Painting with gouache tonight.

I have such fancy language skills. "New Stuff Started", veeerry sophisticated Fred. Well, it says what it is. I began a new painting this past weekend after toiling for months on the first 5 or so paintings. They are taking longer because I'm on the edge of another art cliff I need to either climb up or jump off. Either direction might be interesting although the excitement and feeling of personal accomplishment is exhilarating. You would think one would like to always be in this moment given the chance. I always feel as if I'm approaching it but rarely do I think I cross it. A bold move was needed. This was it.

The running title for this one is "Half Dozen". I splashed titanium white and cerulean blue over a flooded surface of medium as the painting was lying flat on the floor so it wouldn't drip. er, run. I did the dripping! So many new things introduced in this painting. The landscape, the eggs, and how I approached the piping all competing. That is why I didn't work on this piece for over two months!

Rogizoid has a fantastic jawline for a painting I want to do. I also will probably leave in the piercings. We're bartering some modeling for painting instruction. Plus she's really cool to hang out with.

David Stoupakis was late. Actually, later than late because I was late and he came in well after we began painting. "We" being Paul Booth and I. The rain was constant and effective in soaking my hat and shirt the few blocks I had to walk from the train to Last Rites Gallery. I  brought a painting in progress that I hadn't touched for about a month. David showed up an hour later and it looked like an old fashion artist studio as we all started jamming on our paintings. We'd break to explore the directions one or the other of us wanted to go with the image. Then back at it. Great night!

Who knows what I'll be calling it by the time my show in August happens. Last Rites will be using it for an ad in Hi Fructose magazine. I'm sure it will be the size of a postage stamp, but an ad none the less. The weirdness for me is I've had my illustrations that were appearing every week in Sports Illustrated in the '90s when their circulation was 2.5 million. The Week Magazine has a circulation in the hundred  thousands and yet I'm very excited to be in such a major industry magazine. Putting your work out for everyone to see in an age when everyone puts all their shit out in the world for it to "like" and "share" etc. I don't do that a lot. I have no interest in what people ate, or their kids, or their giant log they just dropped in the toilet.... unless the log looks like a famous person. I've drawn and painted since I was a little kid. It's never been a concern that anyone is analyzing or interpreting what I depict until I grew up and realized I was participating in a visual language. I wonder if people's food pictures will eventually bring in a new visual language that will become an art movement on the level of the Pre Raphaelites, Surrealism, Color Field, or whatever. So here is my food pic. We'll just say portions are important.

Ink sketch.

This painting might not look like this the next time I post this again. It's own mother might not even recognize it. Much like the progress of a painting, the title might go through some different looks.