(Un)finished Paintings
I have so many unfinished paintings. I’ve been working on a bunch this semester, but about half of the them are almost done. Hopefully once my new studio space gets set up, I’ll be able to dig back into the work.
(More after the jump…)
I usually don’t like to show work before it’s done, but in the case of showing my process, I think this is a good moment to show a bit of my work. This painting isn’t titled yet, but the imagery is from a picture of a building that I took in Oakland, Chinatown. I started experimenting with using the pallete knife to scrape and create textures of colors to mimic all of the textures and colors from the worn out building.
I really like the way that the textures add character the building, and begin to tell a story of beauty through time. I plan to add more paint: smoother shapes, to define the buildings a little more.
In some ways, paintings are never finished, and it is up to the artist to decide when to step away from the work, and proclaim it to be done. All to often, painters will over-paint a painting and it will be ruined by the ever-invasive ( and over taking ) self – critic. I think that’s why it’s good for to step away from work, and leave it unfinished.
I just need to remember to finish those paintings. Or maybe I already have.