9:33 AM: yesterday afternoon, mikela and i looked crtically at the modifications i made to girlfriends and guys walkin and concluded that the original versions were by gar superior. so, while the oil paint was still wet, i removed what i had done and brought them back to their previous state.
we both agreed, however, that the modifications i made to woman with suitcase were successful.
1:35 PM: today i modified 3 earlier paintings and brought them into alignment with the ones i’ve been working on over the past week. woman with a suitcase was simplified. i painted over much of the pavement she’s walking on and introduced the blues, pinks and yellows that have recently entered my palette. the same with guys walkin and girlfriends.
they all now work hanging side by side with walking woman, which i completed last wednesday. and man walking, which i tweaked yesterday.
woman with a suitcase, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, following today’s modifications
guys walkin 28x28” oil on portrait linen, following todays modifications
girlfriends, 25x25” oil on portrait linen, following todays modifications
12:36 PM: this morning i made some minor but important tweaks to yesterday’s man walking and musician and goldfish, and walking with goldfish. all 3 were bugging me as being too busy. following my modifications to musician & goldfish, the beauty of the woman with the suitcase was revealed. the black i added next to her arm allows that area to pop and the light pinkish grey surrounding her and the additional figure it hides gives the viewer breathing space, allowing the eye to take in the musician & goldfish bowl.
in walking with goldfish, the area above the walking man and his shoulder bag was greatly simplified. the blue shape in the upper right corner and the yellow vertical beneath it provide an elegant balance to the composition, as well as allowing the eye to absorb the painterly marks that make up the walking figure.
2/20/26 man walking, 25x25” oil on portrait linen, following today’s tweaks
musician & goldfish, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, following todays modifications
walking with goldfish, 35x26” oil on portrait linen.
BELOW: the 3 paintings as they looked before today’s modifications
man walking, 25x25” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at noon today
12:36 PM: i got a late start today; we attended a community meeting in crestone this morning. after returning, i took man walking, which i started yesterday, to the next stage. i may do more this afternoon, and i’ll post if i do.
BELOW: yesterday’s version is on the left
1:04 PM: this morning we attended a community meeting at bob’s cafe in crestone, at which alex kelloff spoke eloquently. he’s running to represent CD3, colorado’s 3rd district and, after listening to him speak, we’re both enthusuastic supporters. as usual, during his talk i made some sketches of attendees.
and at 2:15pm, after further simplification
2:11 PM: i started man walking, 25x25” today.
man walking 25x25” oil on portrait linen, on day 1
2:07 PM: i started a new oil on portrait linen this morning, on a 25x25” canvas i stretched yesterday, titled, for obvious reasons, man walking.”
musician & runner, 35x26” oil on portrait linen
1:03 PM: today i made further revions to musician & runner.the composition is now less congested and more in alignment with my current vision.
walking woman, 25x25” oil on portrait linen as she looked today at 12:30pm
11:32 AM: i reworked girlfriends which now has a goldfish bowl and a yellow vase as it’s central image. the blue on the left really works, especially next to the yellow and the pink in the bowl. Viewing the painting from about 25 feet, it reads well. i was able to leave enough white space for the painitng to breathe.
walking woman, 25x25” oil on portrait linen
2:29 PM: i started a new painting on a 25x25” portrait llinen canvas i stretched yesterday.i began integrating the walking woman seen from behind into a creekscape, but this wasn’t working so i painted over it and introduce a figure in the tub, and that’s where she is for now.
11:28 AM: after studying it for a few days, i felt that girlfriends needed collaging as a path towards greater intimacy and becoming more compositionally interesting. i feel i achieved that vision, and will move on to starting a new 25x25” composition on a canvas i stretched yesterday.
BELOW: six stages of girlfriends.
drawn at a meeting on february 6, 2026
girlfriends, 25x25” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today.
2:35 PM: the more i looked at girlfriends, the more i felt it was too starkly descriptive in a way that doesn’t reflect my sensibilities. that bench they are sititng on; their clothing and shoes; their hair…it was like the viewer was trapped in a construction he/she couldn’t escape from. increasingly, it just wasn’t working for me.
i worked on transforming it all day today, introducing two new figures, and arrived at a new version i feel good about. but there’s no way i could have arrived at this point without first diving in, risking fucking it all up, and following my gut.
BELOW: before and after the modifications i made today
