Every once in a while I come across one of my older paintings and think – I wish that looked a bit different.  This happened last week, when I was looking at a painting I made in 2009. I’ve always liked the painting except for one thing: the background was one solid color called ‘irridescent bronze’. I love the color and in general I like irridescent colors.  However in this case my eye was always distracted by the way the marks made by the brush in the background reflected the light in a distracting way…these brush marks were distinct and irregular. This made the background ‘active’ and interfered with and detracted from the marks describing the three people in the painting.  So I added color. You can see the result below. It turned out to be a good idea because the 3 figures emerge more strongly (although still mysterious) and the overall painting is much livelier.  There are still hints of the irridescent bronze, but in general the yellow ochre and mars yellow have resulted in a much clearer firmer painting.  The hints of the three heads are a bit more obvious – one still needs to spend a bit of time looking, but in my view that pays off by beginning to appreciate the ‘moods’ of restless but warm colors and the ‘distancing’ of the 3 figures which may relate to each other, but which are to some extent blocked from each other by the more dominant colors – a lack of ‘communication’ between them? or a ‘layering’ of the memories of one person?  The overall feeling is less one of introspection than one of a warm and active relationship.

So