2021 creek oil 9 16 x 64” at the end of my painting day today. the zinger in a new painting is always unexpected. in this one, i feel that it’s the warm orange-ish pink shape at the center of the composition. it’s actually a wooden floor at MOMA, behind the figure leaning against the railing and contemplating the view below, of sculpture and monet’s very large waterlilies painting in the museum’s permanent collection. the stuccato transitions from the green cactus to the scattered figures seen from above give us a rhythm, a beat. it engages us, leading our eye on a trip across the space of the composition and leaving us wondering, as john russell said in his ny times review of my 1982 nyc show, “….what his people get up to when they aren’t in the picture.”
3:32 PM: i’m stopping here for the day. and i may not do any more on this one. i think i’ve taken it to the brim, and anything more would ruin the integrity of the space, the marks, the colors.
1:10 PM: i did one round this morning, and am about to start a second round. here’s how 2021 creek oil 9 looked 10 minutes ago.
everything i did this morning was on this right portion of the painting, and includes some figures from my MOMA photos from above.
11:11 AM: inspired by vermeer, i took some shots of myself working on 2021 creek oil 9 this morning before getting to work painting. i’m about to get to work & will post pics as they become available.
self portrait at work on 2021 creek oil 9