commissioned one. It is 30″x24″ (as opposed to 20″x16″). Hands are involved (which I love to paint) as well as a background. I wasn’t planning on painting the Indian block print tapestry, but one day I realized, with a sigh, that it had to be done. It took me a few days (and going back into the colors again and again). Then the trick was to get everything to hold together. When I painted his shirt I felt very proud. It worked up to a crescendo of a la prima painting (wet into wet). However, I don’t really make use of this technique in other places. Later I worked a bit to bring it closer to a similar language. Funny how a piece of a painting can become a bit precious, or the odd man out after it seems so ‘perfect’.

Painting Portraits

When I was in college I spent 9 months in an art program in France. I was just beginning to use oil paints. The son of my painting professor posed for me. He had great coloring – pale skin, dark hair, and blue eyes. He also had an engaging, fun personality. I quickly painted a gestural response that captured some of his look. His father saw it. I chose to keep working on it on my own. When my professor saw it in its later state he let me know that if I had just stopped after the first session he would have offered to buy it. But now… The notion that there is some magic spot when a painting is finished – and if you continue on it is ruined – has interested me, perturbed me, for a while since. Now I’ve been painting long enough to realize that my chosen way of painting isn’t about stopping when the painting first hits a magic spot. No. Its an ongoing dialogue. The paintings I like best these days are long walks, or hikes, where there is a variety of magic along the way – and a beautiful spot at the end. Its as much about me learning and trusting my ability to make things work, even after choosing to destroy a magic moment with paint, as it is knowing when it is complete.

I thought a lot about this painting while working on the portrait of Jackson. I didn’t return to the painting of my professor’s son, believing that what was good I had trampled on with my need to make it ‘better’. The painting of Jackson feels complete, like a good long walk. And, by taking the long walk I think I captured more of the subtlety and feeling that lies within this 14 year-old boy.

Portraits Continue

William

Rachel

During Portland Open Studios I offered the first 4 people interested in portraits a great deal. Luckily, this turned into 4 new portrait opportunities. I’ve recently finished 2 of them. The first, ‘William’, came together from the get-go. He sat for 1 hour and when he left the groundwork was solid. I spent another 2 days working on it, using a photo for reference. The second, ‘Rachel’ was a bigger challenge. After one hour I had settled on a pose – but the paint was not cooperating. I worked on her painting obsessively after she left – unable to set it aside until I found some clearing. On about the 3rd day it began to make sense. By the 4th it was finished. I considered posting the 5 stages I have images for, but they are really too ‘off the mark’ to share.

Having the subjects sit for me in the beginning I find to be vital. I carry my knowledge and feeling of them while I finish their portraits. Its a pretty cool, intuitive dance.

Lavender Blanket

Lavender Blanket

I’ve been working on this painting, on and off, for about a month. When it was just started, it was quite beautiful. Honestly, I could have stopped then, but opted to push on. Its been lost and found a few more times as I’ve dragged and pushed it along. The last move was quite intuitive. “Paint everything with lavender”, a voice whispered. “Hmmmm”, I thought “that could ruin all of the work I’ve done – or it might help me break through to something unexpected”. So, lavender it was – over the entire painting. I then spend a few hours wiping places away, looking for what was going to happen. And, this is how it has ended up. Truly tricky to catch the colors in a photo – lots of greyness happening. The car lights in the distance might be my favorite part. Or maybe the water flying off of the Jetta.

This will be on display at the Architectural Heritage Center in about a week. And will be up through January 31st.

Progress….progress….progress….

Galloshes progress

Stop Sign progress

Division Pink progress

Nirvana progress

Untitled progress

Zeppelin Mystery in progress

I haven’t posted new work in quite a while. Gee. Well, I have completed a commissioned painting – it is a re-creation of one I painted over previously. Wouldn’t you know that was the one someone wanted? And, since she is a good friend and I can be a sucker for money to pay studio rent, I painted the same image again. And, no, I am not going to post it. However, I have posted the current states of most of the paintings I am working on. Some you may have seen during Portland Open Studios. Perhaps I will actually finish one soon? Yes, that would be a good thing!

Oh, I should add, the top three paintings are a continuation of ‘Small in a Big Place’. Possibly ‘Division Pink’ will mark the beginning of a new series (we’ll see). The three on the bottom are part of the series ‘Road Trip’ that I think will continue to grow through 2012 (you can read more on prior posts).

Let There Be Light

No. 17

This is a composite pic of my new studio. My last was in a basement. It wasn’t bad for a basement (high ceilings, some daylight, interesting vibe). The new studio is in the same building, but upstairs. The Troy Laundry Building in SE Portland, to be specific. I am just about settled in, physically and mentally. Today I brought a new easel into the space. It has a crank, is solid, and I have named her Eaddy. Thank you Craigslist.

Portrait

Palette

Ila

A little more than a week ago I met a woman and her daughter. It was during an outdoor event for Portland Open Studios. Artists on the tour were demonstrating at Portland’s Director Park. She liked my paintings, we talked, she asked if I painted portraits. This led to my first, official, commissioned portrait. I’ve painted dozens of portraits over the years of friends, family, and myself. She visited my studio with her daughter and her daughter sat for me for about 30 minutes. I continued working on the painting in the studio using her image on my computer monitor for reference. It was my first time painting a portrait that wasn’t completely from life. I will say that painting from life in the beginning definitely helped me to see the vibrancy of the colors in her hair and skin. Later, working with the computer image (photo) I was happily surprised to find I was able to stay pretty loose and didn’t use the monitor at all toward the end. Really, it is quite different from the photo – yet captures a really nice sense of her daughter (I think).

I included a photo of my palette. It looks like this a lot before I clean up. When she was in the studio, I used a hand-held palette.

Portrait, Rebellion, and Colonial Heights beginning

Self Portrait

Bjork Rebellion

SE 7th Galloshes (in progress)

Stop Sign, earliest state

I decided to paint a self portrait to mark my birthday. I’ve been a steady studio painter lately, so painting from life was a good break. I’ve always enjoyed finding unexpected colors and defining contours in different ways. Plus, I have a great striped shirt and new bright blond hair. Next, Bjork Rebellion is based on a road trip photo, painted with memories of my children rebelling to my Bjork selection – and my desire to have a rebellion of my own. And, really, with all the damn politics & general feeling of everything going crazy – I suppose it could be read in many ways. I didn’t plan for the tracks to be red. But, after it was far along I intuitively wanted to paint red on it. I began with red splotches (think shot gun blasts) – but I painted over those a few days later. Then I swooped some red on the road – liked it – and later painted nice straight tracks. I’m especially happy with the sky – hard to see in the image, but the yellow really glows.

Last is the beginning of two new SE Portland painting. I was pleasantly surprised how happy I was to be painting a Portland street again, one with poles, cars, headlights, and soon powerlines. This is from a photo I took during absolutely pouring rain. There is a second I have also begun – on the same 18″x 30″ size, Stop Sign. This is an example of the way I sketch out the paintings directly on the panel with thin paint. This is a a street a block from my house – and the light is just gorgeous in the photo (think evening light, much in shadow while the rest glows with the light of a low, orangey sun).