Since we started this theme, I still have a few more paintings to show before moving on to other explorations. Not that this one will ever be done; the “women from the back” motif has enough intrigue to last any life time. Once again, the paintings here had their genesis in the National Portrait Gallery in London (see e-gallery, Women from the Back, a New Genre).

Portrait Gallery Muse, Acrylic on canvas, 48×48. Click on images for pricing info, etc.

It would have been nice to get her name, but in fact I don’t remember seeing her face. Maybe it was the green top that caught my eye, or the long “V” of her stance, or the mottled “carry-everything” purse, or more likely the mystery of her mind as she contemplated the paintings on the wall. Actually I don’t remember thinking any of that. It was just a moment in time, every one of which could make a painting. And then the painting itself draws us back to what may have been the meaning of the moment or the aesthetic worthy of our eyes. She moved on and so did I but what was birthed between us was Portrait Gallery Muse, a big canvas of acrylic drips and rectangular shapes and one young woman and two men long since gone but still remembered, thanks to, well, painting.

Gallery Study, Acrylic on canvas, 40×30

But that muse wasn’t the only “looker” in the gallery that day. It was also the destination of a whole class of uniformed school girls on a field trip. Some were drawing, copying the paintings in sketchbooks, others taking notes, some laughing together in little groups, and one or two taking it all in alone. It’s from one of these that came Gallery Study, another exercise in what can happen when you’re not sure what will happen. Here (back at the studio) the paint fairly took over, running away with itself in colors and textures I never saw coming. But I figured I could always cover what I didn’t want and in the end I decided I wanted most of it. Once again, I never saw the face of the student in Gallery Study and I don’t remember the painting she was studying. In mine that became more of the same texture that makes up the wall and floor. But it’s a mood, another moment, and a reminder that many things can be worth stopping and looking at long.

Crossed Contemplation, Acrylic on canvas, 36×36

As I’ve said before, the people is these museums can be more interesting than the paintings. And they’re infinitely more valuable. (Try putting a price on one.) The girl in Crossed Contemplation is the same as Gallery Study, I think. Then again, who knows? (These white people all look alike.) It’ll be obvious in all three of these paintings that while I was somewhat accurate in representing the figures, I took all manner of liberties with the backgrounds. For Crossed Contemplation I wanted something red. How that would work, I didn’t know, so I did something I don’t always do; I made a series of thumbnail sketches.

Preliminary thumbnails. Click for larger view.

These quick miniatures are about three inches square on plain paper with limited colors, done to get an idea of how to proceed with the full size painting. Thumbnails can save a lot of time in redoing things later . . . a redo being a rare thing anyway, once the big investment is started. Personally, I sometimes favor these little pieces for all their fluidity, clear design and calligraphic stroke. Can you tell which one I chose to make the final painting? Or was it something other yet?

Once again, in the painting we have the looker contemplating a subject which is contemplating back the looker. That might be something of a stretch, but hey, it’s art . . . anything can happen.

BLOG BUSINESS

You can read or revisit earlier issues of this blog by scrolling down through the “e-gallery” section of the website, or clicking “Recent Posts” in the top right column. Eventually older issues will be archived, much like the past years’ editions of the pdf e-gallery are now.

Speaking of great websites and blogs, see Acacia Bergin’s. Acacia is our third of four daughters and, besides being a writer’s wife and a mother of two, is a fine photographer, in Seattle. Here’s the link: www.acaciaphotos.com

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CURRENT SHOWS

Recent works by Anne Moore
Heritage Christian Fellowship
190 Avenida La Pata
San Clemente, California

39 paintings by Hyatt Moore
Calvary Chapel Capo Beach
25975 Domigo Avenue
Capistrano Beach, California
Through June, 2008