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My great pleasure spending the afternoon with the great Ronnie Landfield at his studio in the Hudson Valley. His monumental canvases are really somethiing to behold, and match his monumental career. Ronnie's was in his first Whitney Biennial at age 20, and was in it again years later. His paintings are in the collections of all the major museums in America. Lots of fun talking shop.  Working up the surface on several paintings I'll have in the show "WHITE" at Diana Felber Gallery in September.   Its always amazing to me how much energy it takes to mount an exhibition. Usually for me, there is a rush of new work in anticipation of the show, all the work involved in cataloguing the pieces to go in the show, wiring all the paintings and mounting the exhibition itself, and then all the effort that goes into get the word out. Opening night is always a lot of fun, and worth all the effort. Old friends and new collectors stop by, and it is always a great feeling to talk about and show what you've been up to. Inevitably, there is always a bit of a let down when it is all over and the show comes down. Time to pick up the pieces and carry on to the next thing. This time around, in addition to the usual reorganizing and cleaning of my studio, I decided to build a big new easel in anticipation of larger works I'm contemplating. Very simply designed, the new easel can accommodate huge paintings should I go that way. Here are a couple of pictures of it, one almost complete in the full studio space, and another with the first painting (30" x 48") just about ready to come of it.   Its been an incredibly busy time in the studio these past weeks. Springtime is bursting. I'm definitely affected by the light. I work in natural daylight, and there is no question the quality of the light works its way into the paintings. The cool icy blues of my recent paintings are giving way to much warmer brighter colors as springtime unfolds.
I'm developing two new series of paintings, which I'm calling "della terra" and "Calando". There are starting to be enough finished paintings from each series that it will soon be time to update the website with the new work and start getting it out into the world. Pictured here is my studio at the end of clean up after a long day of work. The wall is filling up with works in progress which are at various stages of completion and evaluation.  For larger works I often will paint them on the floor. This way I can more easily get around the piece and assess it as I go along. There is not necessarily a top or a bottom to the painting for much of this time. Eventually the orientation will emerge along with the rest of the painting as it resolves. The painting I'm working on in this picture is on a 48" x 48" canvas.
 Twenty years of drips, splotches, spatters and smudges. This is the top of my rolling work station, a constant companion for many years now. Kind of an abstract work of art in and of itself.  Welcome to my studio! A few years ago I rescued the back end of the second story of our old 1840's barn here in New England to carve out a new studio space. Installed all glass on the gable end and kept the beautiful wide wooden flooring. Its very peaceful and serene in here with views out to our gardens, meadows and woods. For me one of the most important elements in my studio? The chair! I sit with these paintings over many weeks and months as they evolve and grow into a finished work.
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