Rediscovering the work of Diebenkorn.

In working a bit with landscapes, I re-remembered the
paintings of Richard Diebenkorn. Though his career was long, and his painting evolved a great deal, there is a moment in his development that sings to me and hopefully will inform my own work. It is called the "late figurative works".




He rides an edge between representational and pure abstraction that I wish I could feel more comfortable with.

"Carshow"

This is a new piece called "Carshow" It comes from a snapshot I found in an antique store. A whole pack of snapshots that were taken, over many years, by someone who's hobby was, apparently, restoring and showing Model T's. Out of all the snapshots in this bundle I chose only two. This one, judging by the boufants, seems to have been taken during the 1960's. I have enjoyed this image so much that months later I went back to the same antique store, hoping to look again at the bundle of snapshots and possibly choose more. But alas, they were gone! I chose the name "Carshow" because obviously, that is what it is, but also there is a sense of irony in the name for me, because it is also a "Woman-show". A beauty pageant along with the car show. What an action packed day!

Here is a few photographs documenting the process of painting this piece. The original photograph is tiny, about 2.5 inches by 3.5inches. The painting is on birch 1/4 plywood, 30 inches by 40 inches. I start out priming the panel with an acrylic ground that has grains of garnet mixed in, to create a rough surface to draw on. Then I start the initial drawing, which is mostly the most exciting part.

Then I start with thin, large color washes, trying to keep the drawing visible.

I start to hit some light colors to counterbalance the heavy darks. I had to go slowly with this peice to make sure I did not go on autopilot and simply "fill in" all the minutia and details in the photograph. If I were to do this, the abstract interest in the painting would be lost, and nothing would be left up to the viewer to imagine.

Here you can see I take out the pale square object in the lower left corner. (I think it is a cooler with a bottle sitting on top of it!) It was simply too distracting to keep in. I also finally put the divider rope into the image. I love the way it cuts dramatically across the picture plane. My partner Jim is opposed to the rope. He thinks it distracts. I often find his opinion is astute and often follow his advise. Not this time. The rope controversy rages on.

In the finished peice I did make the rope more subtle and thin. In this picture, in case you didn't notice, I have removed a square white object in the lower left corner. I thought it was too distracting and drew the eye to it too much. In the final version (up top) I decided to put it back! A lot of scraping, scratching, sanding and re-painting. I also realized it was probably a Millier High-Life bottle.

"Wise Beyond Your Years"

"Wise Beyond Your Years" 30"X40" Acrylic on panel. September 2008.
This is from a black and white snapshot of my late stepfather, Meryl. He is the small child in front. I love the composition and the dappled light and the exciting movement of the figures. The title refers to the totally insane apparatus in the background. I believe it is a slide outfitted to accommodate snow sleds, though I could be wrong about that. What is apparent is that they slide down from the trees, over a cliff, probably into a swimming hole in a river or lake. In today's climate of safety and liability, it is hard to imagine anyone could get away with having a slide like this for long!

"Tapioca"

"Tapioca" 18"X24" Charcoal and acrylic on panel. July 2008.
This is from a black and white snapshot. My late stepfather, Meryl, was in the Navy in the 1950's. This was taken while they where on leave. The wood panel is exposed in almost the entire image.

"Reservoir"

"Reservoir" 8"X10" Acylic on panel. August 2008. This is based on a colorized black and white photograph. I love, love, love those outfits!!! My partner Jim has an aunt Francis who is now 94 years old. She is the young lady on the left. The man is her husband, George. He was Jim's father's best friend, and he died in WWII. (It is unknown who the young lady in the center is.)

"Sparingly" and "Polka Dot"

"Sparingly" 8"X10" Acrylic on panel. August 2008. This little sketch is from a black and white snapshot of some relatives of my late stepfather's family-- I don't know who. I love the polka-dots and the lines of the car.



I later did a very large version I named "Polka Dot" Though they look similar here on line, the size difference is extreme. This one is 30"X40", which is around 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 feet. It is acrylic on illustration board. November 2008.

"My Careful Shapes"

"My Careful Shapes" 20"X28" Acrylic on panel. August 2008.
My partner, Jim had an uncle, John Reese, who was a skilled amateur photographer. This is based on a black and white photograph taken by him. It depicts his wife Tillie and their son Jack.