I’ve finally finished, I hope, reworking Peony, the pink cockatoo at the bottom of this post, and have started a 12x12” canvas of a vulture. Peony drove me crazy as I realized, once again, how done I am with wood panels for the time being. Or perhaps, it was the process of reworking a piece altogether. There have been some that were quite successful but in general, a rework takes longer than starting something new, and whatever bothered me in the original version still bothers me in spite of any major changes I make in color or composition. Anyway, I think the cockatoo is done and I can get on with the new vulture.

I love the challenge of a vulture. Getting beyond what they represent and how they look to make them beautiful intrigues me. Some of my strongest pieces have been vultures, even if they don’t necessarily end up looking very vulture-like. Anatomical accuracy is not the point, I’m going for a bird’s integrity and godliness. Which Harlow, the horned owl at the top of this post, has in spades. People love owls and they are fun to paint. I have done a couple dozen of them so far and will continue to create them. One reason is that they look good at every stage. Above is Harlow’s first stage, and below he is halfway through. I could have stopped at either point and it would have worked, but for me, they were both still works in progress while I waited for the owl to come alive.

Enough about that - I have news. I bought tickets for a trip to see Paul in the UK the other day. I’ll be there for the month of August, which for those who live in Provincetown year round, is the best time to get out of here. July sort of sucks too, but by August the locals are moments away from slapping or screaming at any random half naked, oiled up tipsy creature who is expecting, demanding, to be entertained or indulged because, as they will loudly declare, they are on vacation. But somehow August suddenly opened up on my calendar and I get to miss it this year. Yay! In the meantime I have paintings to do for the upcoming show and a workshop to prepare for before I go, so on with the day.