Grabbing the brush in 2011

I am excited about my studio plans for the New Year. There are five distinct directions I would like to explore, each represented by an older painting that I loved when I first made it, but didn't have a chance to develop into a series. Here are each of the directions, with an example of the painting that inspired it:

Series 1: The first direction I'd like to pursue is exemplified by the painting below, "Twist." I made this painting in 2002, by spray-painting lines on sheer white cloth, then cutting out shapes and gluing them onto a white canvas. Because both the cloth and the canvas are white, the color in the sprayed lines pops out and the lines seem to float.



The work below, "Shard," also from 2002, is one of the best paintings I've ever made. It was made with the same process, only this time the cloth and the canvas were brown, and the marks were made with white spray-paint. For some reason (which I hope I can remember, so I can duplicate the effect!), the lines cracked as they dried, making an interesting pattern. I also used smaller circles than in "Twist," so the individual lines didn't show as much.



I have new cans of spray paint, and yards of cheap curtain fabric from Savers, all ready to go.

Series 2: I loved the following painting, "Undersea 1," when I first made it in Fall 2009. I was very happy when it sold very quickly in February, but it meant I didn't really have a chance to develop a series like this. So I'd like to revisit the idea of a dark background with two layers of white lines and some washy layers applied on top, creating a sense of deep space, on a square format.



This time, rather than use blues, I'm going to use a series of yellows, oranges, and warm browns, as in "Desert 3," below, which I made last summer. I really love the color scheme here.



Series 3: I also loved the "Wintergreen" series of 3 paintings I made last year ("Wintergreen 2" is pictured below). This idea of horizontal bands of lines/stripes in contrasting colors and sharp edges really appeals to me, so I'll be making more like this but exploring different color schemes.



Series 4: I made the work below, "Waterways," for an invitational exhibit at the New Bedford Art Museum in 2006. Artists were asked to create a work inspired by an assigned artifact, which gave us a chance to try something different. I loved the result, but haven't had a chance to work it into a variety of directions: different colors, maybe four lines on a square format ... we'll see.



Series 5: And finally, I loved this painting I made for a benefit exhibit at the New Art Center in Newton last month, titled "Wine Lines." I like the format, the combination of materials, and the variation of dark on light and light on dark. I'd like to play more with this, using different colors.



So I'm looking forward to seeing where these ideas lead! If there's one thing I've learned about being an artist, it's that your work never turns out the way you expect it to ...