Experimentation and Development

Occasionally, as those familiar with my work know, I go through significant periods of research and development of new ideas, both visual and theoretical, for my paintings. The last few months, perhaps beginning with this image, have been such a period. Of the dozen or so paintings I started, about 4 got to any sort of completion. Each one taught me something, clarified an conjecture, or showed me the error of my ways, and all gave me ideas about where to go with the next.

I was thinking of sharing all of the "experiments" with visitors, but on reflection, I think it best to keep that developmental process to myself. However, I will share these two images, which are the most recent of the lot, and, as you might pick up, might --at first glance-- be seen as hybrids of 2004 and 2006-7 works, though I am revisiting both sets of ideas in very different ways--and to different ends. Notions about perception and thought, coupled with a visual tension between the body depicted, the static image and the discrete overlayed sections have opened up all sorts of possibilities. My ideas in the older pictures (of multiplied, translucent images) as well as use the more structured and extendable vision implied by the more recent work (jokingly called "tubism" by a friend), have laid a foundation for an exciting set of pictures to come.

Abraham Brewster, Two Studies, 2007. Oil on Canvas, 18 x 14 inches (click on the images to enlarge).