picking up steam

Things are beginning to move along and I'm needing to pick up the pace of things a bit. One of the more important items I have to take care of is having some slide dupes made of recent work. I need to have them available to send out for shows and a residency I want to apply for. There's a spring show looming, being curated by Julie Karabenick. It's going to be at Gallery Siano during May and June. The only issue is the essayist needs images of available work really soon and Bridgette has clients looking at some pieces left over from my September show this weekend. So, as usual, things are running on a tight schedule. It'll work out. I won't complain about having this kind of problem.

I also have to increase my studio time to where it was a year ago. It's all coming together, though. Yesterday, I continued working on two new acrylic paintings on panels. A few weeks ago, I purchased a couple of 16" x 16" deep cradle panels from Utrecht. I like them so far and may get some more for the near future just to have something ready to paint on while I prepare some larger canvases to work on. It's just so difficult to concentrate on getting anything done this time of year because of the holiday business. You have to keep a lot of balls in the air at once.

Back to studio time. Even though the last couple of sessions have been short, lasting only about two or three hours at a time, I feel satisfied with the results in the paintings so far. I have to get used to how cold it can get in there. I didn't turn on the heat because I knew I was only going to be in there a short time. I had plenty of layers on and put on my coveralls and hat over everything else. That kept me pretty warm. My fingers were a little chilled, but that was it. I'll pick up some small gloves to work in when I need them.

picking up steam

Things are beginning to move along and I'm needing to pick up the pace of things a bit. One of the more important items I have to take care of is having some slide dupes made of recent work. I need to have them available to send out for shows and a residency I want to apply for. There's a spring show looming, being curated by Julie Karabenick. It's going to be at Gallery Siano during May and June. The only issue is the essayist needs images of available work really soon and Bridgette has clients looking at some pieces left over from my September show this weekend. So, as usual, things are running on a tight schedule. It'll work out. I won't complain about having this kind of problem.

I also have to increase my studio time to where it was a year ago. It's all coming together, though. Yesterday, I continued working on two new acrylic paintings on panels. A few weeks ago, I purchased a couple of 16" x 16" deep cradle panels from Utrecht. I like them so far and may get some more for the near future just to have something ready to paint on while I prepare some larger canvases to work on. It's just so difficult to concentrate on getting anything done this time of year because of the holiday business. You have to keep a lot of balls in the air at once.

Back to studio time. Even though the last couple of sessions have been short, lasting only about two or three hours at a time, I feel satisfied with the results in the paintings so far. I have to get used to how cold it can get in there. I didn't turn on the heat because I knew I was only going to be in there a short time. I had plenty of layers on and put on my coveralls and hat over everything else. That kept me pretty warm. My fingers were a little chilled, but that was it. I'll pick up some small gloves to work in when I need them.

one step...

I worked a total of 2 1/2 hours today. I'm currently working on a couple of deep-cradle panels (16"x16" and 2 1/2" thick) I purchased from Utrecht a couple of weeks ago. Although I worked on a painting recently, I still feel like I'm stumbling along with making new work after the hiatus. I noticed that I picked up a few bad habits, going to bed late being chief among them. I did a lot better last night, but I still didn't get out of the apartment until close to noon. That's not good enough.

Well, anyway, I felt almost at a complete loss today when I finally got up to the studio. The toughest part is just getting started. I have plenty of ideas, but tackling that blank slate is still daunting after a time away. I quickly cleared up that issue by covering both panels with a single color, as I usually do. It was great just watching the brushstrokes accumulate and eventually dominate the pristine white flatness of the panels.

I painted for a while, just getting back into the swing of things. It's going to take a couple of painting sessions before I really feel back in the groove, but I think I'm off to a good start. As long as I get into the studio, something will get done.