Thursday, March 06, 2008

Work Being Completed

I seem to be working like mad but producing few visible results. However, I've got a few paintings in progress that should be finished this month. "The Joyous Birth of the All New Transhumanic Super Beings" is a rather abstracted picture about genetics. A Christmas card one is due, too, that's the second version of this one because the support was poor and paint application was too thick and I became worried about the long term health of the picture.

A second version of an old painting called "The Art of Painting" will probably be glazed this month too. The original was one of my first complicated compositions and was a little ambitious for the time (a mere 18 months ago). This version looks better in the underpainting already. A second version of a 2005 painting called Rhino is in progress in the underpainting stage too. That one is because I liked the first and now think I can paint it "better" (although the original is still rather nice).

Study for Arrow Stabbed Vine by Mark Sheeky - Graphite pencil, chalk and charcoal on paper

Finally I have a very surreal painting currently called Arrow Stabbed Vine. This is causing frustrations. After weeks, admittedly of mostly staring at it, I dislike parts. Parts of it niggle and annoy me. I have an insane tendency to want to restart a painting from scratch instead of "correct" it so I'll probably do that. Full pictures that become studies in this way generally lead to better paintings. I'm learning that imaginary objects demand studies and so I've done a few pencil studies for this one (pictured) which should help fix a few of the earlier insecurities.