| In addition to those monthly sessions, I've been on the periphery of one of the most impressive art movements in Austin: the Austin Figurative
Project. This ambitious project, put together by David Ohlerking and Chris Chappell, started in the middle of last year and has brought together a tremendous group of figurative painters throughout Austin to paint the figure. With a busy show schedule and regular painting sessions with an impressive lineup of models, the project has put together two great shows and has many more events lined up in the future.
With all of this activity spurned from working from life, it feels like a missing component has been plugged back into my studio. With a series of figure studies lining my walls, my work has branched out into a variety of ways - I've simultaneously let go of the steering wheel and worked large and fast on a couple of loose canvases ripe with the blood and sweat of DeKooning. I've also picked up a couple of dead end canvases that I put aside towards the end of last year to work some new life into some old work. In
addition, I've kept up with my little series of sensitive little studio still life paintings, allowing color and brushwork to carry the day.
As divergent as all my work has been lately, it feels great to sit back and explore, and let the chips fall where they may. I've grown a new confidence in my work, one that was severely lacking as recently as a few months ago, and with a few shows looming on the horizon, I've got my work cut out for me.
scroll down to see some of the images I've been kicking around the studio lately...
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