Some landscapes

I can only hope the weather warms up again soon for some more landscape painting while I have the time and the light. The wind in San Francisco can take the fun out of standing in one place for a few hours. The locations I choose are often determined by presence of sun and lack of wind (and maybe the proximity of a restroom). I suspect that if i were to drive 20 miles north, south, or east, this wouldn't be an issue. I know that serious landscape painters would laugh at my thin skinned approach - bourgie bourgeois, a pleasant picnic in a pretty place with nice weather. Ahh the life!

I do want the paintings to have a pleasant seriousness about them. In contemplating form from nature and the thing we call 'art', i hope to capture more than a picture of a place.

Presidio - Lovers Lane Tree, 2009, oil on canvas 20 x 16 inches

Presidio - Grove Receding, 2009, oil on canvas 20 x 16 inches

Reflecting

While I didn't set out to make paintings about the crashing of the economy, the paintings from the first half of 2009 have certainly reflected it.

These empty hallways have a story to tell. Their pictures within converse with each other, simultaneously pulling you in and pushing you out. There is a purposeful 'kookiness' to them with their distorted perspective and loose rendering a mild affront to 'civilized expectations'.

Of course, on another level they are continued explorations of picture plane and color theory.

The Hammering, 2009, oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches

Emptied, 2009, oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches

Herald, 2009, oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches

Floor space

I am adjusting my working methods to the new realities. I had been spoiled before with the option to leave something on the floor, walking around it or simply not going near it for weeks. The floor gods and i were on pretty good terms. Nowadays, anything on the floor is in the way and must be dealt with immediately. Learning new habits isn't easy though. Another difference is going from a slick wood floor to rugs on carpet. There is a stickyness to walking on rugs on carpets. I feel i may trip over myself at times. So it goes.



I also knew that changing my studio space would change my work. Not having the space to set aside and contemplate almost finished work, the next grouping has felt like it was filling a vacuum. In the past, one work flowed out of and responded to the recent and nearby works. The current set of paintings feels separated, revisiting instead an idea that had begun previously. Now it is taking on the feel of the space. The following three paintings are small. Cramped corridors.

Carrot and Stick, 2009, oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches

Interjection, 2009, oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches

Happy Couple, 2009, oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches

Studio transition paintings

To help make the transition to working in the new space easier, I purposefully left a few paintings in a 'mostly finished' state so that i could walk in and start right up. The overall forms and scheme had been established, leaving a few decisions to make, but mostly they needed some minor adjustments and surface refinements. And it did work. I was excited to get into the studio and work on them.


Changing the workspace has definitely affected the 'headspace' that i need for contemplating the final touches. This is the time that the painting looks pretty good and seems like it might be almost finished, but still needs something. That something can be dramatic (change all the colors, add elements) or subtle (shrinking sizes, adjusting angles etc). Often during this phase of painting i'll leave the work up and start another or do some prep work on new canvases. I like to see it out of the corner of my eye, and have it catch me by surprise in order to see it with fresh notions.
But this is a luxury that has been erased by the new studio. The limits of wall space leave me no alternative but to focus on the painting. The process feels more concentrated than contemplated.



So here are the transition paitings

Negociation, 2008-09 oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches

Elusive Assessment, 2008-09 oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

Pass, 2008-09 oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches