When I Grow Up I Want to Be A Big Painting

After finishing my first painting of the year, I admit that I  slacked off slightly over the weekend. No, artists do not get weekends off! I seem to respond well to deadline pressure so I am sure I will get going full steam ahead soon. I have been making sketches for one part of my show that is still in the germination stage and have done a study for my next painting (left). I like this whole doing a study first thing. It is much less daunting to paint and repaint at 8" x 10" than  30" x 40". Last night I got the yellow of the house mixed and some preliminary shadow colors mixed and tested. Alas, after the paint dried my yellow had a greenish tinge. Grrrr, back to mixing and testing...


I've been thinking a lot about where I am going with my paintings. I have been working on my Neighborhood Series since late 2009. The paintings are based on houses in the Heights. I don't paint them because I am in love with the architecture of bungalows or am interested in portraying charming cottages. I paint them because to me they represent mystery, the unknown and loss. When I see a house that intrigues me, I'm curious about the many lives lived in it, the secrets it holds, and losses it has endured. These houses are much more than simply impersonal structures. That is what continues to compel me to paint them. At the same time, I don't want to become so one dimensional that I'm only known as a "house" painter. It's important to evolve as an artist. I guess that when I feel finished with this series, I will know that it is time to move on to something new. Until then, bungalows reign!