making headway

As a naturally doubtful person, the recent positive feedback (which I am very thankful for) on the small works from life made me start to second guess my family/photographic-based work. This act forced me to compare the two, and as a result several differences became apparent which I am working on reconciling. One, in the backyard painting I was losing the shifts in value and chroma that would help to define space. Two, mark making (easier on a 2" x 3" space, tiny marks=large marks) was getting lost, so I  solidified the paint into bolder decisions and larger marks today.  Finally, after painting my dog twice (the first two times I have ever attempted so) I decided that both practices inform and enhance each other... or that is my cop-out so I can do both with some self assurance. NOW FOR THE EVIDENCE!

2"x 3" oil on panel

4" x 6" oil on linen

30" x  24", oil on canvas, unfinished

another day spent in the studio....some results. I think that the backyard painting is moving in the right direction now, but still needs work. It is funny how a painting can seem almost finished with one mark, and then fall apart two marks later. Regardless this work is a juicy mess and really needs to dry for a day or so (we will see if I let it). In other news I painted a 2"x 3" self-portrait in the hour before Marc got home. As mentioned above, I should have left it with one final mark but instead kept working and it is less clear, and a lot more muddy, than it was around 5:15.

painting vs. life/life vs. painting

Because most of my paintings are basically excuses to be around images of my mother, it can be difficult to recognize when she is the figure not working in a painting. It seems counter intuitive to fight the paint, and her image, when the entire point of making the painting is to create new moments with her in my life. But maybe that actually means that this process is more true to life then I would have initially thought. Every relationship has its off days, so maybe I am just fighting with my mom through this process(it would have to happen if she was still alive). Regardless, I took out the seated figure and am going to replace it with my mother's back andtwo other women. Hopefully this way she will get to be in the painting after all. I will update more tomorrow with better pictures and hopefully more clarity to the figures.

the good the bad and the ugly

After not getting to paint in a couple of days, I just worked in the painting vacuum (that time suck where nothing is getting accomplished and yet you can't seem to stop screwing up your painting or just repainting the same square inch over and over and over). So for what seemed to be no time, and yet an eternity, I just repainted my mother's head in the most recent backyard painting. It's a tricky one, and it's going to have to dry before I get it right. It is safe to say that not everyday in the studio yields strong results. Regardless, I think it only fair to share a very mediocre progress report.

the source

head at the beginning of trying to stop and take a progress photo

final head of the day, because we are supposed to leave for Melbourne now

a couple of updates from yesterday...

Since many of the color decisions from my recent paintings have been completely invented, I thought some life studies would help me find some new color mixes. So yesterday morning I sat on my new backyard patio and painted my very overgrown backyard. The painting is only 2" x 3", but it was a ton of fun. There is something so enthralling about life painting, it feels like a higher stakes game.

Later in the day, I worked more on my ongoing backyard and beach paintings. Also, since I posted the painting of my grandmother on the beach two days ago, I was compelled to modify her face slightly (I think for the best).

Update #1:

Today I had a little company from my studio mate, Shelby, who is going to be 6 in August. I also worked more on the second backyard painting and started a new painting from a collection of Myrtle Beach photographs. It seems a bit ridiculous that I am painting the beach again when I never seem to get there. On a positive studio note, I have decided that my level of tan is directly correlated to the amount of painting I am accomplishing. Speaking of which I will attach one more image of a beach painting completed earlier this summer.

Two paintings that are in progress:

I think that the top one may be done, but time will only tell if I mess with it more.

The top painting is oil on linen measuring 16" x 20".

The lower painting (which is very much in process) measures 24"x 30", both were created from a collection of photographs (as seen above the painting) from my maternal grandparents backyard.

In an effort to take more studio documentation, I am starting a blog. Hopefully this process will allow me to work through ideas and paintings with a little help from the internet.

THANKS BLOGS of the world.