Sunday, November 16, 2008

Cull of the Wild

Major development. Last night I finally connected with this painting, and it changed my decision-making from fretful formal meanderings to more of a decisive culling. I was able to move forward, not by changing or fixing or fiddling, but by promoting a more focussed expression. It still has plenty of contradictions and co-existences, and I didn't tighten up edges or shapes much. The cleanup was conceptual.

This is where I usually get stuck. I'm realising that while I want the confusion and the unknown and the unknowable, I also want to use my reigns, and occasionally my whip.

An aggressive meander?
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I'll have to put aside the large work for a few weeks. Main studio wall will have day job (undersea) mural on it.

4 comments:

Sam K said...

Carla, I relate to the conundrum a lot: generally, and specifically to this one. That early stage was great! I bet it'll return in some form. I demand it, in fact ;)

That said, I also really like seeing the painting's structure stretched so far without losing continuity with that early (lamented-last-Thursday) state.

Carla said...

Part of the desire to keep going further is that I don't have that much experience in painting abstraction.

I don't let myself think of this much, because that's more of a hindsight observation, that I should have in a few years about this work. I don't approach current work as though it is practice, but the "what can happen next" is so strong that I want to keep making marks and messing things up, and restoring new order, and that can go on and on. In a way it is practice.

I want to orchestrate more.

Carla said...

I want more power within the process (ducking and dodging incoming jinxes).

Sam K said...

That makes sense...usually the best way to achieve that kind of awareness is the hard way (going further even when you could be fairly satisfied stopping)...