Busy!

Late Afternoon Light
16 x 20

The last few weeks have been a busy time in the studio as I am working on several groups of paintings for a couple of different shows. The work for the group show in London and for Atlanta will be shipped next Tuesday and the others shortly after. This painting will go somewhere although I haven't quite decided where yet!

My Trees class has kept me busy as well, with my students doing some lovely work. I'm also getting ready for my Taos workshop, pulling together some teaching materials and images.

Perhaps the most exciting thing though is the seed of an idea for a new project which I'm not quite ready to talk about yet. Stay tuned!

More About Memory

Edge of the Field II
8 x 10
Available at Huff Harrington Fine Art

This small painting was done from memory. Working from memory is a skill that can be acquired with practice. It requires careful observation over extended periods of time. Why is this important? Memory is a powerful aid in helping us separate the things which are visually compelling as opposed to merely present in a scene which interests us.

To illustrate this point, in my workshops, I ask students to close their eyes and remember a very significant event (this can be visual but doesn't have to be). So, go ahead-close your eyes and think of something in your life like that and try to see it in your mind's eye. When you do that, you will remember and "see" details about that event even though it may be far removed in time. But, if you try to remember things that are extraneous to the event- the weather, what you had for lunch that day- those memories will be gone. That is because your memory has distilled and intensified the most important aspects of the event. This can be an incredibly powerful tool in making art. We just need to learn how to use it.

The Rest of the Story

Evening Trees
12 x 10
Available at Albuquerque Museum Miniatures & More

Sold

So, I wrote about my wayward, mysterious disappearing paintings here. A couple of days after hearing that the paintings had been found, we were told they had been found in Salt Lake City!

Despite continued questions, Fed Ex has never been able to explain what happened. In fact, they originally took the position that the crate had not been delivered without a top. Meaning I guess that the paintings somehow jumped out, the top replaced itself and the paintings migrated to Utah. Really?

The good news is that one of them has already found a home with a collector in Atlanta and the other awaits adoption at Huff Harrington Fine Art.