Sometimes I have the tendency to overwork paintings. I think every artist struggles with this. In my case trying to "correct" a passage will sometimes kill the spontaneity of the original laying down of paint. And consequently the surface takes on a lifeless quality. I have recently been rereading Willem de Kooning's biography, de Kooning: An American Master by Mark Stevens (highly recommended). de Kooning was a chronic overworker. He struggled with his first woman painting Woman 1 for over a year! He finally discarded it in a hallway for several more months before his friend and art critic Harold Rosenberg had him haul it out of purgatory. Rosenberg's encouragement about the direction of Woman 1 broke de Kooning's deadlock and he proceeded to finish the painting and go on with the series of Woman paintings. While I was painting these paintings, this book was in the back of my mind, particularly in regard to De Kooning's approach to painting. It's a delicate balance and every painting presents it's own set of problems. More info can be found on my site:
www.halmayforth.com
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| Rascal - acrylic on canvas - 24.5'H × 45"W |
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| Rascal - detail |
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| Crackerjack - acrylic on canvas - 25"H × 44"W |
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| Crackerjack - detail |
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