Lipstick Flashback

There were two things that grew out of procrastination and avoidance this past week. Both are 20'' by something, one I think 24, the other 28 maybe.

The first one is "Lipstick Flashback", the second is "Heart and Soul"

Sometimes titles make some difference. I don't know if that's true this time. Flashback is a hybrid of new and old ideas. Heart and soul is also in some ways a fusion. I had been asked to make a smaller version of something that has been out in the world for a few years. I don't even remember exactly what it looked like. The bigger problem is that I can't go back to where I was when it was painted. I thought I might have a better chance of one working out if I worked on two at the same time. I think that this isn't a bad way to work, it slows me down and while working on one, I discover possible solutions to areas that are giving me trouble in the other one. 

This is better.

There seems to be some movement in direction, maybe some kind of transition. There is a new painting which is not like the previous two and I have no explanation for that. It's been in the process for a little more than a week. It was not easy to get an image on the canvas to start with, and then what showed up was really bad. The only idea that I wanted to hang on to, was the use of an irregular color structure. my youngest sister told me that she would love a picture, but no reds. So now when I use red, and I like to use red, I feel some pressure to reduce if not eliminate red altogether. I find myself trying to negotiate what exactly is, and may not be red. And still I come back to red.