Nest (in progress)
oil on panel
8" x 8"
I am in the midst of working on several paintings for an upcoming solo show at Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, in Santa Barbara, CA next fall and I've taken a slightly new direction. As you may know I have recently relocated back to the East Coast after spending the last 13 years in Southern California. Although the pseudo-south (meaning my new state of NC) is quite different than my native state of MA there are still some striking similarities that I have enjoyed returning to. I had no idea how much I missed the smell of rain, and the lush greens of deep, dark woods. I grew up spending all of my time out doors exploring the nature of the East Coast and I feel rejuvenated to be surrounded once again by it's familiar splendor. So instead of following a theme of 'underwear' (which is what I had intended for my next body of work), I have chosen to follow my heart in it's celebration of nature and my new surroundings as well as incorporating the human figure into that theme (somehow). I'm still working on a title for the show, but cheesy ideas like "Aux Naturel" come to mind to include nude figure paintings with my new images of nature. Having thought long and hard about this, my new theme isn't actually that far off of any of my previous works. All my works are tied together by the appreciation for beauty and wanting to celebrate the often overlooked beauty before us.
Here is a new still life currently on my easel. The nest and broken robin's egg were found separately in my backyard. My most recent paintings have had a thin raw umber sketch for the underpainting, but I have decided to do a finished grisaille on this one to be able to resolve the complex areas with in and surrounding the nest. I will try to share many progress shots of this one as I go along. Hope you enjoy.
beautiful colour arrangements. Can't wait to see further progress pictures!
ReplyDeleteAllison Lowe.
www.allisonlowepaintingdiary.blogspot.com
Allison, thank you so much for your kind words. I will post some progress soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it is wonderful that you are exploring these delicacies of nature found in your backyard, and I look forward to glimpsing some of your other discoveries as you prepare for your show. I am confident that you will come up with the appropriate title, given your clever title for your drawing group!
ReplyDeleteOh Rebecca, thank you so much. You have a sweet presence (even just on line)! I really hope to meet you in person some day. I think we have very similar aesthetics and ideas about our approaches to paint, and what we choose to paint (celebrate). Kindered spirits perhaps? In the mean time... Happy Painting!
ReplyDeleteI too would love to meet you one day, and I would hardly think that it would be so difficult! yes, I do live elsewhere, but like-minded people have a strange gift for bumping into one another. I am glad that at least we have done it in cyberspace. I thought to maybe send you an email when I can. Would that be okay? as much as I like finding things and people, I prefer not having to "publish" it. I will keep doing it but really, I would just like to share thoughts. We could call it a kind of newsletter amongst kindred spirits. Best to you,
ReplyDeleteRebecca