How the day started…
12.07.2023
9:39-9:42 am represents the first block of time of the day I collected my inspiration for this series. I’m not sure why I didn’t create the series in chronological order, I actually started with the fourth painting in terms of time. This painting came together fairly quickly and I enjoyed the combination of surface textures I was able to achieve while staying within a consistent palette. The gestural marks in the top and bottom parts of the painting were fun to juxtapose next to more geometric patterns and architectural elements as well as the softness of the spray painted area in the bottom third of the canvas. The textures within the unprimed areas also create a quality in this painting that speaks to the irregular surfaces that have been weathering over centuries in this wonderful, historic city.
In this painting the blue actually represents a storefront’s awning that I noticed around the corner from my hotel. The organic, overlapping shapes adjacent to the blue area caught my eye first. These wonderful, round shapes were a shadow cast from a blade sign for the business. The morning light was hitting the sign just enough so that the angled shadow was creating a beautiful pattern on the facade.
I have been preparing stretchers for the next four paintings in this series and I am excited to get them built and stretch the canvases in the coming weeks.
I have come to the realization that my goal of showing this work in Venice will likely not happen this coming year. Ultimately my goal is to show as much of this series as possible in a space in Venice at some point in the future. The time and funding were just not on my side this year to work with the ECC. The cost is so steep and timeline so short. I am still hopeful that I receive some grant money from the state of Delaware and some of the other organizations I have applied to. And who knows what 2024 will bring. Perhaps I can secure a space domestically to show this work before it travels to Venice. I will find a way to exhibit this work somehow and hope that the audience feels the visual magic of Venice when the view the work.
I have been preparing stretchers for the next four paintings in this series and I am excited to get them built and stretch the canvases in the coming weeks.
