June Studio News: Swift-footed time

Fremont Hills from Quarry Lakes. 20"x16" (51x41). Oil on panel. 2012

Sometimes, Time seems to flow slowly and meditatively; but more often it feels really swift-footed (as mentioned by Shakespeare in one of the sonnets I was painting this month, Sonnet 19). A single moment – and another month has gone to eternity.

The most noteworthy Studio event of the month was, of course, my Open Studio – a memorable and meaningful day spent in conversations with wonderful people. The catalog of the show is now available in printable PDF form, and will soon be available as a book. Here is one of the recent plein air landscapes that sold during the Open Studio, "Fremont Hills from Quarry Lakes".

Nothingness: peaches. 12"x12 (30.5x30.5). Oil on panel. 2012

For me, the Open Studio was, most importantly, an occasion to look back at the work and progress of the last three years, to think about what I've learned, how I have changed (or rather -- have been changed by my work), and where I am now.

One result of this brief pause is a new series of paintings, which I call "Nothingness" and have already introduced in my May Studio News post. Here is another one from this series: "Nothingness: Peaches". Most of the paintings in this series are "revisions" of older works, acts of dissolving more straightforwardly representational still lifes into colours and brushstrokes.

I'll be adding them to my portfolio website over the next days.

Color study of lily buds, 30"x24". Oil on canvas. 2010

I have added four new paintings, with accompanying background stories, to my "Shakespeare in colour" blog. I am very happy to say that, thanks to the brilliant new e-book/app by Touchpress I am now able to add links to Shakespeare sonnets read by some of the best British actors (I am gradually updating older posts, and I'll make sure to include links in all future posts). If you happen to have an iPad, and are interested in Shakespeare at all, I highly recommend buying this book.

In July, I will be participating in the exhibition of Russian Artists of Bay area in JCC Palo Alto. The opening reception of this show will be on July 14, 2012 (6PM-10PM). Please stop by if you are in the area and have time. I have three paintings in this show, here is one of them, "Color study of lily buds".