tabula rasa

works in progress on the studio floor

There is nothing like working to opera in the studio.  The brick and wood bounce the sound and build it into epic phonic presence, and I have found myself lost in an entire opera without realizing it; all the time painting away in the zone.  I love the largeness of the medium.

As this year draws to a close I find myself considering a move to acrylic paint.  I've used oil exclusively for about 8 years now; I love so many nuances of the medium, -especially its unforgiving nature.  But there are times when my studio time is so limited, and for the sake of expediency I find myself wishing I could stay in a painting for longer at one sitting than I am able to with oil.

It won't be an inexpensive transition to be sure.  But I've found that changing one's medium often changes one's perspective and attack, and by doing so may drill down into the work to discover something fundamental about it.  I feel the need to do this for a bit.

I was out with my daughters the other day and found these 8" x 10" canvases and bought a pack of 10 on a whim.  I decided to try it and see what happened.  There are wonderful things about this work writ large, but there are equally compelling things about it small, so I'm opening myself to the exploration.  I can go buy another 10, some acrylic paint and essentially lose nothing but time.  As I heard an acquaintance say, "paint's never wasted."  It means if you embark on an honest creative exploration with integrity of idea and fullness of spirit, you do good work; even if the work itself fails, you have learned something, maybe opened something up.

It's been a amazing year for the work.  I go into 2013 strong and optimistic, and largely peaceful about life and art.  I'm not one for resolutions, but I hope to give less time and ear to the news about how messed up the world is and to spend that time making it better the only way I know how.