Filling in the gaps

I just finished the painting shown above, which I've been chipping away at for the last few days (the bottom rows are still wet!).

This piece is part of an overall effort to make work in series and groupings.

Working in such a way doesn't come naturally to me. I have always had a tendency to make one piece at a time and after each one, I get bored with those particular colors or shapes and move on to something completely different. (Been there, done that; that's my Gemini brain.)

But I realize, after having several very fortunate experiences with art consultants who sold large groups of my work, that I really need to find a way to offer a number of pieces in similar styles.

In looking through the works I have in storage, I realized that I have tons of diverse styles and colors, one piece here and one piece there, all over the place. So I've decided to use the chunk of time I have before my summer teaching kicks in to fill in some of the gaps -- that is, select the pieces I like most and make several or more that are variations on the same theme.

I found the two works shown below, made at different times, and realized they go well together (a total coincidence, given the way I typically work). With my new plan in mind, I decided to group them and create a third one that would turn them into a possible triptych (hence, the new piece at the top of this blog).

This is really the first time in my career I have ever worked with a plan in mind. Even though, in other areas of my life, I am the most organized person on the planet, when it comes to painting, I've always just flung paint around and let the chips fall where they may. But with this recent sales success, I think it's time to work with more intention and focus, while maintaining a freedom of technique.

I hope this isn't selling out. I prefer to think of it as working smarter.

(Please note: The sections within each painting are actually uniform in size; some of them got cut off when I trimmed the photos for this blog. See my blog entry, "What A Difference A Pro Makes" !!!)