Lonely Outpost 2 - working

A progress shot of Lonely Outpost 2 another 60 x 18 inch painting.  Originally the idea was to make either a diptych or a triptych, but it didn't happen with this pair of canvases at least. I'm not to worried.  I did let the two share the same yellow almost peach sky. That's the huge difference between Lonely Outpost 1 and 2; the skies.  Also, with the first painting I used red for the station's color rather than the yellow.  The station was actually an old Exxon station.  I still think that this station is the most creepy of the sites I've photographed. This station had broken light fixtures that were creaking as they blew in the wind.  It felt like one of the moments within horror or suspense films right before someone attacks the protagonist or a haunting discovery is made. 

Sunrise - working

Here's a progress shot of Sunrise that I started this week.  It's going really fast, which at this stage of the game in preparing for the show is a good thing. I took the source photo in Laguna Beach while I was staying in Santa Ana to attend the Gothic opening at the OCCCA last year. It's a nice piece to help tie the gas station/desert pieces together with the more urban cityscape works. I've been waiting to paint this piece for several months, but the timing wasn't right. After the completion of Temporal I knew the time had come.

I'm using the same color scheme as Temporal I want to capture that super brightness of the sky and sun. The sun was so bright behind the building and trees that the details of the building were nearly impossible to discern. The camera thankful captured that quality. It's a slice of life, an aspect of reality that seems to only be captured within movies and photographs, but I rarely see it in paintings.

Dear Ellis

Finished Dear Ellis pen & ink and marker on paper this afternoon. The name is inspired by the store's sign, but the title Dear Ellis would make a great title for a jazz song. Something that feels like Miles Davis' rendition of Autumn Leaves.  I'm a bit behind on preparing the drawings for the show, so I will need to pick up the pace a bit.  I notice the works get done in waves.  I find myself working with nothing seeming to get done and then suddenly two to three works draw to a close.

Clutching

Finished Clutching a small pen & ink and marker drawing. I titled it for the fact that the man walking was clutching his bag closely to him. When I look back at the photo the fact that his clothes are one to two sizes too big strikes me. That day I was cutting through the Tenderloin District in San Francisco after hitting some galleries just above Market Street. 

Well I guess I'm reminded of this a little today, because I just had a family that if they weren't homeless were darn near ask me for money today. I stated the truth that I didn't have any cash on me. I'm not one to give money really, but in all honesty, in this case I would have. I guess with that just happening I look at this drawing a little differently. The man in the background is clutching onto everything he has in that bag and the belongings in that bag may very well be all he has. I have no political point to make here beyond an awareness of the human condition.

I'm not a political artist and actually don't like mix politics with my work. I am generally like Edward Hopper and the painters of the Ashcan school focus on urban city life and the isolation of individuals, the herd mentality that comes with modern life and the movement of people through the city streets. I focus on the buildings and the wear and tear on them. In fact, the building paintings are portraits of societies' soul or the collective soul of all those who have passed through those buildings. I'm wondering if a portrait of the have and have nots will most likely emerge in my work rather unintentionally. Considering my manner of getting creative fodder for my paintings involves going out onto the street with a camera in hand. As my country becomes more economically divided it will undoubtedly become more pronounced on the streets I photograph.

Temporal - Finished

I completed Temporal this morning. It seem't like there were a hundreds of little areas that needed refined, but once I found myself having to repaint and fix areas that weren't in need of refinement - I knew it was time to call it quits. Sometimes you just know a painting is done and other times you know it's done when you start screwing it up.

My upcoming exhibit Temporal at Modified Arts -  with the Opening Reception on the Third Friday October 18th was included in Phoenix New Times 11 Must-See Art Exhibitions in Metro Phoenix This Fall. Thank you, Katrina Montgomery for including me.

Temporal - working

I've been working on Temporal a 24 x 48 inch canvas all week in a very focused effort. This will be the title piece for the exhibit at Modified Arts in October with the opening on the 18th. Originally I was going to use Cling, but this one is the one. It helps that the title of the show fits. This is really a temporal moment where the movement of the street crossers with the light and shadows is absolutely fleeting.

I've been going through my San Francisco and Downtown Phoenix photos with a new eye for the drawings and I'm discovering paintings I hadn't seen before. I guess a break from the figurative/urban works has done me some good.

I think the thing also about working on the desert/gas station paintings was the need to mix colors in bulk. I have carried the practice into the last two figurative/urban works and it has sped things up considerably. It's funny that something so simple has never dawned on me all these years. This new manner of working has also helped me solidify the new color palette as well. I like using more color, but maintaining a muted film noir quality.  This painting reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo with all of it's bluish grays.

There's No Going Back

Finished up There's No Going Back. The latest installment of the Desert/Gas Station Series. The Modified show is going to be really interesting.  At the moment there are two really different bodies of work going into the show.  I'm planning to take some new photos down in Bisbee that I think will tie the two bodies of work into a cohesive whole. I'm thinking of entitling the show "Temporal". It fits both bodies of work very well.