In my studio at this very moment sit several several blank canvasses, newly stretched, primed and ready for a little paint.  Of these, three in particular are of interest for the purposes of this post, and I’ll tell you why.   All three will be figure paintings for which I already have scrap and compositional sketches, and which I will be working on all at once.  I have completed full, scale drawings which are ready to transfer to canvas.  Once they are, I will be posing regular updates on the progress of all three paintings in coordination with posts in ‘The Artist’s Studio’ at Quent Cordair Fine Art.

Stay tuned…

Yet again I have let far too much time pass by between blog updates, and there is a lot of new news to post.  Most excitingly, at least for me, I have just moved into a new studio space in Downtown Salt Lake City.  For the past six years I have been working out of various smaller, home-based studios which, while well appointed and extremely convenient from a commuting standpoint, also came with a few limitations…not the least of which were a somewhat blurred line between work and home-life, a sort of self imposed hermit-like lifestyle, and the close proximity of children to lovely chemicals such as lead and cadmium.  For a number of reasons, this move is a huge improvement.  I have tons of workspace, incredible light, and freedom from distractions.  A professional space is also a much more comfortable setting for scrap-shoots and sittings with models as you can imagine.  Here are a couple of photos of the studio in its first incarnation:

Related to the new studio in a very direct way is the completion, just today, of two new figure paintings.  They are sort of a set.  Obviously similar in composition, setting, lighting and props, they also share the same model.  Both are loose interpretations of a secular take on Eve.  One is a relatively classical pose and the other more contemporary.  Instead of a ‘fall’, I take the gaining of knowledge of good and evil, of ethics, of reality, to be an elevation of Eve…and enlightenment.  In the contemporary composition, the apple is replaced by books as a symbol of knowledge learned. 

These are preliminary images, with the paint in various stages of drying and without varnish:

‘Eve’

And ‘Evelyn’

Both paintings are 14X24 inches.

Also, I have just learned that my painting ‘Contrast’ was selected by the Art Renewal Center as one of the top 100 figurative paintings entered in this year’s international competition, and will be featured on their website and in their catalogue. 

The final bit of news for today is that the new studio space will be open for the Salt Lake City Downtown Gallery Stroll on Friday, May 21^st from 6 PM until 9.  The two Eve paintings will be on display before they are crated up and shipped off to Quent Cordair Fine Art.  If you are planning on being in the Salt Lake area on the 21^st and would like to check out the new digs, send me an email, and I will send you the address.