Every painting day, I’m spending time working on the little xerox studies which will lead me into the next group of larger paintings.
These came from digital images done in my garden or friends’, and then xeroxed so they are black and white. Then I can start working into them with gesso and pencils and ink to pick out the elements I like and invent others. I enjoy building the areas of light that will exist behind the vines, and how dense or open certain areas will be.
I also had the notion that it makes sense for the smaller ones to be darker more dense looking images, while the larger scale paintings work better if the palette is kept lighter and airy.
The one on the wall used to have a midnight blue background, but I have just started to go back into it and make it lighter.
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My studio had to undergo a bit of rearranging recently. The building where I work is trying to establish a more “museum-like” image, (read: white pedestals and no personal touches in the hallways) and that means none of our stuff can be outside our studio/offices. This rearranging caused me to think about what I really need in the studio (which by the way is only about 10×13 feet. Really tiny by some folks’ standards.
So I brought my comfy chair home… no place to really lounge now unfortunately. Although, I guess I can always sit on the floor, or out in the hallway….
This is one thing I won’t change. This is the top shelf right inside my door, and it never fails, but the Joseph Campbell quote always catches people’s eye. The other things are a selection of evocative show announcements and photos that intrigue me. Paring down is usually a good thing.
erskinestudio.com 