Mid-Struggle

This is a painting I am currently working on for my show in May. I am sure I will regret posting it, but that is the beauty of the delete button. At this point I think it is about 50% of the way there. Part of me wishes I had the guts to take a painting about this far, or a bit more, and leave it. It is still fun and abstract and it is more about the paint, marks, and mood than about "what it's supposed to be". Painting is fun, but at the same time it is PURE AGONY, on so many levels. Robert Henri said, "A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle." That is the truth, that guy knew what he was talking about.

Stephen Hayes = Awesome

I am hammering away at about a painting a week right now to get ready for a one-man show this May/June in Portland Oregon. I hope to have 25 paintings at the show with a few trickling into the galleries leading up to that. I have not decided yet when to start posting the work here or on my site, but when I get time I will try and get some up. I am looking at doing a mix of urban interior stuff, cityscape stuff, and some portrait work. I feel like the paint has been a bit more expressive and confident in the pieces thus far, I am excited to get them out there.

In the meantime, here is another guy that I like to keep an eye on, Stephen Hayes. I fell in love with his work in 2003 when I first saw it in Portland at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. A lot of his stuff is pretty large, 5'+, this one I think is 40"x40". If I ever break some of my barriers and get past some artistic and mental blocks I hope to approach my work this fresh one day.