#65 - The Beginning of a New Series

                                          The Triptych "Headhouse Square"

                                  Near Market and 2nd Streets, the bare beginning

Fellow Art Lovers:

I’ve written an awful lot in this blog about my belief that a looser style, just a few steps toward the abstract, lets me express more emotion in my paintings. People who follow my work have told me that a certain freedom, usually carried by combining the use of a palette knife and brushes, speaks to them in a special way. And the voting on the two versions of the painting “Police Stop” in my last blog generally favored the version that used both knife and brush.

Now, I’m taking up a different subject. I’ve often been struck by the number of restaurants in the area of Headhouse Square in Philadelphia’s Queen Village, and when I looked at the bright colors, the variety of the facades and the variety of the people, I thought they could be a great source for paintings.

A while ago, I decided to try to paint them in what I hope is an original way. I thought that stringing them together would be fun. So, that is exactly what I did. I’ve taken several relatively small canvases, and in my first effort I’ve united three canvases in a triptych, and just started painting them, exercising my artistic license by using just the elements I felt I needed. Also, I used some of the people who just happened to be in front of the restaurants.

I have to admit that I felt very free as I sketched out the larger shapes with the palette knife and then did a lot of the detail work with a brush. At some points, I must have looked like a madman, brush in one hand and knife in the other, moving fast over the canvas. And it was really fun.    

At some points, I had to wait for the paint to solidify somewhat. So, I just started several more paintings at the same time. Therefore, the painting at the top of this blog - "Headhouse Square" -  is completed, and the other one below- "Near Market and 2nd Streets" in Philadelphia -  is just a bare beginning.

When I write about emotion, it seems to me that it could sound as if I put the word “emotion” on a higher level in the world of human reactions. Maybe that’s true, if the emotions are positive. But concerning my painting, I find the painting at the top of this blog simply fun.

Of course, as usual, I’d like to hear your ideas.  In person, if possible.

Thanks for listening.

Best,

Bill