Sunday, May 19, 2013

WONDERMENT or...did I do that?


This may sound like I am patting myself on the back, and I suppose, in an indirect way I am, but I think other artists will understand what I am trying to say.

I am in the home of a dear friend who has acquired a number of my paintings over the past 10 years.  Prominently displayed in his home is a large – 48x36” – acrylic painting I did in 2007, soon after I began working in that medium.   The use of color and texture in the painting is impressive, and I consider it one of my very best efforts.  Looking at it today I am a little bit in awe, and I wonder if I could ever do something that good again. The work was entirely intuitive; I started with a basic idea about color and mood, and allowed the painting in progress to direct me. 

Big Red

After 7 years of working with acrylics it appears that some of my very best paintings were done in the first 12 to 18 months.  I was at the beginning of the learning curve and approached the work intuitively and with a degree of recklessness that I gradually abandoned as my facility with the medium improved.   So I wonder…can I recapture that early energy and fearless approach, or have I, unknowingly, done my best work?

In the months ahead I hope to find out.

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