Tactical Frivolity, 28x28” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end o fmy painting day today
4:32 PM: i flipped tactical frivolity 360 and painted into it, again using the figure watering plants (mikela) as the core image, with the goldfish taking center stage.
Tactical Frivolity, 28x28” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at 2pm today
2:30 PM: this afternoon i took tactical frivolity, which i started yesterday as 10/22/25 oil, to the next stage. i’m still working, so i’ll post today’s version later this afternoon.
Fish Wish, 28x28” as she looked following this morning’s tweaks, with the two shadows on the lower left toned down
6:17 PM: this afternoon i started a new one, for the moment titled 10/22/25 Oil. right now it includes 3 moma visitors, viewed from above, who are part of the menagerie of figures appearing in many recent paintings.
3:13 PM: i took out one of the four goldfish & a bit of the black surrounding the watering can, so that your eye goes to the green watering can rather than the black that was beneath it.
fish wish, 28×28” oil on portrait linen, as she looked moments ago, after the introduction of the figure watering
2:32 PM: a few moments ago, a figure entered the picture: mikela watering our plants in the entryway. she gives the composition new energy. she has appeared many times in previous compositions.
fish wish, 27x28” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at 9am this morning
9:01 PM: i started a painting in oil on portrait linen yesterday. it was a busy day; mikela and i moved paintings out of my storage space in preparation for the new shelving that was to be installed today. as it turns out, our installer texted that he wasn’t feeling well this morning….in any event, amidst all the trumoil yesterday, i was able to start this painting, but was unable to take it any further than a rough sketch.
so this morning, i got an early start, up at 4 and in the studio doing my morning meditation when it was still dark, at abour 6am. i had some matcha tea and got right to work, moving rapidly, taking advantage of my early morning energy, which i knew wouldn’t last more than a few hours. i was in a good place, and i just painted without too much planning or thinking about next steps.
i tried out my new tube of galkyd lite gel, which is meant to replace my neo megilp medium, which is no longer being made. it worked like a charm, and fish wish was born.
3:57 PM: the figure in the upper portion of the composition wasn’t quite cutting it, so i whited over it and created a new figure more in alignment with earlier versoins of this composiiton. i won’t know till tomorrow whether or not she sings, so stay tuned. i have an A.M. dental appointment, so i’ll post in the afternoon.
Ellas, 60x34” oil on portrait linen, ashe looked just now
10:33 AM: the figure on top of the composition needed a little tweaking, with the flesh tones and blues of the shirt becoming a tad more pronounced.
Ellas 60x34” oil on xtra fine portrait linen following my tweaks
Ellas, 64x30” oil on extra-fine portrait linen
DETAIL of Ellas, 64x30” oil on xtra-fine portrait linen, as she looked following today’s work
12:58 PM: today turned out to be a pivotal day for Ellas. yesterday i painted over the female figure at the top and instead added the green leaves of a potted plants. that didn’t work at all, as we both observed when we checked it out this morning.
the green leaves were still fresh, so i was able to rub them out this morning using a solvent, revealing the female figure below, which i refined once i had taken out the greens.
3:44 PM: i made significant changes to Ellas today but lost my post about those as a result of my macbook pro acting up again. so i’ll try to recreate the post later when i go back to the house.
10:41 AM: i started this watercolor/collage last week but yesterday when i glanced at it, there was a bit more to be done. so yesterday i added collage to the chair on the lower right and that was all it needed, other than a title, which mikela suggested could be table this. and so it is.
table this, 10/11/25, 16x15” watercolor & collage on paper
Ellas, 64x30” oil on portrait linen at 2pm
2:04 PM: i worked mostly on the lower portion of the composition over the past few hours, although i did add arms to the female figure at the top. slowly is holy, especially in a delicately balanced compostion such as this. i need to do a bit more to the area just beneath the upper figure to unite it with the rest of the composition. but, as much as ossible, i’d like to maintain the simplicity and spareness, allowing the viewer space to invent the rest.
11:55 AM: got bored doing roughly the same composition as the two earlier versions of this composition, so i switched it up and am drawing form a number of different photos i shot from above over the last few years.
Ellas, 64x30” oil on portrait linen, at noon today
Ellas, 64x30” oil on xtra fine portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today
1:26 PM: yesterday’s ellas was whited over and a new composition has been created, which is a version of earlier paintings. my intention is to keep it very spare, so i’m proceeding slowly and carefully.
