I Can Barely Contain Myself

"I Can Barely Contain Myself" - mixed media on wood panel, 16" x 24".  Available here and at Artfinder.

"Why do so many painters look as if they're getting a flu shot when talking  about their work? I can barely contain myself.  My worst day is still better than a good day in most other jobs." - BRIAN RUTENBERG. ​A Little Long Time

​Oh.
My.
​Goodness.

I Can Barely Contain Myself

There was a wild rumpus of color in the studio.  Time spent with Rutenberg's new book has color-bombed my brain.  But it has also instilled some new painting principles, which we at Malarkey Central fondly call "Triangle (or V), Border Snake, Saddle and Rug."  It is so easy to see them....not just in Rutenberg's work, but also in both classic and contemporary paintings at the Portland Art Museum recently.  But not so instinctive to apply them in a composition.  Unless you do it again
and again
and again
until something CLICKS and it's like oh, wow...now I get it and then you can't stop doing it.  It is only a matter of time before meals are arranged on my plate in this compositional format with the eggplant, beets and kale in the saddle and saffron rice in the triangle.  Maybe a kiwi sky?  Or perhaps it is just time for lunch...

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About the painting: 800 million layers of acrylic, gesso, paint pens, charcoal, art graf and crayon on wood panel.  Well, it seems like that many layers.  Beginning with a library of elements (ala Stan Kurth) and then bombs of color.  The paint is thickly applied with the rubber wedge, spritzed, squeegeed, chopsticked (is that a verb?) and then applied again and lightly pulled in one direction or another.  Are these instructions confusing?  Perhaps because this piece was entirely intuitive, with exception of the Rutenbergian painting principles.  But let's do it again anyway!  WHAT FUN!