last night we had friends to dinner. since they all happen to have great discernment when it comes to art, i was moved to completely reorganize how the work is hung in our house, eliminating an entire wall of small, older work and replacing it with2 recent, larger pieces and so on. in the end, it looked more like a small gallery show. this allowed mikela and i to view the work with fresh eyes, and our guests to experience the continuity in the development of the work as well as the relationship between the pieces.
it was a great evening. the word i would use to describe it is sweet. benay, who had never been to our house, perhaps had the freshest perspective. she asked me to give her a tour, which i did. her observations and comments proved extremely energizing to me. her questions were provocative. for example, when i showed her a portion of a map of andros collaged onto one of the pieces and explained to her just how intimately familiar i am with every beach, mountain and village, she asked "and how do you think that will impact the viewer, who probably knows nothing about this island, or even that it is an island?" we both answered simultaneously: "it will probably be an enigma; a mystery...and they will make up their own story."
so this morning, while i had planed to continue preparing the drawing for a small gouache of the interior of the met in nyc, inspired by the input and active interest of our guests, i found myself possessed.
and with hands trembling from anticipation, i dove into hot sunday, with which i was not satisfied but afraid to mess with for fear of obliterating the good bits, which sometimes happens when i rework a collaged painting. i love when i'm so engaged that i have no fear, no plan, no expectations; not thinking, just doing.
i was interrupted by a call from my son in greece, which may have been a good thing. so the piece is as it was when the call came in. by the way, i had the best conversation ever with both my grandkids: philip & manio, who related their adventures in andros, where they will be through august 20.
i'll know tomorrow morning whether or not the piece is resolved.
