I started a giant version of the same eleven green apples on Friday, and then took a day off to make a delivery in Bethesda and to visit an old art school buddy in Baltimore. Today I continued to build up the surface and lay down more color, and things are quickly taking shape. It seems as though this arrangement of apples is more about greenish yellow and orange than a richer green and red, but it’s providing some good lessons in transitions and light and reflection. As I block things in, I’m learning how to acknowlege the reflective transition colors earlier in the process, so they’re a more integral element of these first layers of resolution. I should start to see this piece really snapping into focus tomorrow as I continue to define the edges.
The visit with my fellow Maryland Institute alumni yesterday was full of surprises. I learned a few things about the odd turns life has taken for all of us. At one time we were all so full of promise and ambition, and almost thirty years later the wear and tear of reality has weighed upon each of my classmates in different ways. It was good to see my friend Eugene was busy painting again after some time off, and it was good to see that his eye is as sharp as it’s ever been. He was one of the more critical components of the legendary cast drawing critiques, and it’s nice to see he’s still in the game.
