"Awakened"
18" x 12", Oil on Paper
I've been painting small nudes lately. I think there's an intimacy about them that you can't get with larger paintings. Also the the size allows me to do more of them and experiment with abstracted backgrounds. Abstraction is something I'm deeply interested in. Don't get me wrong - I'm very much entrenched in representational work and have no intention of changing that. But any artist who has trained, knows that a good abstract design lies at the heart of every successful painting. For a long time I've been scribbling in sketch books ideas that I have for combining these two genre's. Yes, I know there are other artists out there who have done this quite successfully. There probably isn't anything new under the sun and I'm not out to reinvent the wheel. But I have to go where my muse leads or my work will get stale.
I think the exploration of new horizons is a call that many artists hear but don't follow out of fear of losing sales. What I've found is that when I paint something I love, others love it too. So. Onward into the new frontier. Er, somewhat. I think you'll still see a lot of my traditional stuff here as I continue to forge new paths. As it goes with many experiments, sometimes the lab blows up.
