PREPARING FOR 5 AT 5

I've decided that for my last event in the gallery for 2012 I will combine new work with selected older pieces to show 5 years of imaginative landscape paintings.  Initially it was conceived as an exhibit of works on canvas, but I haven't ruled out including other media.   The unifying theme of the exhibit will be the use of abstraction in creating an objective vision.

 I literally stumbled on this process when I first started working with acrylics on canvas and panels almost 7 years ago.  On my very first attempt with the media I discovered I could not do the necessary brush work to create the image I wanted, and out of frustration more than anything else, I began working with the palette knife, and after pushing the paint around for what seemed like forever, the result was a landscape I really liked.

Dark Forrest...30c49

Dark Forrest was my first...and I have continued to use the same approach on selective paintings since then.

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Transitions...12x24

I hope to have the show up and ready by Thanksgiving.  The opening reception will be Saturday, December 8, from 5 to 8 P.M.

 Of course none of this will happen until I find a place for all of  the paintings currently in the gallery...my ongoing struggle for space.

OBJECTIVITY SURROUNDED BY NON-OBJECTIVITY

In recent days I have been struggling (unsuccessfully) with an abstract painting on a 36x36” canvas. Working on series of black, white, and red paintings my goal was to move from landscapes to total abstraction. For some reason I have been weighed down with the notion that this was necessary for me to really be an accomplished contemporary artist. This was not my first attempt at abstraction. Of course none of my abstract paintings ever succeeded, but I worked on, undeterred by my failures even as I grew suspicious of my motives. Yesterday'
s failure changed everything.

Why it has taken me so long is beyond my understanding, but today it is clear to me that I have been trying to be something that I am not. I am not an abstract painter. I want, need, desire, crave, (take your pick of words) at least one thing to keep me grounded in realism. For most of my work it has been the horizon or something of the built environment. What I really want to paint are landscapes, either rural or urban, where I can stretch reality and objectivity to any degree I choose, as in this last of the series of tree lines


White Tree line acrylic on canvas 12x48 sold

Regarding that 36x36" canvas...consider it a work in progress to be posted soon.