Thursday, January 22, 2015

"Folly" has its day

Sometimes I finish a piece and after some time I decide that it needs to be reworked. 

In the most extreme cases of dissatisfaction, I turn the blow torch on high and work with the shreds left behind as inspiration. The puddles on my studio floor serve as memory of bygone painting love "affairs".

Sometimes I finish a piece and I know that it's complete, but while most of the other pieces created around that time sell, it remains in my inventory. 
So it was with "Folly".

Perhaps it was because it is so large, or that it's in mixed media and not my usual encaustic...

Regardless I was prepared to retrieve this  painting, created about 5 years ago (which had been on extended loan in the Cira Centre) and maybe retire it to my personal collection...

* In general I would much rather my pieces go out into the world, but for posterity's sake and my daughters inheritance, I have kept some.

Most gallery shows, except for retrospectives, want an artist's most current work.  This usually means that the pieces are created within the last 2 years max. 

A piece past its date, no matter how strong I think it is, goes out of circulation in a way. It's sad sometimes...
I mourn that they never got their "day".

Personally, I have always loved "Folly".
Truly I'm surprised that it remained unsold for all of those years. 

But even more of a surprise- a wonderful new collector happened upon it at the CFEVA just before I came to retrieve it.

"Folly" finally found its place and I could not be happier!
I am so grateful and in a way, relieved.

 




Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Fortune

This evening I had the nagging feeling like I should really get to work in the studio.  This was despite taking care of my flu stricken 3 year old daughter all day, with a restless night sure to follow. 
Any excuse was put to shame when I naively opened my fortune cookie from earlier in the night...


While I have several commissions coming up in the near future, nothing is officially being "waited for" at the moment. Regardless, the tone of the those words set me hard at work on my ongoing series.
Speaking of which, here is an image of one of my 4 "Odes" in progress. I'm sure it will look quite a bit different in it's final form. I'm also working on the next 2 reliquaries and a few small pieces. Just in case anybody is waiting for any of these things...
;)