Midsummer Regrouping

Something new is slowly percolating. I don’t know whether to just sit back and wait for more signs of forward movement, or to go rushing into the studio and do things with my hands until I figure out what’s going on. But there is a kind of excitement and anticipation of a shift in my art making. It’s starting to keep me awake at night.

I don’t want to bore you, but I need to explain a little bit about how this has all come about. After all, if you’re reading this, you are probably an artist and can relate to it all. So here goes.

For several years, I have been working along two tracks — one in collage . . .

and the other in painting.

The painting side has mostly been very predictable, making pieces for a specific gallery. These paintings are unique and each stands on its own, but they work well together because of the uniformity of size and shape. So far, so good.

The collage half of it is fulfilling, because it involves instant gratification. It even gives me new perspectives and insights about painting. Collage is a great place to start the creative juices flowing.

But a third “way” is intruding into my thoughts. Larger scale paintings have been fewer and farther between, and the existing ones in my studio have felt like a burden due to the physical space that they occupy in my life. I have come so close (yes, that close) to destroying a number of them, but haven’t. They have no homes, and no one has stepped up to adopt them. So there they sit. These are just a few of them.

So I think this is what’s happening: I feel the familiar urge to paint large again. If you’ve been with me for a long time, you’ve heard this before. A possible solution to this is to paint over some of my least favorite big paintings. I’ve already collected them in their own special corner for possible re-purposing. There is absolutely no need to buy new canvases. And in the end, it’s just for me anyway. I have no plans to take that show on the road. There is something very freeing in that.

That is the what. Here is the why . . .

I have declared this the last summer of my big garden. Just saying that out loud has opened up all kinds of new possibilities. Reclaimed time for new directions in art!

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