The good, the bad, the snow, and everything in between....

I had a great day in the studio on Wednesday during that blizzard we got hit with. I'm getting to really love these "sick" days I am taking off from work and spending in the studio instead! It was a perfect day. The snow was falling steadily and I got to work some time in the late afternoon after spending most of the morning looking out the window watching the snow accumulate on the branches of the trees outside. Armed with a hefty supply of Oreos and white wine, I had no reason to leave the apartment. The conditions were just right for a productive day of work. And so I began a new series using color photos from the 1960's instead of my usual black and white ones which date from the first half of the 20th century. After three or four hours I stopped working, just about the time the snow started to abate. Although I wasn't quite sure if the panels were "done" at that point, I let them sit on the dining table for the next several days where I could consider and decide whether I needed to work on them any more. After rotating them in every direction and juggling them around in every combination, I decided they worked quite well together and came to that moment when you tell yourself to leave well enough alone. Every new piece teaches me something and shows me what I need to work harder on the next time around. With this triptych, the lesson learned was that I needed to stop playing it so safe with color. Maybe it was the reflected white light of the snow casting its muted glow on to my work table that caused me inadvertently to make these pieces so mid-range in their tone. Or perhaps, and more likely, it was my usual reluctance to take risks.