A Dispatch from the Bubble

My husband and I set out a year or so ago to simplify our lives and to create - as we call it - "the Bubble". This is the place (both geographical and internal) where we can do what we do in a simple, purposeful way. For me, that means painting and trying to mine the vein of visual ideas that the landscape suggests to me. I have talked a little about this here.

Writing this blog has become an unexpected part of the Bubble for me. In addition to the opportunity to connect with other artists all over the world, the small paintings I have produced and posted here became the seeds of ideas for larger works and even series of paintings. Because I was doing many of these little paintings rather than just a few larger ones, I was able to develop the ideas more quickly and also to adjust the technical changes that were occurring in my work more quickly. The change in my working process from direct painting to using indirect traditional methods like glazing also contributed to this- making it necessary to have several pieces going at once, rather than the simple start and finish approach I have always used before.

So what I am posting here are two beginnings - lay ins which are done in the manner I talked about here - of a series of 10-12 larger paintings now in progress. These are all based on the same visual idea, the seed of which is the small Rick's Pool paintings I posted over the last several months. Here in the Bubble we find this to be fascinating stuff, but I realize it may be less than compelling to you out there in the world. On the other hand, all artists I know have a pretty intense inner life going, so hopefully you'll forgive this little navel gazing glimpse into mine.

A rift in the time/space continuum of the Bubble occurs this weekend when we travel to Canyon, Texas for the opening of the Panhandle Plains Museum Invitational on Saturday. I have talked about the Museum and this show here, and am looking forward to the road trip, seeing the Museum again, and visiting with artist friends I know who will be there.