Thursday, January 10, 2008

The underpainting is gone!

oil 16"x20"

What a challenge.. Foam is so amazing! Especially when the camera stops it's trajectory. There are all sorts of funny and interesting shapes that emerge, yet they all seem to belong to a similar "family". It often reminds me of shaving cream, of whipped cream, whipped egg whites, or even melted snow. All seem have the common theme of a mixture of air and water/liquid.. The natural world is amazing.

And here I am still attempting to make sense of it, trying to understand and see clearly something that cannot stand still. The camera a a great tool..It allows me to see more clearly...combined with hours of observation.

With each painting, I feel "obligated" to name it.. This naming has always been really challenging for me, and I often wonder, "what's the point?" Other than distinguishing one painting from another, I am content with "Foam 1" and "Foam 2" but after 20 paintings/drawings, even I get lost. I often want to find some sort of metaphor to use in the name, but then it gets too cute. If the painting went deeper than mere observation/exploration and a love of beauty , maybe it would be different. Sometimes the paintings name themselves...
Guess I will just have to wait!

No comments: