new painting and now i'm done.... Not long ago I was declaring my work finally finished for my Santa Fe exhibit which opens this coming Friday...but that was before losing panels from two paintings in the black hole that is DHL's (optimistically termed) "lost and found." (Well, they got the first part right anyway.) I spent the weekend getting some other paintings ready to show in their place, including this one, In Deep, 40"x36."

This painting had an interesting evolution--I had it bolted together a bit earlier in the process than I normally do (I can't recall why that was) and the carpenter who does this work advised me not to unbolt any of the panels (which I often do to work further on them, and for touch-ups) because he'd had trouble getting everything to line up correctly. He said if I took it apart he could not guarantee that it would go back the right way. From that point until just a week or so ago, I had a huge mental block about finishing this painting because of having to divert from my usual process. I did try to work on it many times, but with the most frustrating results!

Finally, I figured out a few things, and I think they have applications beyond this one painting. First, that I can use the same blue tape that I use on the edges of the panels (to keep them clean) to mask edges within the painting. I started doing that between panels on this painting, but soon began experimenting with other ideas for using the tape on other paintings, with interesting results. I also had to view this painting as a unified whole throughout most of its development, since I was unable to take it apart and move things around as I usually do. As a result I think the panels, at least the bottom four, are more congruent than is typical of my work. I don't know what this means at the moment, if anything, but it seemed worth noting.

Now I just hope it and the others I just finished will be dry enough to make the trip west...but there should be a few days of heat on the way to speed the process! I am very much looking forward to the week ahead--the western landscape that I love, seeing family and friends, and of course the opening reception. If you are in the Santa Fe area please plan to attend, from 5-7 on Friday the 11th at Darnell Fine Art, 640 Canyon Road.  ¶ 10:45 PM