"Poissons"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 6"

These cold fish have been on ice in my queue since my last trip to France, which, as many of you know, was quite some time ago. Fresh in my mind these many months, they have resurfaced to remind me of why I started painting in the first place - because it's fun! At least it's supposed to be. I seemed to have lost sight of that fact recently. What started for me back in '07 as an experiment in "daily painting" - a new art movement with the sole mandate of completing a small work of art every day, became something quite different. I must admit that I seldom attained the stated goal, but I was content with 3 or 4 per week. Trouble came when I felt compelled to make the work tighter and tighter. Not content with small, quick oil sketches, I wanted to do something that would wow people. The diminutive panels ceased to be mere little studies and became polished works of art. The praise I got from these little jewels was like a drug. I lived for the comments on my blog. I spent way more time on them than I could ever possibly justify, given the monetary ceiling of the internet marketplace. I started using the opti-visor more and more. Frustration set in and I began to resent them. That, my friends, is my long winded explanation for why I have not been posting. I recently made a pilgrimage to the Corcoran Museum in Washington to see an exhibition of Chuck Close's prints. That man knew how to have fun. His "fingerprint" works are a stark reminder that we should have fun in the process. Embracing this revelation, I allowed myself to once again feel the support - to scratch and scumble and toss the paint. This piece may not be great, but it was fun and that's a start. I feel like I'm swimming upstream.

"warm up exercise"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

It seemed appropriate that I paint ice today since I have been looking at, shoveling, blowing and chipping snow and ice for the past two weeks. I live just north of metropolitan Baltimore and we recently had back to back blizzards. Two feet of snow followed a week later by two more feet of snow. Today was good fun shoveling the snow from the roof of my new house as water dripped down from a speaker in the ceiling. Is it any wonder that I haven't done much in the studio? I thought painting these colorful little guys would get me get back into the swim of things.

"We're all in this together"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

I went to Centerstage on Tuesday and saw a fine production of Lynn Nottage's "Fabulation, or the re-education of Undine." A line from the play that stuck in my head was, and I paraphrase - "I dreamt of fish last night. That means I'm comin' into money." I, too, dreamt of fish that night, but for a completely different reason. When I started this painting, it seemed to be a fun little exercise in color and texture. It roughed in well, but soon I was lost in the myriad of iridescent hues and glistening reflections that had my head spinning. Each little fish had its own subtle character. Some seemed happy, (as happy as a dead fish can be) and others sad, or at least resigned to their fate. Sheep may all look the same, except perhaps to the shepherd, but I am here to tell you that all mackerel are not created equal. The variances in hue and shape caught me by surprise. Painting one was a challenge; painting a dozen soon became overwhelming. I fought the desire to do a wipe-out and the resulting painting turned out fresh and colorful. Lesson learned - push on though and try and come out on the other side. I'm glad I did.

"Cold Comfort"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 5” x 7”

Here is another painting for the upcoming "Fish and Fowl" show at the Ice House Gallery in Berkeley Springs, WV.   I am putting it on the Daily Painters site as "contact me for availability" since it is possible that they may swim back upstream to the studio after the show.

"Cold Fish"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 6” x 8”

To purchase this painting click here: http://www.dailypainters.com/artists/artist_gallery/1238/Mark-Adams

There's something fishy going on in the studio these days.  I am preparing for a show at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, so you may see some cold, clammy and colorful panels in the next few weeks.  The show is called "Fish and Fowl".  I haven't played with our avian friends much, but I may have a go.  Speaking of ice , this painting has plenty of it.  Ice is a cool thing to paint, no pun intended.  It allows for some abstract interaction; scumbling, scraping, using the stick end of the brush, etc.  I had fun with this one.

"Loaves and Fishes - part 2"

Oil on archival, museum quality, ampersand 1/8” gessobord™ panel – 6’ x 6”

I loved these baguettes piled up like cord wood at the farmers market in Paris. The smell of fresh baked bread was intoxicating. It must be the coming of spring and Easter that made me think of pairing these paintings. I’m certain Saint Mark didn’t have this in mind as an illustration for his story of Jesus feeding thousands of his followers on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Did they have baguettes back then? If you wish to refresh your memory on the story; today’s lesson begins in Mark 6:30-44. (Isn't the internet a wonderful thing?)

This is how I envisioned them hanging together:

But I am selling them separately, for secular reasons.
(I could use the dough...I need a few fins...bread is always good)

Thus ends the lesson for today.

"Loaves and fishes - part 1"

Oil on archival, museum quality, ampersand 1/8” gessobord™ panel – 6’ x 6”

Don’t look too closely at this painting as it isn’t quite finished. I didn’t want another day to go by without posting something new. This piece is part of a diptych called “Loaves and fishes”. Could it be that my religious upbringing is coming to the fore? Perhaps, I was an acolyte for four years, in my youth. Look for the second part tomorrow.