Back to Nature

Haven’t posted recently…busy with show arrangements for “A Sideward Glance”, my next show at the Gallery at Ward Centre in October.

I’ve  been working on some quiet, smaller paintings to go with a couple fairly involved pieces I’ve posted over the summer.  They round things out nicely when (and if) successfully painted.  I enjoy doing them very much, but I find myself somewhat in the minority amongst outdoor painters (I think it’s time to give “plein air” a little break) in that I have no reservations about working on them over as many sessions as necessary.

Anyway, when I get the gumption I’ll write out a cranky p.o.v. piece about the whole thing of outdoor painting devolving into something resembling a sporting event.

This morning, I returned to a location I worked from a couple of  years back. I actually began the rough drawings a few days ago, and from those I felt I could attempt a small painting that explores the possibilities evoked by this place. I do this a lot, and think it’s actually a healthy sign. It’s not that the “scene” changes, but certainly the artist does, a fact that becomes evident to any painter who revisits a favorite painting in a museum after a long absence and sees it differently.  The painting hasn’t changed, but it looks different. You find your emphasis and taste has evolved, or that you identify with the artist in a new way. It’s sort of the same thing with some locations.

Here’s the final of a half dozen little sketchbook drawings, followed by the inital lay-in of what I’ll be working on most mornings next week.  I’ll try to remember to take a photo of the place and the painting setup I’m using these days.

The painting, on a flake-white primed birch panel, is 11 x 14″, and I’ve tipped it into the frame that will be developed as I work on the painting. At least that’s the idea.

I could easily spend a week of mornings  on this piece, in one hour snippets,  depending on the weather and consistency of the light effect.  Ten minutes from home, so not a big problem.

A secondary point of interest is that a big gathering of AA folks meet near where I’ll be working, and years ago I noticed what I considered a particularly strong attraction to my painting activities from some of them, which I welcome.  I have a hunch that some seekers, perhaps in a cul-de-sac of addiction,  see something special in the involvement of a painter and nature.  The comments I’ve received from them has often seemed unusually respectful, almost reverent.  Am I off base?