3:09 PM update: an unusual, for crestone, cloudy day. it's been a real delight to start painting again after being bogged down with logistics for the past few days. i am reveling in my newfound freedom! after confining myself to a 16x16" format for months, this new, albeit it modestly larger playing field enables me to paint once again on an easel, instead of a drafting table. standing instead of sitting. engaging more of my body in making strokes that seem, after the smaller format, like running full out in an open field. we're having dinner guests, and i think i'll bring it to the house to let them see what a painting in process looks like. this is my first test of the artfix L64U linen suggested by pierre, owner of sennelier, sole importer of artfix. while it's a heavier portrait linen than the L84U i had been using for the smaller paintings, it's just as sensitive a surface, and takes the paint in a way that more than justifies it's high price.
the image is form a photo i shot during a 2008 visit to MOMA, looking down on museum visitors resting following a a day of looking at art.
below is stage 1 of parade 22. make sure when you have time to watch the henry geldzahler interview, link below. once again, the view from above puts your attention back on the painterly and away from the "subject." very liberating, after 21 16x16" format paintings in this series, to move to a larger scale. and it will soon become even larger. tiepolo ceilings play on my memory screen, and the mundane is suddenly transformative and thrilling. just a slight shift in the angle of the eye, and weightlessness becomes a distinct possibility.
starting the 32x32" parade 22, i found myself remembering my dear old friend, henry geldzahler. click on the image below to view a 27 minute interview with him.
