Well as you know I had a great weekend up in Midland, selling three works in three days and leaving a couple of pieces up there for another group show the weekend of July 7th. Not only do the sales help, but the overall process of making these works has helped me to realize some things about my own work. Now sold, "Rolling with Julia" was one of my new pieces that people were really responding to due to the collaged surfaces with all of the rough edges and dangling threads. The audience also enjoyed the loose line drawings and textured paint, reconfirming an observation I made while at the Artist Project in March: People want to see the hand of the artist in the work. Coming back to my studio this week to begin finishing up work for the Toronto Outdoor Art show, I have begun to incorporate this realization into my Rurbia pieces by rigourously working into the photographic landscapes with drawing and painting over large areas of the images with gestural strokes of paint. This approach is much more freeing than simply trying to hand tint existing areas of the photograph and allows me to put some energy into the work. I have also begun to cut and stitch out the different elements of the composition to give the work more layers. It feels like these new realizations will help me reach a new point of contentment in my practice; for a little while anyway.
