new drawing

Untitled, 2012
graphite on paper
9 x 12 inches

studying a new painting through drawing. 

3 to see

some works from the studio. seeing how a few pieces relate to one another.

studio mess

observations

When you hit a wall, just kick it in. 
-Just Kids, Patti Smith. 

a good reminder for the studio....

learning to let go of my own preconception of what i think a particular painting should look like. recently, i have gotten a couple of paintings to a point where they were almost 'done'...

in the past, i might have just finished these paintings to their logical state of completion....
i am now figuring out how to push past that point and let go of the image that the piece was becoming. i am realizing that once i  stop holding onto the idea that a work is almost done, i can actually move forward- because all of a sudden there is more space for exploration.  i think this is allowing the work to develop into something hopefully much better and more challenging than what was previously going to be the "finished" painting.

i think it's important to recognize when i am standing in my own way (of developing as an artist).  sometimes i need to remember to just kick in my own walls.

below, a detail of a work in progress.

after-drawings

working on some 'after-drawings'.

studio

a peek into the studio today.

painting detail

i am currently working on several paintings at the same time right now. digesting, processing, pushing, and looking. trying to spend more time looking so i can see what i'm doing. a friend and mentor came over to the studio recently. we had a great conversation about remembering to use the "curious" brain when making work rather than the "fix-it" brain.....i thought this was really important to remember so i'm writing it here as a reminder. above is a detail from a new painting.

spring rain

collecting tree shadows