Marching into Spring

So, two-plus months into the new year, how am I continuing to push my work forward? Am I staying away from a comfortable rut?

Perhaps! Have I ended up working small to big? No! Am I letting “paint be paint”? Yes!

I started this piece with thin layers and let them drip. One of my current goals is to retain some of the marks (and all of the energy)

from the initial drawing, but that is harder than it sounds.

The 30×40 painting landed here, for the moment… I like how the drips define the distant “foliage”. And, I love the yellow sky.

However, most of that first drawing is buried.

This 30×40 painting has kept its initial energy. Woo hoo! The original drawing is long gone but I can kinda feel it, underneath…

And the white pine is talking, for sure. (Trees have so much to say.)

This recent monotype opened up some new ideas. I like the abstract quality of the chunks of color that occur when using a brayer.

So, when I went to draw this piece, I incorporated some of that monotype by transferring the slanting lines from its sky to the

drawing on canvas.

Here is the resulting 36×48 oil (not necessarily finished). The diagonal sky lines are subtle but present. Some of the drawing remains,

seen through the thin layers of paint. And, a few of my beloved drips survived!

I enjoyed putting challenges in front of myself in January and February. I will continue my explorations as we march towards spring,

keeping myself accountable by writing this blog.

Cheerio!