A298 Artist & Anomaly

A298 Artist & Anomaly
24x18" oil on linen
private collection

In the studio, I worked on A298, Artist and Anomaly. Josée had posed for this at last year's festival, and I had done nothing with it. Now the pose, folded up in a zigzag, and bold figure seems to suit the Anomaly series, above all the expression on her face. Today, with mother colour of Paynes grey and Prussian blue, I drew designs above the thunderbolts I sketched in the other day with pencil, and the bolts themselves I tried in silver oil paint.

When I had worked as much as possible on A301, I turned to A298, Artist and Anomaly, which Josée posed for and has been abandoned for some time. I mainly added black brush patterns, but also had a chance to begin one of the scales, which cover part of her body, using the turquoise oil paint I have favoured lately.

February 13, 2003: I put one of the Gulag Archipelago CD's in the computer, and listened to the droning account of prison life in Russia while squeezing out oil paint. I already have several pictures started; I was able to sit down to A298, Artist and Anomaly, without thinking, and continue the green scale patterns on the character's legs. I worked away, quite happy for an hour or so, and was very pleased with the results.

There are still some details to be done. I have ideas of using a pointed brush to draw all over it, and maybe I will do just that.

February 18, 2004: After breakfast and reading, I went straight upstairs to the studio and, putting on one of the Gulag discs, listened to endless tales of prison life in Stalinist Russia while working on A298. Without hesitation, I began drawing with a pointed brush and black oil on top of the painting, making it what I have been thinking of lately, rather than simply finishing the painting the way it had started. In fact, I can't really remember what my intent was in this picture. It was one of those in-between paintings, the iteration of an idea already established, as often happens in my series. I did not look at the results of my scribbling on top of my painting, just did it, and an hour and a half later, setting the painting right-side up to have a look, I was satisfied, and more importantly, truly engaged once more in this painting.

Anomaly Series