Scraps...

Christmas dinner was a five hour progressive feast which left us all gorged... the entre was at my house so there's mucho left-overs to deal with. But I'm not talking about those left-overs today, but the basis for the (as yet unnamed) painting above.

I enjoy the process of stretching and framing my own canvases, it's a break in routine and I can do it reliably after years of trial and error. There's a big stack of trimmed off scraps in the studio closet and one day I got the bright idea to weave them into a 36" square canvas... just to see what would result. I didn't think much would come of it so I used a set of stretcher bars that aren't my usual choice... I like a more substantial stretcher. But lo! it actually has worked out rather well, and offered a ready made grid that fits right into the theme these days.

As to the painting itself, although I'm pleased with the surface, I'm recognizing my tendency to tighten up and make boring paintings. That's what happens (in my mind) when you cease to explore and set yourself on automatic in the studio. So I added a big, dark swash of Enso, the Circle of Enlightenment, then after a few minutes, thought better of it and wiped it out. But it had already begun to dry so only parts of it came off. And I liked that partial, unfinished look. It might get hung as it is, or I may get a dose of enlightenment and take it further... remains to be seen.