I painted all afternoon and well into this evening. Did a life study using my iPhone and worked on a large oil pastel I call “Butterfly”. I think my Buterfly is not done yet.

I painted this study today, as well as another, a self portrait against Mont Saint Victoire.  I wasn’t able to resolve the portrait, so I didn’t try to finish it.

Spent most of this week in Washington DC at the Emetrics Summit and only got back early Friday morning.

The nude study above was of a Colombia University graduate student majoring in Psychology; actually, I was able to research the model first and then decided to paint her, before coming over to the Brooklyn Artists Gym today.

I also attended an opening of Rick Dragon at BAG, which also happens to be a friend of Drew Knapp (Drew is my oldest friend, someone I’ve known since 1970).

Yesterday I posted about Paris and the Still Life I did 20 years in Been Busy getting ready for Paris and Aix.   Well, I did accomplish what I wanted at my studio today and also took some online videos which I’ll try to share here.

Here’s the first painting – and I actually like it better – it’s a nude study of a model named Elizabeth and it took about an hour (if I had more time I might have worked on it longer…but who says a painting is ever really done?).

When I look at my work, sometimes I get a “shock” – it’s as if I can feel my energy in it; and reading the World View of Paul Cezanne by Jane Roberts confirms, I think, all that goes into work – all the energy transmitted by touch – all  that can felt but not spoken.

And here’s the movie I made as I painted this painting.  I was thinking, and mentioned Amy Crehore’s name because she’s often asked me about how Brooklyn Artist Gym looks – well, a movie is worth at least several thousand words!

Did a painting today – I have not recovered fully from a long, intense week in San Francisco – but I did not want to leave my painting behind.  Having said that – I also did not feel up to doing two studies today and settled for this nude painting – below:

 

I’m hoping the Paris Trip I’ll be taking in a few weeks will help me recharge my energies and give me some perspective on the work I’ve done over the last year.  For one thing – I’d like to see what other artists do with the same motifs. 

Not even certain I’ll paint much on this trip – not enough time.   I am not going as much, this time, to paint, as to fulfill a dream to visit Paul Cezanne’s studio and hang out in Paris with other artists. 

I went to Paris in 1987, myself; it was kinda tough to take in Paris as I did not speak French and few people wanted to talk to me – mostly Americans.  I think, this time, it will be different.    Also, on my first trip, I never made it further out of the city than Versailles.

Getting back to my nude study today, I was able to stay with oil pastels and not stray off to chalk or wax pastels – I am happy I did not mix it all up – because I’m getting tired of losing control as add chalk pastels over Oil Pastels.