Works in Progress Summer 2024

Returning

When I begin a new group of drawings or paintings I am often so full of questions that I temporarily lose my bearings—get temporarily lost in kind of wilderness. C.S. Lewis once spoke about “Lenten lands” — a place of uncertainty, potential temptation (like Jesus’ time in the desert), and loss. That yearning for terra firma, for greater clarity and confidence in a new body of work is something that moves me forward, even after being a studio artist for a half-century. It signals to me my limitations and vulnerability. The stereotype of the master artist at the height of his confidence and skill is pretty far from me these days as I am now in my seventh decade and entering the wilderness again. I have learned over the decades that this is a good place to be despite the feeling of free-fall or failure. Like Samuel Beckett once said, “Fail. Fail again, Fail better.” I have come to embrace failure as stepping stone to greater insight and ultimately stronger paintings.