I’ve had about a half-dozen painting sessions with The News. The 44″ x 60″ painting is mid-flight. I estimate there will at least that many more sessions before it’s finished. Large-sized paintings with just a few figures enable me to really work the figures. A lot of my paintings recently, even the large ones, have small-scale figures. It’s refreshing to change gears. I’m working on the drawing for a similarly-sized painting with just a single figure in profile.
It’s been awhile since I posted an ‘In the studio’ post. I’ve been working on the drawings for a lot of large paintings and that takes time. The drawings do not reproduce well, so there is no point in sharing them. Most of the paintings just now are large and it takes time to cover so much canvas.
Some of the feedback I’ve received about the unfinished work has been disheartening. The feedback underscores how difficult it is to get the sense of a painting in an unfinished state. I knew that when I started the series and intended to counteract it by focusing on the technical aspects of painting and drawing. Unfinished paintings can be such a wonderful tool for education. But I haven’t kept my part of the bargain. Too often I post unfinished work without accompanying technical discussion.
I am still pondering what to do. I can scale back the posts to ensure they all contain technical material, or drop the series altogether. Or I can discipline myself to write more. I enjoy blogging more than I thought I would, but it’s not my thing the way painting is–not even close.