(Private Collection)
I must apologize for neglecting my blog over the past few months. In addition to spending quite a bit of time working on a large scale mural for a friend, I have been busy experimenting with new color possibilities, in hope of expanding my vocabulary into uncharted territory. I have been painting for a long time and I have found that about every three years or so, usually as soon as start to gain confidence in my methods, I am compelled to go through a process of artistic rebirth, pushing myself to experiment with new ways of working and seeing. I thrive on the challenge of not knowing what my work will look like until it is finished and I have always been inclined to avoid complacency in every aspect of my life. During these periods of rebirth, which can last for several months, I work a lot, but my focus is on experimentation more than creating finished work. I used to feel guilty that I wasn't producing enough but I have learned to accept these gestational periods as a natural part of my process, just like the frigid, bleak winters that I experience here in northern Maine are a integral part of the cycle of nature that produces such wonderous beauty during the spring, summer, and autumn.
Here is a painting that I did back in July. I am quite pleased with it, but the seeming effortlessness with which it came together forced me to realize that it was time to make painting difficult again. I was about to begin work on a new painting but I felt that I already knew what it was going to look like when it was finished, which for me, is reason enough to rethink everything about my artistic process.
