Spring in the Enchanted Land

"The Heart of the Matter"
Oil on panel

All three of the paintings posted this week are small abstracts. These were painted over unsuccessful prior paintings. I'll sometimes get an idea that just refuses to come together. I'll work on it sporatically for a few months, or even years before throwing up my hands in defeat. These poor works then sit around gathering dust, and stored where I can avoid looking them in the eye.

Then, I'll feel a great need to paint something for which I haven't got the proper surface at hand. I can hold up on the idea until I've prepared a new surface, but I'm impatient. Soooo, I dig out the old disappointmenst and they get an entirely fresh interpretation.

These are them.




"Boundry"
Oil on panel












"Within the Monitor's Maze"
Oil on panel

April in Albuequerque

I didn't update the blog during the weekend because I didn't have digital pictures to show yet. Today was spent in the studio working on these three paintings.

"Corn Maiden"
Oil on canvas













"Bend of the River"
Oil on panel

This little painting was begun and done to demonstrate a point I wanted to make about how pigment is laid down.








"Butte"
Oil on canvas

The painting keeps hanging around the studio, so from time to time it gets a face-lift. Each session brings it a bit closer to the conception, but it still has a long way to go. On the other hand, this is the sort of painting that buyers like.






This is "Butte" as it looked this morning before I repainted the sky and adjusted almost every other element in the picture.

Better Late than Never????

Last week we upgraded from PhotoShop Elements 2.0 to 7.0, and that has kept me busy. That's my excuse for being late to update, and I'm sticking to it. I've been on Writing.com a whole lot over the past year, but haven't written a single fictional word in almost three weeks. As the weather here has gradually improved I'm spending more time in the studio. So this week I'm posting some images that I made yesterday for your edification. The photo quality on some of these isnt great because of the sunlight being reflected off of the surfaces. Soooo.....


"Sandias at Dusk"
Oil on canvas

This is a popular subject locally, so I paint what the customers want. This version puts the emphasis on the subject matter, and so I've made the brush work less obvious than I might more commonly do. Thre are still portions of the sky and foreground that don't measure up. If someone doesn't come along and offer me some money for this painting, it'll change later in the summer.

"Sandias at Sunset"
Oil on panel

This version emphasizes heavy brush work, almost palette knife in texture. I'm quite pleased with the most of the painting, but there are still things that don't suit me very well. Is it done yet? Don't know until it sits awhile longer.






"The Church at Golden"
Oil on canvas

This one is very similar in compositon to "Winter Lights". "Winter Lights" has proven to be a crowd pleaser, but since I won't let that one go for less than $750, it is still a fixture in the studio. This is a bit smaller, and obviously isn't a nocturnal snow scene. Will it sell quickly? Too soon to tell, but I have hopes of getting $250-$300 for it before the end of summer. The painting is substantially done, but often I'll go back and rework details.




"Descent from the Cross"
Oil on panel

The subject matter was popular among late Medieval and Renaissance painters. Here is my version, a painting that has been slowly evolving for over a year. The use of a very limited red palette has been the constant even as the composition has slowly changed. This painting isn't done, and I'm not sure yet where it will end up. The image to your left is flawed by light being reflected off of the uppoer right quadrant. You can expect to see later versions of this one.












Other major studio work has centered on completing a wedding present for my nephew Matthew's upcoming nuptuals. I'll post some photos of it later. High-dee-ho....