There is a group of new work along with a select group of older pieces heading to the Principle Gallery with me on Saturday when I head there for my annual Gallery Talk. The piece shown here is a new painting, an 8″ by 16″ canvas that I call A Time to Rest.
The rows of the fields have represented the idea of work to me for some time in my paintings. I have always considered myself more of a worker than an artist, feeling that my work ethic kind of defines me in my painting. I like being in the studio, like the work that I do and would rather be alone in my studio than almost anywhere else most of the time.
In fact, I find the work itself restful. Sometimes for me, it is the time away from the work that seems labored and difficult.
And maybe that’s the point of this painting: the Red Tree finds itself resting in the midst of the worked fields, looking at the work that has been done thus far. It reminds me of being in the studio and seeing work in varying stages — some newly started with the beginnings of what they will one day be fresh on their surfaces, some prepared canvasses waiting for that first dash of paint and finished work hanging on the walls around me.
This piece surprised me. It seemed to be blah through the initial stages. I wasn’t sure if I would even finish it but then it suddenly popped near the end of the process and I find myself now really drawn to it. Maybe that’s why I see myself and my own world in it so clearly.
Again, the Gallery Talk at the Principle Gallery in Alexandria is this Saturday, September 17, beginning at 1 PM. The highlight is the drawing for my original painting , Defiant Heart, that will be held at the end of the talk. That and a little more…
Redtree Times 