4 Days and Counting

I have finished 10 paintings for the show, in addition to a reserve of 7 paintings that have not been shown, or only in a small group show (5 of them are from the last year, the other two being just over a year old). I have 21 paintings I am planning to finish by Friday. Why am I sitting at the computer?

Gregory Ferrand at Hillyer Art Space

Don't miss Gregory Ferrand's show at the Hillyer Art Space. Greg and I went to VCU together, where he majored in film. His intelligent, beautifully executed paintings never fail to strike a chord with the viewer.

Artist Residency

I have been awarded a three week artist residency this summer at Soaring Gardens Artist's Retreat, which is in rural Pennsylvania. I'm looking forward to the time alone to work in the studio.

21 Days

Three weeks until I deliver my work, but my self-imposed deadline for completing all of the "painting" is looming (not counting wiring everything up and painting the sides of the recessed frames). Next Friday, April 3rd is a little too close for comfort but not out of the question at this point. I'm finishing about a painting a day (or maybe two days) at this point. After I finish the work I am spending a week backpacking. It will be good to let the work sit while I get as far away from it as possible before the install, so I can see everything with a clear head when I walk into the gallery.
I am participating in Artomatic with Matt Sargent and JT Kirkland as an extension of our collaboration. We spent some time discussing our plan tonight. More on that later.
The April edition of Elan Magazine will be coming out in the next week; look for what will probably be a four page article on my work. And of course, my solo at GRACE will open May 2 and the reception is from 5-7pm. See you there.

Saturday Collaboration

29 days until I deliver the work for my show and 14 days until my personal deadline of finishing the work, a handful of paintings are finished, and many are very close. I am definitely painting with purpose, which always feels good. Then there is the collaboration with Matt Sargent and JT Kirkland, which is progressing a little slow but quite nicely. I am starting to hear back from residency applications (no luck on the MacDowell). Things are happening.
So when my old ceramic/scultor buddy Matt Grimes called me up and asked me to go out to a friend's property to check out the huge Matt had dug for pit firing (in other words; get outside and do nothing that could technically called productive for a day) I couldn't refuse.
We ended up with a chilly wet Saturday in the mountains outside of Browntown, Virginia, and it was a great day.
Matt wanted to do some kind of collaborative piece outside and soon he spotted a bunch of wild grape vines that we were soon removing from some trees at the back of the property and taking turns weaving it together.
A few hours later we had a ball above 40" in diameter, that weighed in at 50 or 60 pounds (the rain wasn't helping).

We moved it around to a few locations, finally settling on the location 10 feet up on this tree limb.

Misguided Youth

When I was in high school, considering a career in the visual arts, I was completely misguided about the amount of paperwork I would need to do and the amount of time I would spend sitting in front of a computer proving that I make and think about art. I have finished my last residency application for the season, and I have been cranking in the studio. I am 36 days until the delivery of my paintings for the show.
I'm also working on some things for the collaboration.
I also want to write about my trip to NYC last weekend.
If there is anything I have learned, soon enough.

Miscalculation

Sitting Still 65
oil, acrylic, and graphite on birch panel
10"x8.5"

Ok, so it is only 42 days until I have to deliver my work for my show at GRACE. I've been busy in the studio (see the brand spanking new painting above, one of several I finished this week). Tomorrow I have to be at work at 4:30 am for a field trip with my advanced students to NYC. We are hitting MoMA, The Met, and Whitney and doing some touristy stuff, but I am also pumped about hitting Pearl Paint to reload (plus hitting my favorite seafood walk up for fish and chips along with some clam chowder). Sunday I'm back in the studio.

Interesting Thread: A Step Backward

There is an interesting thread of comments that has been going on for two days at JT's blog Thinking About Art. All of this started on facebook because JT recorded his reactions as he walked through MoMA last weekend.

48 days And Counting: Solo at GRACE

Work in progress...

I have 48 days until I install my show at GRACE, so I decided to keep a little journal here of the preparations and my thoughts. I am working on over 30 new paintings for the show and they are progressing quite nicely. The paintings are well under way and I have started finishing some of them. Expect to see some detail shots of works in progress and a few of the finished pieces.
On Thursday I did a 2.5 hour interview for Elan Magazine, which will be published in the April issue, just before my show opens which is perfect timing. I think it went extremely well, but I am a little nervous, I don't want to sound like a total idiot or a pompous ass. You be the judge when the article comes out.
I'm taking a personal day to work in the studio after a productive snowy extended weekend, the light is incredible today thanks to the reflection from the snow...