Acrylic polymer emulsion on gessoed hardboard, 11 x 15"Created- August 8-15, 2004, #75.
Private collection- Toronto, Ontario.
I've always found it difficult to paint during the month of January, and this year is no exception. I'm a bit slow getting out of the starters block. Each New Year is like a renewal for life itself; I'm wiping the slate clean and getting another shot at it. I'm not the all-consuming painter and wouldn't pretend to be. Life itself is a window of opportunity, and as much as I like to paint, I also want to expand my horizons in the grander scheme of things. I took a month off from my brushes to spend more time my family, to see a lot of the critically acclaim films that always comes out pre-Oscar time, to do some skiing, to renew my passport, to start planning our family trip to California this spring and to tie loose ends. It's not the easiest thing to juggle a full-time job and a painting career on the side.... your always chasing deadlines.
I've just started my first painting of the new year, and it will be a while before I post it. It's my first figure study since 2004, and a complex one at that. When it takes a few days just to do the drawing, it usually translate in many more days than usual to paint.
I won't be having a solo show in 2008, but I do have several projects planned. I'll be submitting works in juried exhibitions, I have several commissions lined up and will do my best to provide new paintings to the galleries that represents me.
In the meanwhile, I'm posting an older piece of my last figure painting. The model is our niece Gabrielle. I took the photo study on her backyard swing in Québec, and transported her to this farming field on Prince Edward Island. The image was used on the cover of a CD released last year by the Montréal musical duo Christel. We have two other nieces on my wife side of the family who will be featured with our son Jean-Luc in my upcoming painting.
