The Voice...

2008, April 18

The Voice of God…?

I was awoken early this morning by a chiming sound that was not my alarm. As I lay in bed I realized that a little metal effigy on the bedroom altar was making the sound. I got up to still the object thinking it odd that a truck or faraway train rumble could be causing the vibration. When I let go of the vibration continued. “Odd”, I thought, “maybe it’s an earthquake?” not really believing it was one. Turns out I was right the first time. The news is saying we got a 5.4 quake. Not something we’re accustomed to in the Midwest.

Work in the studio continues at a slow pace. I’ve been drawing in the composition on the new canvas. It’s a big one, 85 x 65”, and a bit unruly to work with. I’ll have to set up some system to be able to reach all the areas comfortably. It’s been a while since I worked on this scale. One other 72 x 42” canvas is stretched and ready to go, another stretcher of the same size has yet to be built.

I have a couple of concerns about the work needed for the WI exhibit. The first is the amount of work I will need to fill the gallery(about 2400 sq. feet). If I use some older works with newer works I will have plenty to make a good presentation. Naturally, I would prefer to have as much new work as possible. One thing I have to remember is that most people will have never seen any of the work so how old it is doesn’t really matter in that respect.

The second concern is whether the span of work will work as a cohesive unit. How do my older works relate, compare or contrast the newer works? There has definitely been a shift in my focus in the last decade of so. The water paintings, the black and white wood relief prints to the family paintings and the color prints. A bridge between these areas of emphasis is required if I intend the entire exhibit to hold together and not look like some schizoid man has created it.