snapse#1

'snapse'

1000mm x 1000mm, graphite, gesso, housepaint on stretched canvas.
Well Sophie,
a few things going on here which are all extensions of the past six months and my desire to do it differently. This last wish is proving to be not without it's suprises. I am feeling less manic and intense about the daily schedule but in it's place is what feels like a lethergy.
I am resolved to do all my major pieces in this format and on this support ( canvas). So lots of nice exploration of the 'surface' and further back from there even (making the stretchers, ripping them from recycled rimu)
We have started using talcum and acrylic matt with lots of sanding back in between coats.
This piece is drawing with 'no figure and ground considerations' and the end result is intrigung. Negative spaces appear despite all my efforts.
This morning while walking with A on the beach I confessed being conflicted about this piece, unsettled and unsure. I then talked myself into declaring that (this) piece has taken me into an active restlessness with the formless and with process. I wanted to resolve the work
( somehow, what does this mean?, make it nice?.....) and A suggested that I continue with the operation of painting 'background' over the top, which I did and consider that a balance is achieved.
I am tempted to repeat the operations/exercise fom start to finish but then......there is some painting to do.
This will affect my choices of majors and minors I suspect.
Do you know that you can click on these images and they will expand?
And finally here's the link to the white room
and my critique of the Tesselation Series.