Movie Night

"Movie Night," 5 x 5 inches, acrylic on paper

Carol

"Carol," 4.5 x 6 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

Monologue

"Monologue," 5 x 5 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

Astrologer

"Astrologer," 5 x 5 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

Countess

"Countess," 5 x 5 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

Speakeasy Connoisseur

"Speakeasy [Connoisseur]," 5 x 5 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

Charisma

"Charisma" 5 x 5 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

Reading in the Foyer

"Reading in the Foyer," 5 x 5 inches, oil and acrylic on paper

It may be pretty obvious, but this one was a 4x4 composition on torn paper.  I liked it so much that I thought I could give it a modified extension that allowed it to become one of the clean-edge 5x5s while at the same time preserving the original work.  Considering that all the images are compromises between abstraction and representation, what's one more half-step?

Admiration

"Admiration,"  4 x 6 inches,  Oil and Acrylic on Paper

If the last one was a bit challenging, this one represents the few that are still along the lines of my previous night fictions.   

Taxonomy Lesson

"The Taxonomies of Doctor Linnaeus,"  4 x 6 inches,  Acrylic on Paper

In the Pines

"In the Pines,"  6 x 4 inches, Oil and Acrylic on Paper

This one has nothing to do with the Leadbelly song, just a minimal description for a rather minimal image.  As you can see, the paintings vary in technique, with some being left as line drawings.

Marguerite at the Window

Currently Untitled, 5 x 5 inches, oil on paper

As promised, a sample of one of the finished small paintings.   The first title which came to my head for this one was "Marguerite at the Window."  Simple enough, but a quick Google search revealed the name was taken by another image at the Library of Congress. If you are curious, you can look here, but I warn you, the image may be burned on your brain forever like it is mine.

I may be open to title suggestions.   Pretty sure "Let the Right One In" is also taken.

Small Ones

Particularly in the gestational phase of a new body of work, I've had some success with smaller works on paper. So the thought, why not work really small?  The paintings in the photo range in size, but 5x5 inches and 4x6 inches are the two most common sizes right now.  Compared to my earlier work, they are absolutely miniatures.  (I even had to buy new brushes.)

I may talk more about the process later, but suffice to say they have actually taken too much time as I jump from one to another as a solution strikes me. While some of them seem to be following familiar narrative paths, I view each one as a story into itself, and they are not meant to be view sequentially.   I've finished a few and will post some samples shortly,