These gestures are based on something I have done for a long time – doodles on scrap paper. They are just quick gestures on whatever notepad is within reach; scribbles, a flick of the wrist, a puddle of ink. Some of them I really like, but I’ve never known what to do with them. So, I am trying now to translate them into a painting that is an evolved and complete composition.

The first pieces in this line of thinking are Gestures I & II. I painted these last winter/spring. For the most part I like them.

Gesture I

 

Gesture II

The next three I did a few weeks ago. They are the same gestures but approached three different ways. I like Gesture III the most. The texture is the most pronounced and it plays off the washes and paint to make a real picture. Gesture IV is kind of blah, and Gesture V is just muddy and uninteresting.

Gesture III

Gesture IV

 

Gesture V

I did the next piece after these three, trying to simplify things and compare elements that I really like – brushed dense paint, think texture, and a wash. I love strong brush strokes of solid paint. Franz Kline and Hans Hoffman are two of my favorite painters of the Modern time period. But this is something that you don’t really see in my paintings. I’m not sure why. There are plenty of washes, and lots of molding paste. But my paintings are missing that boldness and simplicity of just a big gob of dense paint brushed on.

Three Gestures Three Ways 

This is a painting that I did last week that is based on the Circles painting. I’m using basically the same techniques. I really am captivated by the simplicity of the Circles piece and would like to capture that in a nude painting – but it seems like a never ending quest. 

Figure I