It’s always fun returning to studio after a long layaway. Refreshed, with my mind teeming with infinite possibilities, I’m ready for the new year. So more writing, more painting, and more showing! Of course, there’s a bunch of logistical hurdles to jump first, but here goes…
The first thing to do in the new year is to clear the deck. Just after the New Year I started adding stories from my trip to Spain, Portugal and New York City. After sorting through thousands of pictures, I streamlined a few stories from each stop. I feel like I ended up with a simple and nice recap of the entire trip. On a more difficult note, I also did some back end web work that is far beyond my pay grade. Managing to get everything done, the site never crashed, so that’s already a big 2022 triumph.
I still have more loose ends to tie up. I spent a few late nights working on the final touches of my ‘This American Century‘ drawings that I started late last year. It was easy to fall back into these drawings. There wasn’t much to finish and I had spent a lot of time along the coast in Lisbon looking at boats and shorelines for inspiration. You can take a look at the finished drawings on the ‘This American Century’ page.
I spent a couple of days rearranging and cleaning up my studio. Carving out a bit more floor space will work out great for some future projects. I then grabbed the largest unfinished painting that was leaning against my painting rack. It was a 3’x7′ canvas that I have done a bunch of sketches and felt it was time to add some paint. My original sketch for this painting has branched out into a few different directions. So now I’m trying to block in an underpainting and determine the final direction. Since this painting feels alike a one off painting, devoid of a larger series, it’s a good canvas to play around and see where things head.
Im a bit more invested in the other two oil paintings I started this month. I chose a couple pictures from my trip to paint a couple of landscapes . One is from my winding train ride from Segovia to Madrid, the other is of my climb up the mountain in Sintra, Portugal. It’s been a fun experience jumping into these two paintings after seeing so much art over the past few months. The thickening layers of oil paint are also stressing the need for patience, so progress is coming at a respectable pace.
I also have a new handmade calendar (literally) hanging over my head. With the weight and possibilities of a fresh year constantly in view, I’ve started making plans to make this year a successful one. Over the past two years my shows and art events have crashed to zero. In order to remedy that, I’m going to start having some monthly shows. They will take place at my studio, which will be converted into a gallery for one weekend a month. Keep an eye out for more details!