Studio Notes and Reflections

It surprises many, but it is not unusual for me to do the same picture over again.  Yep, that's right, I sometimes finish a painting and think to myself, I'm going to do it over.  It is not all that rare for me to Start, Stop, Destroy.  Start, Stop, Destroy.  You get the picture.  In this instance I didn't 'destroy,' I sold the first version.  But hey, I still wanted to do it over.   What is the point you might be thinking.  Well, for me, if materials are not an issue, that is, if I have enough stuff to do it over, [...]

This painting is large, 38H x 30.5W.  This painting was a journey.   In my December Newsletter I wrote about the different phases this painting went through.  What I learned as an artist, once yet again, is that even though  you start off with good intentions and develop a careful under painting, one does not want to become "lost" because one is enraptured by a particular  hue.  This time the hue was my beloved, the ever dangerous, the pulsating, poetic, cobalt blue.  Ultimately, I realized that this hue was not correct and I chose to dampen it down with a compliment.   The second lesson, [...]

This was a lot of fun to do....the THIRD time around.  Once again I've learned that I need to work 'large.'   Studying this image on my computer screen, it comes over me, again, that nothing replaces viewing a work of art in person.  Yes, the colors are correct, and it is 'in focus.'  But the spirit of this work is lost.   In person this portrait seems to change every time I view it.  The expression is very subtle, and a change of light or angle, delivers a nuanced message.  I'm entering this work into the Austin Pastel Society Annual Juried Show.   My [...]