Lining 'em up...

and knocking 'em down. Sometimes the studio starts to seem like the place where unfinished paintings go to...multiply. Oh yeah, unfinished= in progress. I've written here about how helpful a deadline can be, and although I don't have one exactly imminent, I'm trying to push through to completion on a number of things.
We're off to New York & environs soon, visiting friends and seeing art. I'm totally looking forward to it, and the blast of inspiration, but also totally looking forward to returning, settling in to an intensely productive summer painting period. And it'll be nice to come back to a (sort of) clean slate.

"This Moment"

Visit Tony's Blog to see his show at the WillowWood!
Over on Tony's side... he puts finishing touches on paintings destined for hanging at the Willow Wood tomorrow. Yes, finally, at long last, my work is coming down. Time for a change.

Cathy J. Richardson

Quicksilver Mine Company is certainly one of our favorite galleries in Sonoma County, and especially since the move to a larger, beautifully designed space in Forestville a couple of years ago. There's a great show of paintings there right now-- Cathy Richardson's subtle, beautiful pieces about the connections between the natural and man-made world (but hurry, this is the final week).



We also really liked these small mixed media pieces (on book covers) by Jenny Honnert Abell... (click on any image to enlarge)

Almost there...

You may remember this piece, started in winter. Now I'm trying to wrap it up, with a few final flourishes... and I'm borrowing a technique here from Tony-- painting an element on acetate, so I can move it around & be sure where I want to put it before I commit paint to canvas. I've never done this before, but it seems really useful, esp. so late in a painting. (in progress, 4 x 4')

,,, and then there's this (also in progress, 20 x 20")... So relentlessly colorful & cheery, I blame the Spring.

a bird begins...

Blue, & more Blue

(works in progress)

A scan back through recent months in my studio would show it to be a relatively blue-free zone.
Yellow, yes! Red, yes; green yes.
Now, blue-ness. And really all because of one piece of fabric (a vintage tablecloth) collaged into the background of each...

Lack of Blogginess

If you're a follower of this space, perhaps you've noticed that posts haven't been that frequent lately. Possibly it's that I'm just not spending enough time in the studio (true). Spring is mightily distracting here. Anyways, I've decided to go on a little blog hiatus. Who knows how long. Maybe I'll be back at it next week.
But in the meantime, I leave you with two Brice Marden paintings...

Tomorrow (or is it Monday?) we'll finally get down to see his show at SF MOMA. (I've been urging my abstract painting students to go for weeks.) Marden's work, just a single image seen in a magazine, had an influence on my use of line within my work-- 8 or more years ago. Imagine what a whole show of them might do.