After a year of doing tiny, tight work (which I am actually taking a breather from right now) I finally have the impulse to return to living in the world of oil painting. I miss it and realize I probably need a bigger space to work in, if this is to come to fruition. I am also sure as with many people who work in a cyclical nature, I feel myself returning to work that I was thematically dealing with almost a decade ago…subject matter that was a lot more personal and psycholgically potent. So we hope.
This is the stuff I was dealing with around ‘98. There was one painting in particular (below), now destroyed out of impatience that related to a copy of Granta I had carried around with me for years. The thesis for the issue: The Family, They Fuck You Up. I think then I harbored this as a personal anthem. Yet time and perhaps age does give you a little wisdom. Now I really ask, is there an American on this planet who doesn’t claim this almost like a badge of honor? I thought of this last night as I was watching The Squid and the Whale. Is there a way to get at this subject matter with out being completely self absorbed? There has to be.
How about cyclical postings?