For a few years, I have been starting and stopping work on portraits. I am getting closer to figuring out what i want to make—how to paint it and what I want to emphasize. This is a quickly done Photoshop job of a possible portrait.
With these cityscapes, I am going for the Western US City—tall building looming over much smaller one (though the smaller “building” might need to be smaller to punctuate the tall ones).
I made the first proper model of a gas station today—all the paintings I am working on are still wet. The cool weather is extending the drying time, but fortunately most of the paintings I am making for the Armory Show with Susanne Vielmetter are done and dry. So, I had some time to get started on them without effecting my painting deadline. The models will be used for the next gas station paintings instead of actual gas station from which they are based. I think the overall simplicity of gas station design makes these models good substitutes. I also like the physical model making over doing something in the computer or working from a thumbnail sketch.
pictures from Feb. 2007.
I started a painting of this gas station, but never finished it. It is part of the basis for the models I am currently making. It has only taken 3 years to get to this—pretty typical for me.
I don’t really need a business card, though on occasion I am asked for one. I set up this little still life of some painting supplies as a possible design. The bottle with a red cap is turpentine, the dark one is painting medium, and the water dropper is water for watercolors—which I might remove because it is used for watercolors, but I like the apothecary aspect of it. Holbein oil paints and da Vinci brushes in a coffee cup round out the tableau.
From the SFMOMA permanent collection.
A little Henri Matisse still life.
Richard Diebenkorn figure painting.
Richter candle painting. they also had Lesende, a large abstract, a red mirror painting, and a painting I had never seen before called Reiseburo (Travel Agency).
Henry Wessel photograph. It is harder to tell from my photograph, but it is a man standing in front of a group of pigeons taking flight.
THE MAIN EVENT
Entering the Tuymans exhibition over the bridge.
Exiting the exhibition. Of course, they don’t allow photography in the exhibition, which is understandable as they don’t own the paintings or rights to the images. The exhibition was quite good. One painting I was hoping to see based on catalog wasn’t in this incarnation of the show, but otherwise a very strong showing.
Cityscape depicted with woodblocks. watercolor, approx. 3 X 4.5 inches, 2010
I am getting around to making some model now.
Fast or Famine.
early attempt – I’m going to burn the paper in the next one.