Since my Stone Tower residency in October 2010, my painting has been on a slow track, interrupted by travel and teaching. However, I am continuing to work on a series of paintings involving instruments. Music has always been important to me, and our summers at the Chautauqua Institution have given me an unparalleled opportunity to immerse myself in it.
Strange Bedfellows and Horn Trio (see the web home page), which were painted during my Stone Tower residency, are first steps in the direction I want to go. Currently, I am simultaneously painting two large works involving the cello. I have done a number of paintings over the years, incorporating my violin (no longer played, alas, only painted). The dimensions of the cello are quite different, and I am trying to absorb them.
Eventually, I will move on to other instruments and am considering incorporating some abstract elements and more human figures into these works. The cello is on loan from a delightful cellist who also works at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Education Center where I am a member. I purchased a trumpet on Craig’s List—brass provides such wonderful reflections—it is a member of the Horn Trio. I plan to beg and borrow other subject matter from friends and acquaintances. Stay tuned (no pun intended). I will post these paintings as I finish them.
My other love is portraits. I plan to pursue this more vigorously and hope to do more commission work in this area. I have always enjoyed working with people, and portraiture is another way to understand them and convey my sense of who they are.