2:05 PM: today I felt like putting my attention on 7/10/2021 creek oil, which is 26x24”, oil/oil pastel & collage on stretched portrait linen. when it started out almost 3 weeks ago, the central figure was a little girl with a red cap holding her fuzzy blue toy. you can still see her, just to the right of the main figure, upside down, but she’s playing second fiddle to the large female figure bending forward to tie her shoe on the floor of a school we were going to, that was using our project based educational platform. what appears to be patterning in her blouse is actually bubbling creek water; part of the original composition.
the image of my leg & boot on the right is from a photo I shot 4 days ago on our trail walk. my leg was not the focal point of what I saw that made me stop and shoot; it was a time worn piece of bark with beautiful colors which had fallen from an adjacent tree to the trail.
before going any further with this post, i’d like to acknowledge all those who came before me. they paved the way for me to feel comfortable flipping a painting in progress 180° & painting over much of what i’ve done to date. this freedom was not always a given in the world of painting. certainly my greek mentor, tsarouchis wouldn’t have had this option in his rather large bag of tricks.
but I know for certain that he would have gotten what i’m up to, and applauded it!
7/10/2021 creek oil at 2pm today
BELOW: yesterday’s version on the left, and today’s on the right
mikela ambled over around 1 pm to take some watermelon I bought this morning back to the house. she looked critically at 6/10/2021 creek oil and zeroed in on the legs of the large, striding figure. it bugged her that his left leg just trailed off, giving a visual hint that perhaps he’s one legged. so after she left, I fixed that, and she was right, the lower portion of his torso now reads as though he has 2 fully functioning legs!
DETAIL of 6/10/2021 creek oil
6/10/2021 creek oil following my adjustment a while ago to the left leg of the striding figure.