84? 82? 86! Monday

Deciding how big to make a painting is something that I still struggle with.  How does one  know whether an image should be realized as a small painting, a large painting, or any size in between? As a painter, one can develop a comfort zone, and I for one am aware of this.  Many of my paintings are about 18 x 24 inches. From time to time I challenge myself by working on a larger canvas, but still the question lingers: Is this idea really a six foot idea, or just a modest 18 inches?  In addition too the implicit artistic issues that accompany the decision, there are also  mundane logistic issues to tend to: Will it fit on the easel? How heavy will the finished product be? Do I have enough paint? Is there a collector who shares my enthusiasm enough AND has a wall big enough? And then, perhaps none more obvious than transportation. Often the deciding factor is the size of one's car. Well, I have a normal sized station wagon which doesn't accommodate more than a 40 inch wide painting--not bad, but it is a bit limiting, so I've resolved to not even take that into account.

This past week as I worked on an idea for a painting, and it started to scream big...I mean BIG! Once committed to go with it, I needed to settle on a size. The first drawing was 84 inches (7 feet!) tall, the second scaled down to 82 inches (I know it seems like a small difference, but the model's hands seemed much too small...) OK, so, yeah, I went the other direction and settled on 86 inches... and 60 inches wide. I loved how when I finished my snow angel painting last year, it hovered over me as I worked. Perhaps I needed another angel right about now, but in the end my thinking on this was as simple as "if not now, when?" (Mandy that's for you!)

So here I've post the original scribbly sketch from my little 8" x 10" sketch book, a picture of my studio with the drawing taped to a pink rigid foam insulation board and leaning on the 86" x 60" stretcher bars, and a detail from the large study.  I am being a bit secretive about paintings, as I mentioned in my last post, but I'll be sure to post another detail or two along the way.....on your marks, get set, Monday.

Plow Blades

I've been enjoying a nice creative burst lately; with painting ideas quickly piling up on one side of my studio and paintings accumulating on the other. I am at the point where the finished canvases need to find new places to live in my house in anticipation of my exhibition at the end of the summer at Dowling Walsh in Rockland.

Lately there's been a debate over just how much new work to show on my blog and website. On the one hand I love posting work once it's finished and I've been receiving such positive feedback that it's difficult to resist showing everything; on the other hand I'd rather not completely ruin the sense of anticipation and excitement for the exhibition (ok, so I'm excited.....I hope at least some of you are too.)

As a compromise, I do have a couple of studies from a recent project that I can share. The first is a study of L wrapped in her mother's shawl while sitting on the blade of her father's plow. The idea for her to pose on the plow blade arrived several months ago, but when she mentioned one day in early February that the Winter Dance was coming up and that she'd be buying a new dress, I knew that now would be the time to ask her to pose. I've finished one painting of just L and the plow, but have a second one planned (canvas stretched and primed...43 x 64 inches!) that will also include her father in the painting.  Between the study and the finished painting, I've now painted the plow blade twice. (Sarah is teasing me that I've done such a good job on the blade that I should consider marketing myself as "America's Painter of Plow Blades"--needless to say, I'll pass.)

Maine Art Scene

I just did an interview for Maine Art Scene. You can read it here.

Press

Somehow word has gotten out....

The Gettysburg Review is featuring my paintings in the Spring 2012 issue. It just arrived on my doorstep; it looks great!

And Aparte 20 Minutos, a free Spanish Newspaper based in Madrid, has a small feature about me in their arts and culture blog this week.

New Year

Well, I'm back from South Africa and hard at work preparing for an exhibition later this year. The time away from the studio was wonderful, the travel fantastic, the people amazing, but yes, it's great to be back in chilly Maine, holed up in my studio making paintings. While in South Africa I did a small portrait study of my cousin (once-removed) Margot Chamberlain and her daughter Anne.

My efforts here in the studio have mostly gone into this painting of my neighbor, L, who has modeled for a number of my recent paintings. I'm very happy with how well (and quickly) it has been going.  The painting is biggish (36 x 52 inches).  For this painting I treated myself to a canvas stretched by Chris Polson of Twin Brooks Stretchers. He and his business partner, Joe, make the most amazing stretcher bars and, yes, they do stretch and prime as well. The quality is excellent, they are a pleasure to work with, and it is, as I said, an absolute treat to go straight from the drawing to the canvas without having to take a few days off in order to prepare the linen.

The nearly finished painting and the drawing:

South Africa / Watercolor

As some readers may know, I am in South Africa visiting family and doing a bit of portrait painting. I'm here with my wife and children--it's a great adventure. I have fond memories of visiting people and places here when I was a child, and though it's rather different to be here as an adult (and a parent), it is still a magical place to be.
Last week, after over 24 hours of travel, including a 17 hour flight originating from Dulles airtport and via Dakar, we arrived in Cape Town; though weary for sure, all in all, we were in good spirits. We caught our breath and caught up with some relatives before quickly making our way to Hermanus, a lovely and peaceful seaside town about an hour and half's drive on the eastern (Indian Ocean side) coast. It didn't take me long to regret not having my oil paints with me so I bought a small travel watercolor kit on our first day here and have been enjoying challenging myself with the medium.  I'd like to think that I'm following in the tradition of Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent, but truly I've got a long way to go before achieving anything that resembles mastery of the medium. Nonetheless, I'll post a few of my efforts in order to share a glimpse of the stunning scenery:

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