Tuesday Sketches

deChirico

Magritte

Took advantage of some quiet time-- canceled the city since the Whitney isn't open on Tuesdays-- and started working on larger images, well larger for me 11" x 9", oil on paper. Here they are in their first stage. Recognize any of the buildings?
After looking at several de Chirico and Magritte images last night, I felt inspired to create some polished pieces for the show in December to balance the gouache collage sketches. Sometimes I fear the finished paintings lose some of the loose spontaneity of the skteches, but when the images comes together, the effect can be wonderful.

Two if By Sea

I'm not sure if these qualify as romantic fodder for the Valentine's Day show at Ripe Art Gallery or not, but these collages had a 'come with me' quality to them. The fish you may recognize from two entries ago, and the house is of course Potic. The first two landscapes are the Blasket Islands in County Kerry, Ireland, whereas the last one was initally inspired by Georgia O'Keefe, but evolved into Odelion Redon.

Beach House

When Jane of modernemama asked if I would paint a portrait of her Andrew Gellar modern home, I decided to dive headlong into the task. It was made easier after a terrific meal (and several bottles of wine) at Crew since I had a better fix on how I was going to represent their already interesting home in a surreal painting. I knew Jane to be a cat lover and The Guy, a fan of the butterfly, but I wanted to make the images more complex than that. After looking at some works by Italian painter Georgio de Chirico and Belgian Rene Magritte, I decided to develop two different images. The top image, a symmetrical facade, became an open book, with the chimney serving as its spine. The ground started as a chess board, since The Guy soundly trounced me in a game, but the image needed something to alter the scale, hence the blue jay feather. I love blue jays, not just for their color, but for their ability to transform their call to sound just like a hawk. The second image was more straightforward, except for the topiary shrub on the right, a dog peeking around the corner to check out the cat and the luna moth. It was a great exercise to try to capture both home and homeowner in such a symbolic way.

Studio Update

A quirky little oil sketch I just finished-- which I've nicknamed "Butterbean"-- has me reevaluating Spanish surrealist Joan Miro. I've always been more of a fan of the cerebral Belgian Rene Magritte, his images serving up a beautiful series of narrative contradictions, but Miro's graphic abstractions are pulling me in. I even included a Miro eyeball in my little gardenscape-- so perhaps I should title it as an ode to him. Suggestions are very welcome.

Meanwhile the invitations to the Ripe Art Gallery holiday show are beginning to make the rounds. My portion of the show, Homes for the Holidays, will include the houses based on emotions series, but also the alphahouses and Moongirl series. It's been fun thinking about seeing so much of the work up-- wondering the story the whole collection will tell.