End of summer produce

Some quick studio shots of mixed media works on paper I made in my summer studio:

I keep returning to this rhombus or trapezoid shape; it's been a fixture for two or three years now.  To me it signifies a tent.  Other people see coffins or diamonds.

Another thing I made this summer:

This installation is at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, MD.  It's my representative piece for the 2013 Trawick Contemporary Art Prize.  Prizes announced this coming Friday, September 6.  Wish me luck!

February Studio Pictures

Sometimes when I don't have any ideas, I give myself assignments.  Usually, those assignments are to paint from life whatever is around me.  For the last few weeks I've been using watercolor, inspired by the watercolor class I taught last semester at GWU.

Small watercolors of studio scenes, a new series from the last few weeks.

Studio watercolors detail.  On the right a work table is pictured.  A painting of a stack of paintings is on the left.

Springtime for Painting

I admitted yesterday in a studio visit that I'm a prejudiced art viewer. I often eschew the conceptual or the difficult in favor of a hit of visual pleasure: I will go out of my way to look at paintings every time. Lucky me, right now is good time to do that.

There's a lot of pretty good painting on view in Washington right now. The Corcoran has Washington Color and Light, although you've only got through Sunday to see it. The Phillips has Philip Guston's works on paper from his time in Rome in the 70's (so, so good), plus a lecture by Peter Doig coming up on March 17. And the National Gallery of Art just opened a big show of Gaugin. There's even some good contemporary painting to see within this context. The DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan has Paint Mix, a well curated look at some locally made works put together by my friend Becca Kallem. This one's up til March 13.

(There was an amazing show of paintings by Laura Elkins up at the Fridge recently, but I didn't get around to blogging about it before it came down. If you get a chance to see her work in person, run, don't walk.)

(Image is postcard from Paint Mix)