Painting #3

11.19.2023

This painting (9:52-9:57 am) was especially fun to work on because of the combinations of various surface textures, patterns, and paint applications overall but specifically because of the immediacy I was able to achieve with the center section of “grass and stone walkway”. I love how the liquid acrylic is bleeding together and the vibrancy that’s achieved even after the media has soaked into the canvas and dried. Another fun passage is the freeform shape just above the grass and stone. It was inspired by a billowing piece of fabric hung out of a window. It was blowing in the light summer breeze so delicately… I stopped to take a short video of the movement.

Every painting so far has had a section of blue, sort of resembling a section of sky visible at any given point through the labyrinth of structures as I moved through the narrow pathways. I am starting to notice that the sections of negative space (untouched canvas) seem to resemble the structures themselves in a way. I saw Venice as a place with so much visual wonder around every turn and at the end of every long, narrow street. The streets changed quickly from dark to light as you moved in and out of the daylight that was able to get around the buildings. I’m beginning to see the painted areas in my work as those crevices of visual excitement among the homes and businesses that inhabit the architecture and the negative spaces as the buildings themselves. I’m enjoying the play between shallow and deep space I am able to achieve even while working in such a 2-dimensional way, bringing each piece of my original collage to life.

While I’m having a lot of fun making this work, I am still unsure if I will be able to achieve the ultimate goal which is to have the work exhibited in Venice next year. I have not been successful at securing any corporate funding for this project and have struck out with all of the galleries and institutions that I have shown with or graduated from over the years. While I will still make the work no matter what, I would love to be able to connect with the viewer in the environment that inspired the work. I think the impact of the work is greater when the viewer can have a personal connection with what they are seeing. I am still hopeful that something will work out in the next few weeks before the participation deadline in January.

With Thanksgiving week upon us, I am so thankful for this opportunity and thankful for my painting practice overall. I feel so lucky every day to be able to do what I love and to share it with my audience.

Just a reminder, you can support this project by donating to my GoFundMe campaign . I am offering lots of original works of art to those who donate!