Visitors in the Studio

I participated in an open house this weekend, in a borrowed studio, showing seven of my new Greek statue paintings. It was worth it: I made a few good contacts, including art teachers, a curator I’ve been dying to meet for a while, and a few nice folks who just love art. No one talked about buying and I didn’t expect it. In this economy spending on art is the last thing on people’s minds (although seems the very rich are investing in art through the auction houses).
One man looked at my paintings for a while, so I explained how I’m going in two directions with the work: a drippy more abstract treatment, cropping so close that the background disappears, and a more dramatic treatment, with hand gestures and more skin showing, keeping the background. When I told this man the backgrounds were from Long Island, the landscape that inspired Jackson Pollack, he said I should call the series “Homage to Pollack,” which I quite liked.
He loved the drip grid I just finished on one painting, with the curves and movement of the figures interwoven. He also thought the depth of the landscape worked well with the grid overlay. So at least I reached one person! (See painting here.)
Another visitor told me the painting is like trying to view the past through the grid of the present, history and myth obstructed and altered by modern understanding.
Paintings above are by a friend, Jeanne Dunn.