Oldies but goodies, part 4 in a series

I've been doing some painting storage inventory this weekend, and this "oldie but goodie" popped up. It's part of a series I made several years ago and, I think because it's so simple and quiet, never attracted much attention or sold. But I adore it; it's one of my favorite paintings that I've ever made.

During fall of 2010, I created a series by extruding lines of white paint onto stretched canvas. Nothing unusual about that, for me, but usually I press the lines flat with a brayer and a sheet of paper, only with this grouping, I didn't. Instead I let the lines dry in the raised way they originally came out of the squeeze bottle. Then when they were dry, I brushed back over them with different colors of paint -- in this case, watered-down black that registered as gray -- until the paint had soaked deep into the canvas fibers and dried, leaving a contrast of surface texture between the lines and the background/negative space.

This series didn't go anywhere; photographs can't do it justice, which I guess is why the consultants I work with didn't respond, and I still have most of them sitting around. But this one is my absolute favorite of the bunch. The medium gray, slightly shiny surface reminded me of when you rub layers of graphite onto paper, hence the title: "Graphite." I am so glad to have reconnected with this piece; I am now going to take it upstairs and hang it in my bedroom!

"Graphite 2," acrylic on canvas, 20 inches square, 2010