Floodgates opening

Bliss. Rolling along, I'm on day 4 of being my own boss and it's great.

I had been staring at 3 blank canvases for the last few weeks trying to get an idea of what i wanted to paint. The previous paintings had been a struggle- both in terms of the imagery and the physical materials refusing to dry. I'd gone through the cycles of loving, despising, enjoying, and accepting the three for what they had become (actually, one of the previous 3 is still open to some destruction/creation), but the journey had left me a little intimidated by the unknown of the paintings that were yet to begin. I had also made 3 smaller explorations in abstraction which were hanging next to the larger blanks, influencing where i thought i might want to go. I ended up having to remove them from the mix on the wall. (more about my acceptance of pure abstraction another time)..

So finally, after leaving the dayjob, i get a sense of relief and satisfaction. I started in on one with a rough sketch. The composition seemed right, and so i started blocking in the colors (lately i've made a move to breaking up my composition and working with more high key set of colors). Somehow, this painting seems to be coming together surprisingly well- almost too easy. But maybe i deserve an easy paint this time around.

Inspired, I begin composition number 2, and maybe number 3.

In the meantime, I've finished prepping a slew of canvases for landscapes and smaller studio works, and have started a design for a postcard to promote the landscapes to people who ask me about them while i'm working.

pictures to follow (or precede given the recent to older format)