East Bay Open Studios: Second Weekend

I’m in the final half hour of the second weekend of East Bay Open Studios. The fog never lifted and the park is quiet. Quite a contrast to last weekend’s flow of cars into Tilden Park and the three digit temperature that brought people out.

There has been a slow flow of people to the studio. Some are finding me through the directory and others are intrigued by the color as they drive by and decide to come on up. I never know who will walk in; it’s always a surprise.

One of my favorite paintings found a home. I don’t think the new owners expected to buy a painting but that’s the way it is when you fall in love. Some buy art; others buy horses. When a decision is that clear you can’t go wrong.

Bill Evans was playing when I painted this one during the encaustic demonstration. I didn’t have an audience but the mood was right and the wax was hot. Maybe it’s done; maybe not. Treat it as an experiment in pushing back color and texture.

There’s another piece that I tried many times to resuscitate. I won’t be showing that one; yet.

Definition of Resuscitate

to bring someone or something back to an active state

Turn that thought around and ask:

What state is this painting in?

Not finished. A start. Not working yet. Developing. I’ve never used the word “active” though to think about a composition. If not active is it dead? We don’t want dead paintings!

What would active look like in a painting?