"Mr. Arnold"

Here is a new painting, part of my recent figurative series. 

"What Goes on Behind I Can't Bear to See"

I've started a new series of paintings, the premise being that they read like film stills, just one moment out of a procession of moments. I want to give them a cinematic feeling, a combination of the setting, the lighting, and the mood.

"Flushing"

I call this one "Flushing" due to the fact that two of the prominent colors of the painting are blue and orange - the colors of the NY Mets.

"Canary Drive"

Here is what I've been working on the past week. Funny thing, actually, because I sacrificed a recent painting to create this one. That's right, I painted over my self-portrait below. I like this painting much better. It has a chunky style and lots of movement in the paint. I'm using a new technique, where I apply lots of paint, and scrape much of it off in different manners. I'm having a great time experimenting. I was also more liberal with my color choices, normally I limit myself to 3 or 4 colors, but I just let the colors fly on this one.

New Look

I got bored of my blog, so I gave it a makeover! I like this much better. Simple and clean, the best format to compliment my work, I think. So, now that I love how my blog looks, I will be writing more often. Maybe even (and this would be wild) daily.

I visited the Met recently, I've been trying to go once a week, and I can't even tell you how big an impact going regularly has had on my painting. It's such a treasure, every time I go I find something new. I leave refreshed and full of ideas and things to work out on canvas. I'm going to try to get around to the galleries more often as well. Although I think it's much more useful to look at the masters, as opposed to contemporary art. Eh, that's just how I'm feeling right now.

New

These are my latest drawings, I really love the mix of pencil and marker. They are subtle and expressive. They allow me to work intricately and obsessively, which I like, even though they certainly don't appear that complex.

Self-Portrait

Well, here it is. My self-portrait. It was a total experiment, I wanted to make it in a way in which I don't normally work, and see what came out. I think I'll do one every few weeks and try a completely different style each time.

Drawing Series

A Look in the Mirror

I feel I am at a crossroads in a way. I am very happy with my paintings and how I've been working recently, and yet, I feel there is something significant that I am not reaching with my current series. 

I've been doing lots of heavy thinking, reworking my ideas and desires for my paintings. I know I have the problem of attempting to fit every single idea I've ever had about painting into every piece I make. This drives me mad and keeps me perpetually frustrated. 

In order to clear the decks, I guess, I decided to go back to basics. This means for me, a self-portrait. In the past, whenever I was unsure of what to paint, or unsatisfied with my paintings, I would do a self-portrait. It's a centering exercise for me. 

I'm working on it now, actually, and it should be ready soon. I'm sure I will come to a few new conclusions about the direction I want to take my work into, and it's always fun to see how the things I've been thinking about myself lately will come out on canvas.