Guess what I saw outside my window today? Big fluffy snowflakes. It’s melting now but it was pretty while it lasted. This is the second winter in a row here in Germany where it has hardly snowed at all, which is really sad. Maybe that’s why the big boulder and rock forms I’ve been sketching are starting to turn into chunks of ice.

I’m not really sure how it happened. The sketchbook practice (which has been very inconsistent lately) has spurred on what I would call my more personal paintings and drawings, resulting in many ideas. But then there is cross-fertilization from the Unterhammer series, which had me keyed in on geological features of the area which is the focus of the show.

At any rate. I painted this in a 24-hour period.

This felt very good to get out. An extended burst of creativity combined with actual, real energy. Maybe it’s the vitamin D I’ve been taking lately. The bottom part of this painting is built up with texturing and thickening mediums  and some alternating layers of color. After painting in oils (which take days or weeks to dry), it was fun to drastically speed up the time between layers of paint.

This painting is a link in a chain from these sketches, to the next several paintings I’m planning.

Do stay tuned!