The first works of 2015 want as much space as possible…

…without seeming too “easy,” obviously a relative term when discussing art. These first two paintings have skipped the initial serigraphy session before getting stretched. I figured, why not start off the new year with whatever approach feels prime- and this was it. While thoughts about narrative titles have been brewing, each piece was named after completion and seem to be following an outdoor festival theme. That will probably change soon enough.

Also of note is that both of these works are using recycled stretcher frames from 2014. My stack had gotten pretty deep, and with no shows in the immediate future the smart option was to un-stretch and roll up many of last years paintings. That’s actually a new one for me as I’ve always been a “leave it stretched” kind of guy, which becomes quite a hassle when you’re somewhat regular at making larger paintings and nobody is buying them…first world artist problems, LoL.