Curatorial Review

Curatorial Review

At the end of 2023 I began to paint "small" paintings.  I had never really painted smaller that 24"x24".  After 40 years of painting large paintings I began the process of figuring out how to paint in a different way.  Larger paintings allowed me put in all the detail I wanted.  My first efforts at smaller paintings were unsatisfying.  I did not want to sacrifice the detail so I changed the way I painted.

The following paintings are examples of my recent direction

Last Gasp 6"x6" oil on gesso board.

Mountain Shadows 6"x6" oil on gesso board

Into the Canyon 8"x8" oil on canvas

Laguna Sunset 16"x12" oil on gesso board

How was I going to be able to get the detail I was looking for in a small painting without using really tiny brushes forever? Building the painting from light to dark.  This process is counter to everything I had learned and done as a painter for 40 years.

Layering progressively darker and darker values with thick paint and not  allowing the paint to dry enables me to workback into the lighter values by scraping away the darker values to get to the highlights.

The thick paint application allows for a significant increase in the amount of texture within the painting.  When I start subtracting that paint with a shaper the level of detail increases dramatically.

Irvine Park 12"x16" oil on gesso board

The following detail shots show the underlying detail created through my process

Irvine Park

Misty Morning in Irvine Park 16"x20" oil on gesso board

This shot allows you to move throughout the painting to see the mark making and texture created

The following are detail shots from within the painting.

The texture was achieved by my adoption of a new paint application technique.

Building the painting from the lightest values to the darkest.  Adding layer over layer without altering the color below.

Thick paint over thin paint.  Brush strokes pushing into the paint leaving lots of texture

The under painting focused on the lightest colors in each area to build upon.

The surface covered and ready for the build up.

The layering begins.  The interaction between addition and subtraction.