In the studio 3/15/15
I worked all day yesterday and today on The News. According to my studio journal, today’s painting session was the thirteenth. I’m almost finished. People who know me laugh whenever I say a painting is almost finished. Some paintings have been almost finished for months. But if the drawing is good and there are no
In the studio 3/8/15
Yesterday’s painting session was the 4th for Taking Note. The underapinting is finished, which is fast (for me) considering it’s large size–42″ x 56″. But it’s only a single figure and the design is simple and straightforward. In the background on the floor is the new Sunday Parade, which is also 42″ x 56″. After several
Mountain Retreat
The beautiful painting Clouds Visiting a Mountain Retreat is currently on view at the Cleveland Art Museum. The museum regularly rotates its vast Asian collection, and new works (new to me) are frequently to be found. The cloud-swathed mountain dominates the landscape; the travellers in the lower-left are easily overlooked. It’s early morning or early
In the studio 3/1/15
I worked the past several days on finishing the under-painting of The Woman in Purple Boots. The Woman in Purple Boots is 40″ x 50″ which is a nice size and format. I’m thinking of preparing a batch of canvases that size, say 4-5. I often prepare batches of the same size. Last year, I prepared 7-8 canvases that are
In the studio 2/22/15
This 30″ x 40″ oil was almost among the unfinished paintings recently purged. Instead, things started clicking during yesterday’s session. I will finish it. The canvas is from a batch of canvases I prepared a year or so ago. All were finished the same way and were the say size–30″ x 40″. The ground on
In the studio 2/18/15
The under-painting is done on The Photographer. All color areas are close to their planned final tone. Having said that, no part of the painting is finished; with the figure being the least finished. I’m happy with the stool and the hat. This 36″ x 48″ painting is thematically close to the similarly-sized The Explainer, which was
Ladies Celebrating Diwali
What are they doing? What’s happening in this dark and mysterious scene? The full moon broods over several women holding lights or sparklers over their heads, much as revelers in the U.S. do on the 4th of July. In the distance, jets of fireworks illuminate the night sky. In the middle distance, pleasure seekers watch the fireworks from boats on
In the studio 2/15/15
After a marathon 13-hour session with The Picnic, I think I’ve wrestled it to the ground. The Picnic has fought me since day one.. First, the canvas, from a sub-par batch of cotton duck, wants to sag against the cross bar. Worse is the lousy ground. I’m always looking for efficiencies and this time it