Despite. Because.

Back in the studio after too long on the road.   A good night; I can say it was good and the paint is evidence.  I'm still ambivalent on this one and profoundly so.  The last of the three large canvases and looking at them tonight I realize that I need to keep working in this size and hammering at this body of work.  There's something going on; it feels fully-realized to me.

I am now racing the Winter, and with it the cold conditions that will impede and eventually block my studio time.  The summer was glorious; so much progress and this work is exciting to me.

Two paintings hang in a half million dollar condo model in Greenville, and initial reception was very positive.  Those are ok paintings, or, more accurately, they are good paintings that are a bit clumsily executed.  The large ones in the studio are not; they are masterful and epic.

Of course I worry about the size being prohibitive, but then again that was sort of the point.  In the studio tonight I see with this latest one especially that I am connecting with something very deep and primordial.  I have to keep going.

game changer

as yet untitled, 108" x 78", oil of canvas, Rico '12

responding to process

There's the idea; it comes all at once or (more likely) it comes in progressions of experimentation.  Even the most lucid ideas must stand the test of process, of actually attempting to realize them with materials and surface, sweat and labor.  I think one has to respond to process; that is to say be willing to go adjust  the course and intent as more interesting pathways emerge.  I think most artist have rules for works, I know I do.  A limited palette, or a reoccurring phrase, something that limits.  Limitation is good for creativity, don't kid yourself. The best art often happens because of restriction, not in spite of it.   An artist may only be able to afford one color of paint, or because of studio size may need to work on paper.

I had rules for this body of work, but as I was working today something occurred to me; admittedly subtle, but the change is significant in how I now approach it.  Size matters.  As I've made this work this bigger and bigger, I've had to contend with the aspects of process, and the limitations of what I can physically do in terms of physically manipulating the canvas.