LaPorte House

This is a painting I have had in the Studio for a long time. The first time I showed the piece was at the Ste Genevieve Christmas Art Show in 2007. This is a 24" x 20" oil painting. The top picture shows the piece unfinished just before the 2007 show in the palette I had originally used. I have gotten a lot of positive comments on the finished painting over the months, however, I have never been quite happy with it, nor has it sold. In the first place, the painting was started as a plein air painting with the summer sun directly overhead. I have never liked that kind of lighting for a painting, and most painters agree. So, I snapped some pictures of the same house in the late afternoon sun. As I rework the painting, I am considering that lighting.

Taking Stock

In order to complete my paintings for this new show, opening in a month, I needed to see what materials I had on hand. Being unemployed, I must make do with what I have on hand. As far as blank canvas, I have two 2-1/2" deep gallery mounted canvases, a 22" x 28" and a 30" x 40". I have three 16" x 20", and twenty smaller sizes. I have a bucket of acrylic gesso. I also have ten older paintingsI can finish or rework to correct problems I see in them. I also have watercolor paper with which I can make some work. I have a large stock of photos I have taken. So, potentially, using all of the canvases on hand, I could create 40 new pieces or 6200 square inches of paint to push. I am potentially, at a low $1 a square inch, creating @ $6,000 of inventory.

My next step is to inventory my photos and ideas and mate those to the canvases and create the sketches for the new paintings. That's today's work. It's raining, so I won't be disturbed by too many people walking in from Main Street.

Opening a Show on April 24th

Well, it's been a long time since I have posted. But, I want to announce that I will be starting to paint again tomorrow...and all month...until I have enough work to fill my Studio on April 24th.

My scheduled artist for May's exhibit (opening on the Fourth Friday in April) suddenly backed out last night. So, I am taking that spot! What the heck. I haven't worked since December, and it's about time I got the paint out. I will post at the end of every day, so that you can get a feel for what it would be like for me to try to produce a lot of good work in a short time frame.

By the way, April's Art Walk, here in Ste Genevieve, will be something you won't want to miss. Why?

Stay tuned.