Empire Watercolor

Empire

watercolor 70x50 1992

When my brother retrieved some old paintings recently I began thinking of framing some watercolors. This one is pretty large. It's not dainty and intimate, so I am building a frame more like the type I use for oil paintings, skipping the matt.

The scene shows a raw time in NY, when old Union Square still had some decaying signage of local stores. Empire was then abandoned, showing layers of eras, a 3-D ghost sign (see earlier post.)  I wonder if one could find such a view these days.

Sinclair

Sinclair

oil 70x90 2014

Recently my brother sent me some half-done paintings that have been stored in a trailer in rural Pennsylvania for 15 years. These are inspiring me because their surface is so thick. Before he sent them I had already begun exploring paint in a more concrete or matter-oriented way. So it was natural to finish some long-dormant works, returning to a thick paint style.

This is one of my ghost sign series, where I depict wall advertising of different eras. The wall is a palimpsest, a surface reused, which has traces of what lay before. Over time the newer layer merges with earlier layers as the surface degrades. It's a pop-art vanitas, inviting the viewer to reconstruct traces and reflect on the transience of trends and consumer culture.

Dam pipe

Dam Pipe

oil 30x40 2014

This mysterious scene greets one if he strays from the path, and chooses his foothold carefully among the damp, moss-mottled stones below the dam at Hellestvedtvannet, Herre. A huge pipe, perhaps 3 meters in diameter, carries water from the dam to hydro-electric turbines. The pipe has sprung several leaks, adding to the rapids. I was attracted to the strange blending of ancient and recent technology (the riveted iron pipe buttressed by cyclopian stones, which would have looked antique even during Roman times.)

Koggen

Koggen

oil 40x30 2014

An old-style wooden boat, called a kogg, along the Herre River.

Svanvik

Svanvik

oil 30x40 2014

August still prevails, washing the lapping waves and glacier-hewn islets with warmth. This viewpoint is off a quickly-missed turnoff from the winding road between Herre and Porsgrunn. It's used often by radar-armed police to snag speeders--and by fishermen, liking the natural shelf of rocks that slope quickly to the water. Very good for setting up an easel too. Today the wind blew as strongly as the sun beat down, adding urgency in capturing the choppy water and flighty clouds.

Morning at Hellestvedtvannet

Morning at Hellestvedtvannet

oil 30x40 2014

Early this morning I drove up to this nearby lake and completed this scene. It's idyllic spot for boating and bathing, but not a soul stirred in the early hours.

Wall Street 2014

Wall Street 2014

oil 154 x 76 cm 2014

This painting is a commission. It has proven a very challenging project, and has taken a good deal of time.

I generally like to work faster, but one advantage to a work that has taken eons, is that one receives  interesting feedback over time, from people who happen to observe it in the studio. I enjoy hearing different interpretations, and they can be inspiring.