Unintended Hiatus

As you may have noticed, I have not posted here in quite awhile.

There has been no specific reason, just a combination of a crazy work schedule since my return to freelance and spending as much time as I could in the studio in between work calls.

So what have I been up to?

At the top of the list, I finished up Phase II of the Green Project at the end of March. I had originally planned to do a third phase, with a larger canvas using all of the greens from Phase II, but when I got through with the last canvas in the series I decided I had gotten what I wanted out of the project, and I wanted to move on.

In between the Green Project canvases I started painting value studies, beginning with single objects on small (9" x 12") canvas.

Value Study: Cocktail Shaker

Oil On Canvas

Last month I moved on to doing multiple objects, still on the small canvases.

Value Study: Still Life w/ Jar, Pear & Glass

Oil On Canvas

I am very interested in the Grisaille technique, where objects are rendered in tonal value to heighten their depth and dimension, then applying the color in layers of glaze.  So I wanted to spend some time concentrating on accurately rendering objects.

After completing the Green Project, I went back to a couple of large canvases that have been hanging around the studio. One very abstract:

Work In Progress

Oil On Canvas 

One more figurative:

Work In Progress

Oil On Canvas

And I began a series of studies for a ridiculously ambitions project, which is to produce a canvas illustrating one scene from each Canto in Dante's Divine Comedy. I have been reading through and finding the imagery in the text that strikes me. The most fully formed so far is from Canto I of The Inferno.

I started on paper, and went through a number of iterations:

Study For Canto I

Graphite On Paper

Study For Canto I

Colored Pencil On Black Paper

I am in progress on a compositional study on canvas:

Work In Progress

Oil On Canvas

I have also set up a gallery page on the Daily Paintworks site, in the hopes of selling some work online.

And I guess the most exciting news is that back in April I sold my first painting. It was one of the Green Project, Phase II canvases. I guess I am a real painter now.

I am going to try and be better about updating here so that people can see what I am up to. We will see how that goes.

Peace in yer crease.