Onward & Upward

It has been very challenging and rewarding to revisit an older painting and rework it. I probably shouldn't even be admitting this, but my current project is to go through my library of paintings and find the mediocre or failed ones and rework them. The usual solution seemed to be dots because almost anything can become an abstract background for abstract pointillism. But I may have seen the light and come to the knowledge that I don't have to totally obliterate the background with dots. These latest works have contained fewer dots and allowed the former painting to participate more strongly and find a new staring role.

Here we have "The Difference Between Cherries" (and I never did really care how that was going to be interpreted) which I signed and dated in 2004. Back then it was just the 3 cherries and the calligraphy and for the longest time I tried to pretend it was finished and had some merit. Finally, facing the truth that it was just another lame attempt, I put it away.

Three days ago I got it out and hung it in the new "the next painting to get redone spot" under the window in the hall; so it's the first thing I see in the morning when exiting the bedroom. The brown "structure" started out as the tracing of a shadow. The leaping figure is from the next morning's NYTimes and is so representative of how I feel about being able to attack this painting anew. I don't have the answers yet on how to finish it in this new style, but that's just fine. And if I need to let it rest some more and work on something else, that's beautiful too.

Please watch this video about Jose Parla. I've got a whole file brimming with info and images that I've been saving for a post that will do him justice. But this vid is pertinent now because of what he says at the very end. So many artists will tell you to paint every day - I like what Jose says; when he's not inspired, he just waits.

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