New Studio at Scout Gallery!

It has been at least a decade since my last outside-the-house studio and while it's going to take some adjustments to the schedule, I'm excited to get started and have a place to show off the latest work outside of just tossing it into the bottomless pit of the internet and social media. I've still got some work to do but I've got dozens of small-scale goodies already there for your perusal alongside some medium-scale work (some from all the way back in the 2010s!) and a couple oddballs like the old projector screen and the ongoing "History of Modern Art" 900+ page art book (don't ask why I thought that was a good idea). I've got a few more piles of small scale work at the storage unit to bring down as well as a mostly full bookcase still at the home-studio so there's plenty more to come, but I've already got three paintings in progress and I'm looking forward to spending a night or two per week as well as some time on weekends there moving forward. 

Learn more about Scout Gallery by clicking that link. You can also get some great deals on my art through their online shop at that one. Shoot me message to schedule a visit or feel free to stop by during any of their open hours and Jeff or Dana can help you out with anything you need. I'll be posting times I plan on being there and visitors are always welcome. Just give me a heads and up and you can come on down and hang out with some art (and me).

These are the first two paintings started at the new studio. One about 20x30 and the other more like 48x60". They give a great idea of how most of my art starts. Typically a color just feels right and I'll go about painting the entire canvas along with a healthy dose of water. This adds transparency and variation to the background, removing control and allowing the paint to flow naturally. As it dries, shapes form resulting from the interplay of paint and water. In the blue painting, for instance, I can see a canopy of trees with trunks below created by the lighter areas in the lower half of the canvas; I could also see that area as a fence or wall; the dark area above could be clouds or a night sky; the purple indicating where the sun or moon could go...or perhaps a mountain top...or figure.

Basically this is the stage where the image begins to form. Next steps are to coax the scene from this background by defining the hints of shapes and objects and continuing to explore. This is what I mean when I say I don't really go in with a plan. I typically am inspired to make something a certain color or combination of colors, but the exact scene and eventual narrative all come together organically based on how this first layer dries.

Keep an eye out and watch these two paintings come together over the next few weeks and contact me directly if you'd like to see the studio in person or take a closer look at any painting in particular.