18+19+20

Here is a view of the progression of this set of paintings. I have been hard at work and am very close to pulling this one together. I have been taking photos after each session. After I shut down the cold studio, I can sit in the warm house and contemplate my next moves on my computer screen. It is a very helpful tool. But no replacement for being in the studio. Even if a color seems like it would work in a particular area a painting is about more than just blocks of flat color. For me it is anyway.
I am a painter who likes paint. Paint that is transparent or opaque, thick or thin, wet on wet or dry brushed, flat or shows brush stroke... how it is applied where it is applied can change everything.
I got to a point one night last week where I was swimming in paint! The surface got super thick and it was frankly out of my control. I kept trying to get it to do one thing and the harder I pushed the less it went as I wished. It is important to know when to back off. Listen to what it is trying to say..go with it. Or just scrape! scrape it off and start over. I like squeegees for this task.
Other times I loose the ability to mix or see color. In one session all the color can become too mixed out with white. The pallet goes from deep rich color to washed out pastel! When you are in that particular Hell there seems, no way out!
Sometimes you get locked into an image that is never going to work. I stayed pretty close to the original in the first two panels but the last one changed completely in the last session. I think it may change even more.
There are lots of variables. From the temperature in the studio to what I had for dinner too how pissed off at the president I am. I try and get it right. I try and paint at my strongest and most alert. I try to remain open and let things flow. I try.
while painting this one I realized I respond best when I treat my work like I am tagging a building. Like a graffiti artist. I hit it. Then I go back and re tag it. Then hit it again! When I moved to Virginia I thought I had to change that. But it is me and it is how I work best. I re discovered that on this painting.