12/16/2021 watercolor/collage at the end of my painting day today
2:47 PM: this is my final series of changes before leaving my studio for the day. actually, I have some paperwork i’ve been putting off, so i’ll do that then go back to the house.
with the addition of more yellows and some flesh tones on the bodies of the mythological figures, this piece has warmed up. gazing at it from about 15 feet, which i’m now doing, that warmth creates a much more sensitive impression, while simultaneously maintaining the playful notes i’ve been playing with this series. all that’s left of the acrobatic figure from the tokyo olympics celebration is his checkered sleeve; a critical element in the composition. what I love about how i’ve been working recently was expressed perfectly in his paper and glue piece on msnbc. he said what matters to him is the process. and one of the inmates he videoed and photographed in the maximum security california prison said the exact same thing. “I never know, going into a new project, where it will go. I don’t plan it; it just happens.” my sentiments exactly!
12/16/2021 watercolor/collage at 2pm today
2:02 PM: taking 12/16/2021 watercolor/collage to the next level, one can now discern some figures inspired by the mosaics of pompeii. work continues for another hour or so…
12/16/2021 watercolor/collage at noon today
12:11 PM: after making myself some delicious oatmeal with fresh fruit & nuts, I made more modifications to 12/16/2021 watercolor/collage. so many, in fact, that it’s almost unrecognizable. spatharis’ face is gone, collaged over with a piece of reed pen drawing. and much of the scrambled bunches of marks to his left, also collaged over with a piece of that same drawing. it’s definitely more coherent, but still needs something. I may move on to a new one, same size, & go back to this one when the mood strikes.
what would gorky do, one wonders. in this 1943 piece, he gives crayon a primary role, using his magical lines to give them form.
BELOW: 12/16/2021 watercolor/collage yesterday (left) & today
archie gorky, 1943
