End of year paintings.

oil on canvas 160x120 cms.

oil on canvas 160x120 cms.

I feel that there might be a chance that these paintings mark a shift: it could be nothing of course but a year of painting has brought me here and it feels different. There is probably more work to be done but I have something else on the go too so I'll put these aside for a while and read a good book.

I am still dipping into James Elkins and this piece seems relevant: Like Alchemy, Painting has always been insecure about its most basic store of information. Perhaps the alchemical labor is the work of a full, long lifetime, spent scouring the libraries of Europe and preparing elaborate, year long experiments....but on the other hand it might be a flash of inspiration or a moment of supreme profound comprehension.  Contrast something learned slowly, from the ground up, in a four year course or a long apprenticeship with something intuitive. Perhaps great painting happens like that, with no planning at all.