Tag Archives: Alchemical work

Amelia’s sky, sailing

I painted a glaze of Prussian Blue over the sky, taking it to a nice rich dark blue that I’m enjoying so much that the Prussian might supplant the Ultramarine blue in my choice of favorite blues. I love that … Continue reading

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Amelia in the dark, Temperance gets wings

I built up some of the shadows for Amelia’s background. I like the way this looks so far, and we’ll see where it goes from here. The light is beginning to feel real and she’s coming off the canvas quite … Continue reading

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Amelia in the cavern

Because it’s been intemperately pouring with rain here in Southern California, lovely Amelia’s too wet to paint today unless I work around the figure and deal with the background. When the air is full of moisture paint takes much longer … Continue reading

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Amelia reaches for the light

I worked late and produced this drawing for the new piece. I’m not sure quite where this interest in Amelia Earhart has come from, perhaps it started with my friend Fred Tonsing, who’s her nephew or something. I’ve been thinking … Continue reading

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The Golden Bowl xv

In between preparing the canvases for the virtues I managed to get a layer of black onto the lower part of the painting, making a far darker composition which I like very much. The sky will get a layer of … Continue reading

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Back to L.A.

We escaped from the incessant “bingbingbingbingbing” and the stench of cigarettes throughout the casino and drove out to Red Rocks, a beautiful canyon just outside town. It was fantastic to get away from the casino, where the daylight never enters … Continue reading

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Back in the studio

We had a bit of a dramatic class this afternoon, when one of my students literally passed out in my arms. I think she stopped breathing for a few seconds but while trying to revive her and listen for her breath and … Continue reading

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Temperance xii

Here’s another sketch of Temperance, trying to figure out a more stylized composition and imagery. The funky fat shapes at the bottom are very loosely drawn pigs. I’ve included a vesica about her to emphasize the duality of all these … Continue reading

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Temperance vi

I’ve been thinking about how to express the deadly sins in these paintings so that there’s a counterpoint to the virtues, because as always I’m interested in the duality of good and evil. The opposite of temperance is gluttony. I’n … Continue reading

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Temperance iii

I’m really interested in the angelic aspect of this painting. I don’t want to paint something that feels like it’s been done a million times. How do I express the idea an angel representing temperance in a contemporary way, to … Continue reading

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