Maybe I decided to use this image because it was -8° when I headed out for my stroll through the woods to the studio. Well, not really a stroll. More like a hard determined march, trying to cut through the sharp cold as quickly as possible. But as I glimpsed at the still dark sky, Venus was shining brightly just above the treeline, so much so that it caused me stop and just wonder at its brilliance. To my eye it had a reddish glint that made it seem like some exotic little gem in the sky. Beautiful enough to stop me in my frozen tracks.
This brought to mind the upcoming Little Gems show at the West End Gallery in Corning that opens next Friday, February 7th. I am currently prepping a group of paintings for this exhibit of small work which is always one of my favorite shows of my painting year and one that always brings back good memories. As I have noted here in the past, the Little Gems show in 1995 was the first opportunity I had to show my work in public.
A first step on a then unknown path.
This will be my twentieth Little Gems show, something which would have seemed unfathomable back at that first show. I don’t paint as many small pieces in recent years, spending more time on larger work, so this is always a great time to revisit the small form. There is something wonderful in seeing the colors and forms compressed into a smaller space, something that brings out the gem-like quality in each. Each element, each mark takes on greater weight in the smaller form. There’s a different type of concentration, one that is quicker in its self-editing and one that is definitely more intuitive. The sizes are such that everything just happens quicker and there is less time to ponder.
And that is often a good thing. I’ve often said that I’m not smart enough to paint when I have to think about it. Maybe these small pieces are proof of this.
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This piece is called Steps to Solitude and is a compact 3″ by 6″ painting on paper. It will be at the West End by the end of this week along with several other small pieces.
Redtree Times 