NEW WORK
Winter 2024-25
December 2024. After a refreshing Fall break (travel in Europe), my work in the studio resumes with an apparent focus on things like divination (references to Tarot cards, particularly The Tower) and medical procedures (blood transfusions, syringes, pills). Perhaps the over-arching theme is the disturbingly indeterminate nature of “reality.” I am currently reading a book about cosmology, The Secret Melody by Trinh Xuan Thuan, and though I have read such things before I am finding it both helpful and unsettling. Does God play dice? Absolutely!
A few more examples of current work-in-progress. These are sketches for proposed new paintings. At the moment I have four or five medium-scale oil paintings on the easel: the routine is to work carefully on a small section of a painting (a few square centimeters of the “witch” painting below, for example), then leave it to dry for a few days while I work on a small section of something like Jesus robe in the painting on the right. As this set approaches completion I will begin work on a few new ones, no doubt based on some of these sketches.
December 2024: These are two of the oil paintings which are currently on the easel. Perhaps the “witch” is a bit of a departure? Halloween was approaching and the thematic aspect was appealing, not to mention the opportunity to work on the delicate European city-scape. As for Jesus and the Angel . . . the continuing “convalescent” theme in my work is hardly a surprise.
Summer 2024. I spent some time in May-June re-organizing my “gallery” pages, hence going over and taking a close look at paintings from the past few years. This one, for example, “Penitent Magdalene,” a large (5 ft wide) oil painting from 2018. After a bit of contemplation, though I felt good about the canvas over-all, I decided to re-work the face of the Magdalene figure (using some of the new creative tools I have acquired over the past couple of years). Work on this is currently in progress (detail at right). Similarly for 3 or 4 other paintings . . . see below.
I also decided, on a bit of a whim, to frame a painting from the early 70s: Self Portrait as Lapsed Sabbatarian (upper left). The hand work on the frame was therapeutic, and seeing the older painting with recent work (like Ball-Joint Doll Crucifix, lower left, from 2024) led to sketching and reflection. The theme of the painting is introspection and guilt, and recent sketches include this one (right): Two Girls Breaking the Ten Commandments in a Rose Garden. Therapy, yes! Will this lead to a great set of new paintings? This is currently unclear.
The Rainbow. This is another relatively large painting (h = 45 in.) from a few years earlier (2013) that I decided to re-work. Taking a closer look (after having the painting in a storage area of the studio for a few years) I was quite pleased with the painting over-all, but not entirely satisfied with the way I had handled the hair. Re-working this portion of the painting is currently in-progress. (The theme: Yes, “Jesus” seems to be vomiting a rainbow. Though I am not “locked in” to any particular interpretation, I would point out that I had been reading/thinking about experiences of “mystic revelation” induced by ayahuasca, DMT, and other such entheogens at the time. I recall one participant in an ayahuasca “trip” saying that in the initial phases she felt like she was vomiting light or rainbows.)
The Book of Dolls (h = 4 ft.). This depiction of a mystical blood transfusion is currently nearing completion; I have been gradually re-working and polishing areas of the painting, leaving it to dry for a few days, working on something else, then coming back to it. Working slowly has given me time to re-evaluate the painting and I decided to re-work the doll figure (and a few other areas as well).
This is a small painting of dolls in a rose garden. The painting is perhaps 2/3 finished with a particular focus on the re-configuration of the central doll. Part of this process is perhaps evidence of mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies on my part?
This is the entrance to the Oneiros Gallery including the list of 12 or so featured paintings. While the gallery itself is virtual (i.e. digital 3-d) the work is real (oil on canvas), framed and sized as shown. Details of the paintings are available in Gallery One (see menu).
