January 16, 2009

Retrospective, Part 2


There's much more room to store and sort paintings on the lower level (a full, walk out basement where my studio is located) but the convenient of the main floor trumps as a gathering spot. So from time to time the dining room becomes the staging area for whatever is coming up next. If we ever reach the point where we can't do stairs any longer, this room will become my studio... but that's way far away, stairs are my friends... just thinkin' ahead.

I brought back nearly all the 'archived' paintings from the lake house and stirred them in with the collection housed here. But as I refine the selections for the show, most will be going back... I love making work for myself! It's what I do best! I did a count today and there are many paintings that must be cut... they just don't fit the parameters I'm dealing with.

Consequently, there will be no florals, still lifes or landscapes included. These are genres that come and go but have never been classified as 'this is what I do'. I will select work that has been definitive to my career... and that boils down to about five genres which I'll go into at a later time.

I'll also not separate by mediums... goodness knows I've used a variety, and although they have all broadened what I do, they've seldom influenced a move to another level.

The time consuming effort, since I'm not painting to the last minute for this show (*!*!*!*) has been the creation of a group of loose-leaf notebooks that will feature photos of each series of work, along with any clippings, reviews, invites, pertaining to same. Before digitals, there were photographs... and I have shoe boxes full! So for those interested, the chance to flip thorough many more images... I did not realize how prolific I was. Some of it is my best work... some of it should never have seen the light of day, much less a camera! But even for me, it's sometimes hard to determine which is which...

3 comments:

Annette Bush said...

What a massive undertaking and how cool to have a reason to do it. Most of us just think we ought to organize the old stuff and never do!

I so-o-o feel better after seeing your house in this condition. Your wonderful house always made me feel so messy!

Mary Buek said...

You should publish that group of notebooks. . . maybe?

Karen Jacobs said...

Oh, it's a mess maker all right!

Mary, I hope to someday publish a condensed version to pass on to the g-kids... thought about it for this event but too many decisions as to what to include, etc... it's a first step, however. Isn't it great that we can now publish for ourselves relatively inexpensively? I should have gotten my act together sooner and I'd be ready to do it now.