4:03 pm update:
below, parade 28 at the end of my work day today. on row 2, far right, is a version with one of the newly painted figures sitting topless on the stone ledge of the pool. the image contains many nude figures, all in the form of sculpture. what if i made one of the flesh and blood figures partially naked? it was a fun experiment, but seemed too gimmicky, so i painted over it. it would certainly have provided material for lively conversations at my november houston show!
i may be able to complete this painting tomorrow or monday, before our actionlab related trip to edwards, roaring fork and denver tuesday. thru thursday
we wake and go to sleep facing these two 2014 collages, 24x48" and 32x32" respectively. right now, my feeling is that neither of these are for sale.
it's a cold morning, but the snow has melted and the sun will emerge and it will warm up.
my friend wendy sent images from the exhibition at MOBIA in NYC. unfortunately, it looks like we'll miss this extraordinary show by just 2 weeks. it consists of 23 masterpieces by donatello, brunelleschi, nanni de banco, luca della robbia and others, which are almost never seen outside italy.
my favorite line in the ken johnson NYT review of the show?
Another beguiling twosome is a pair of boys in biblical robes called profetinos (little prophets), one dated between 1406 and 1409 attributed to Donatello and the other, from 1406, to Nanni. Donatello’s has the more complicated garb and a funny detail: As he walks forward he’s stepping on the hem of his robe with his right foot.
and an interesting observation by the reviewer that relates somewhat to the perspective and foreshortening in my parade series:
"Donatello and Nanni both made calculated adjustments so that their figures would appear natural to viewers from below. Here they are raised on nearly chest-high pedestals, diminishing the effect, but the distortions are noteworthy nevertheless because they are signs of the artists’ postmedieval modernity. Like painters of the time who were following the new science of perspective, these sculptors were thinking of how things would look not to God but to individual human beings." and finally, this gem from reviewer ken johnson: "The 16th-century art historian Vasari circulated the legend that Donatello ordered his sculpture to speak to him while he was working on it."
tracy chapman singing stand by me on david letterman
BELOW: parade 28 as it appeared at the end of my work day yesterday. i'll post pics of changes to this painting later today.