6/10/2021 creek oil 26x78” following a slight modification, extending the log all the way to the edge of the canvas on the mid-left.
2:31 PM: I made one modification, carrying the log in the center left all the way to the edge of the canvas, for compositional reasons. works better. if you compare with the previous state, below, you’ll see what a difference this makes.
6/10/2021 creek oil 26 x 78”, after extensive work, at noon today
12:29 PM: as I mentioned in my earlier post, I was a bit late getting to my studio due to our morning walk. I entered the space of my studio and glanced at 6/10/2021 creek oil to make a quick evaluation of where it was at. yesterday, I thought maybe it was resolved and I could move on to something new. when mikela looked at it she just pointed out one area that she thought might need some work.
so I started with that one area, which was a collaged piece of newspaper with a dark rectangle that drew the eye away from the rest of the composition. and before you know it, I was adding to other areas. and, although there’s now a lot more going on, it seems more, not less coherent. and all the while, a short video of my grandson playing piano was running through my head. although he was playing beethoven, I heard strains of thelonious monk. there was a syncopation to his playing that, for me, shouted jazz! and somehow this became incorporated into my strokes, into the marks I was making, into my sense of the composition as a whole. sometimes, in moments like this, you wonder…”what would monk have said if he could see this painting in it’s current state?”
on top is the area of newspaper I collaged over, mostly hiding the dark rectangular form that kept drawing the eye
the second, more spare drawing
8:52 AM: we went up the trail this morning. i just went a little way so as not to put any strain on my groin, which is healng nicely from my insane dance moves last week at the bluegrass festival. so i let mikela continue on up, while i went back down and made a few drawings at a familiar spot at the head of the stupa trail. we had our mosquito jackets, but they weren’t to bad, so i was able to remove the part that covers my head & face, making drawing a lot easier.
the second drawing, which is more spare has elements that might enter into my studio process today. i haven’t yet meditated, so i maight be a tad late getting started.
the first drawing i made