Back again after a marathon driving session and just about starting to get back into some sort of routine. I went to France to visit a friend, and on the way back spent 2 days in Orléans, which was something I'd wanted to do and never got round to before. Wonderful. I'm inspired by all I saw and hope I can transform it into visuals (i.e. paintings) as time goes on. My "windows" series is one of the challenges facing me. Gothic windows especially, after wandering around the cathedral, which was the coolest place to be, since it was about 40+° in the sun outside. Today's programme will include starting a long painting about Gothic and otherwise antique windows, though I will stick to the abstract format. After a long struggle to paint anything at all, I am full of painterly energy and have finally realised that workshops, seminars and demos will not help me if my own energy is not flowing!
I left 3 paintings at my friend's.
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| Metamorphosis 1 |
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| Metamorphis III left (diptych) |
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| Metamorphis III right (diptych) |
Metamorphis was originally thought of and painted as one work, but there were big discussions about the one that is now on the right and turned 90° to the right. There was speculation that they were in fact landscapes! No argument. Abstracts without names often produce these comments. Although the first Metamorphis painting displays this title, it is one of the windows series. Windows is a loose definition and leaves worlds open. The metamorphis idea comes from the fact that most of these new abstracts are painted over older works! I have so many half-finished or discarded canvases that one of the aims of this project is to use them up! Any canvas hanging around that is in need of a new coat of paint will therefore get at least one! But the attempts in oil will be continued in oil, so they will have to wait. Acrylic paintings dry much faster so it's possible to work on several at the same time. I cannot "stage" more than 3-4 paintings at the same time in my small studio.
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| diptych Metamorphis III |
My latest metamorphis painting is based on the idea shown in Metamorphis I and is at the stage shown below after just using up colours left on my palette (plate) plus a lot of white and impasto royal blue (ultramarine). I hope to finish it today. I am not trying to repeat the other painting, but the idea of looking out of a window and seeing different kinds of weather through each pane fascinates me:
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| Metamorphis VII stage 1 |
