I Never Once Slept Through The Sun Rise

I Never Once Slept Through The Sun Rise 2010 (from my new series)

I've been spending long hours in the studio...mostly in gestation. Most ideas still very much in utero, but studies and sketches in full bloom. I'm working differently again. This always happens after long bouts away from the studio. Once I break a routine, I notice I never really go back to it in the same way. I have yet to establish structure in my artistic life. I don't say this because I think I need one, but because I actually want one. It's a personal challenge I'd like to see myself triumph over. A challenge that will have beneficial outcomes for my work ethic. A solid work ethic is very important to me. It's a cleansing process. And I feel purified after long stretches of hard work. As if I've just uploaded hundreds of gigabytes from my inundated brain onto my work table--my sketch books, my paper, my canvas--all filled with new raw data.

I am currently working on a series of drawings that represent the time I spent farming in Hawaii. Strong colors and patterns are coming out, which I didn't expect so much. I'm still on the fence with a few of these pieces still in production, but I am intrigued by the element of surprise each one has to offer. I really cannot predict the outcome of a single piece of work currently. I may start from a photograph study of the wild agave plants at the farm, and end up with a picture that is less about the plant, and more about the geometric shapes around it. I love watching it unfold in front of me.