I got over to my studio at Brooklyn Artists Gym and painted a nude study – it’s not the most exciting work I’ve done – I tried the capture the dignity of this male model who I may have painted before sometime last year.

I don’t think 3 hours is enough time to complete a study – I still do all my work in one sitting – in fact I think my artwork and blogging are closely related.  I’m constantly blogging and wanting to have immediate contact and immediate feedback – which is OK for a blogger – it’s also how I feel about my artwork.  I don’t want to wait – I don’t want to spend 5 sittings glazing that’s probably not going to improve anything much for me, anyway.   I guess that’s partly why I like Oil Pastels – it’s quick – no setup – pretty good range of colors which stay the same as when you put them down ) unlike acrylic, which dries differently than when it’s applied (wet).

I tried something different and worked on a painting within a painting – a little different working on something like this – I had to finish the left and lower part before going into the rest – I decided this study was impossible to complete for me.  I don’t think I was successful with this study but it’s an interesting idea.

Before leaving tonight I stopped by the BAG Photography show  that was opening  called Look SEE::  PHOTOGRAPHS ON REFLECTION, curated by Michelle Jaslow.   A lot of good photos – many pushing the edges of photography.

Fun show – did not stay long though.

I did make it over to Brooklyn Artists Gym this afternoon and ended up doing a self portrait.  Here’s a picture Peter Wallace, owner and manager of BAG took of me with my SideKick 3 camera.

I feel this painting, self portrait, is one of my best.

 

The photo I took is decent – but many of the subtleties are not showing up in the digital picture – the work is much richer when looking at it – and some for the lighting I captured on my face looks more arbitrary in the photo than in real life.   The painting looks better, I feel, standing in front of it - than seeing it online, like I have it, above. 

I think I spent close to 5 hours working on my self portrait.  Once I started painting again last year – I let myself go – when I paint – it’s 100% of me and I often feel as if something else is working through me and I’m just along for the ride – and that’s totally fine with me.

Also feel that I can complete my work now where I could not years and years ago – I had no idea what “finished” meant – I did not know when to stop.  Feel much more  confident of my abilities as an artist.

It’s also nice when artists at my studio come up to me and tell me the painting is beautiful – it’s unsolicited feedback.  Without taking it too seriously – if I “see it”, “feel it” and “know it” and other people (who have no idea of how aware I am of the “energy”) come over to me and tell me they’re drawn to the work…..I must be onto something.

But I’m totally glad I’m not out to sell or even show my work at this time.  It takes a alot of courage to put your work out for the world to see – in a gallery show – my soul is exposed.  I’m not ready for it yet.  Maybe I’ll never be ready – I’m fine going on, just as I have -and I’ll see where the road takes me.

BTW, here’s what my Self Portrait looks like at a distance:

I believe a painting should look good at a distance but also close up – but the power of painting is different at a distance – I hope if this work is ever shown, it’s also seen at a distance, like I’m showing above.   Getting close up, another set of associations takes over as you can see the textures and the forms are clearer.

Well, that’s enough for one post and after 5 hours, I packed it up and left the studio, a little after 7PM, Saturday.

Well… this is an art blog, after all.   Being a painter myself, it’s important.  If I just wrote about other art, other artists, I don’t think my blog writing would be as good.  All my work, including my work in Web Analytics, starts as Art.

 

 

I did a studio view (above) – feel like I’m lazy about this – not sure where to go next with my paintings.  Feel like I need to be more deliberate and maybe, more ambitious but I’m not sure I’m ready.

 

 

I came in to BAG halfway into the Saturday Nude Model Session but was able to spend the last hour of it doing the sketch above.

The new space is fantastic – it’s a lot more enjoyable to spend time in the new studio and I love the smell of oil paints.

Tomorrow I was planning to see the Brice Marden talk that I bought tickets too - I probably won’t be able to go, need to take care of my son.  I tried to buy another ticket but it was sold out.  I’m thinking I may try to bring him along anyway and see if there’s a way I can bring him in anyway.  We’ll see. 

If I can go to Brice Marden’s talk – I’ll write about it here.  I actually wanted to interview him personally for ArtNewYorkCity.com but Brice is not an easy guy to get a hold of.  Then again, I wanted to interview Peter Saul, but nothing happened there either.

I painted my last view of BAG’s current studio – later this week the studio will move across the hall and be much bigger – looking forward to the larger space.

I had the studio all to myself this afternoon and evening.  Kinda lazy about doing something ambitious – and maybe in a little big of a dry spell – worked though it today.

I also had an idea for a still life but I was not able to make it work.  I was busy listening to Beethoven’s Symphony #7 and a couple of other classical works while working on this still life – which was inspired by the fabric interplay between the three scarfs – but then I stuck a wine bottle in the middle – and it did not belong there.

I knew the still life was lame as it was (even when I started it) - maybe it was the size of the bottle – I needed to get closer up.  Anyway – as I tossed and turned tonight as I could not sleep – I saw what I needed to do with this still life (see below)

It is more honest and truthful to say – this wine bottle does not belong …. in the picture (itself), so I read the picture into Paint and put a nice big “X” over the bottle and put some writing on my picture.   And now the picture is sorta a “hybrid” of what I saw and felt and what I reflected on afterwards.

It got cold this afternoon – and the studio was chilly – but I enjoyed my time alone.