This is the last painting I finished for my show, New Days, that opens in two weeks at the West End Gallery. The name of this 24″ by 30″ canvas is Bent But Not Bowed and was started several months ago, sitting in various stages just on the periphery of my vision.
It started with many layers of gesso that were at first troweled on then finsihed with thick veins that run through the surface in a haphazard, chaotic fashion. When it was finally prepped it had a definite character before I ever put the first drop of paint to it and as a result, begged for me to put it aside and ponder it. It had something in it that was there to be revealed with the paint above it, if I could only find it.
So I set it aside and would consider it as I worked on other paintings, always a bit intimidated by the strength and motion within the surface. It had to be right or it would fall apart under its own force.
The surface was so rich in texture that over the months I determined that the imagery should be simple and close to the surface, not deep into the picture plane, which is counter to what I normally seek in my work. The imagery should truly react to such a strong and emotive surface.
It also needed strong color to accentuate the surface, to bring it even more forward. More prominent, not understated. The trick was bringing these elements together in a way that didn’t look too considered, too thought out. Make each element- the texture, the color and the imagery- play off of one another, bringing the strengths to the forefront in an organic fashion that gives the painting a feeling of it bursting off the canvas on its own.
This piece certainly has a dynamism is the studio. It demands the eye.
I feel as though I haven’t squandered the potential that the canvas first held when I first looked on it after the gesso was applied. It is a piece that has real life, real feel. A voice that has words of its own, well beyond mine.
In short, it is what I hoped it could be…
Redtree Times 
I like to look at the larger versions of your paintings before I read what you say about them.
When I looked at Bent But Not Bowed I thought, “This has a lot more motion than most of his paintings”. And lo ~ the word “motion” did appear among your words!
Your description of how you approached the painting is especially interesting because it gives a non-artist like me a sense of how that motion was created. I’ve seen plenty of paintings of blowing trees, etc., that feel as static as a brick wall. Very interesting, that the direction of the painting was set before the image itself developed.
Yes, finding the direction of the painting, before and during the first stages of painting , is very important for me. Because I often don’t know exactly where I want the piece to go and seldom sketch on the canvas, it’s sort of like reading tea leaves. Subtle hints and nuances, practically invisible, that push in one direction or another.
Great piece. I like the veins, as well as the red on the upper edges of the work.
Glad we didn’t pick up Lee. He would have been bad for baseball. Mountan stage Sunday.
Thanks, Brian.
It may not have been good for baseball, but I still would like to have Lee. The Rangers become a very dangerous team with him, outside of his loss last night. The Yanks have to do something about Joba. He is either great or awful, nothing in between. They need a real bridge to Mariano.
Yes, mountains today. I’ll be watching.