RED. . .Almost One Year.

Connections - Red 5    oil, wax on panel    50x50cm 

Almost a year has gone by since I decided to limit my palette with red as dominant color. (blog post "Red- - -Who's afraid ...") I started out very hesitant. Inspired by the force and brilliance of the color itself, I was still intimidated. By combining it with  black I intended to soften any harshness but that was silly as you can well imagine. That was the beginning.

Now that I am on my fifth painting with red as protagonist I'm feeling happily at ease, in fact, liking the choice. I've learned so much.  I can thank, (never enough), Janice Mason Steeves for her counseling: to play, to accept challenges, to simplify, to be aware of contrast, . . . . .

I don't have a general plan for the sequence of my paintings. I used to do drawings as preparation but now, one after the other, I rely on intuition.  One painting is naturally the stepping stone for the next.  Something just clicks in my mind inspiring the sequence. I've noticed in the recent paintings the appearence of new colors. From the begining using mostly red and black, now lights, yellows, oranges and greys, are  presenting themselves. A sign that red has become a part of me and not a fearsome, intrusive element?

My theme is always the human body, the spinal column in particular.  My next project, constantly on my mind, is to be able to put into words why this particular part of the body is so important for me.