The Summer of Something New

At the beginning of the summer, I gave myself permission to try new things. To really go wild in the studio. Even so, the first five things I painted were landscapes.

And then…I painted six totally non-representational paintings and loved (nearly) every minute of it. Are you ever just so excited about what you’re making/building/writing/playing/cooking and about what’s coming out of your brain and your hands that you can hardly stand it? That’s how I felt.

I painted a one-off, then two that were designed to hang together, and then the three featured in this blog post. I think they would look amazing installed together somewhere, but they are also available individually.

These paintings are about the colors and how to divide up the canvas (AKA the shapes). They are also about all the details that emerged intentionally and serendipitously as I toiled (in the best way possible) to get the colors exactly right. The layers and layers of paint and different colors create the most amazing little surprises to be discovered.

Unlike with my landscape paintings, I had to “invent” the design for these paintings, so I took to my sketchbook. My sketchbook practice is new as of last summer, and I’m into it.

In the video below, recorded when I was almost done with the paintings, I go into more detail about the paintings, what they are and are not, and some of the things I’m thinking through and deciding while painting.

 See all available paintings.