I really have had a great time loosening up and working on this newest grouping of paintings on paper. They helped me work through the larger paintings on board that I've been doing while being completed paintings of their own.

Throughout my years of painting, I've almost always done representational paintings. It's how I learned to paint. It's pretty much all I've known. But I've been so drawn to mark making, movement, and color. And I've also been very moved by non-representational art. I've been wanting to make the move to creating pieces that took the familiar representational aspects out of the composition and just focus on the movement and the color. I'm happy with what's developing and anxious to see where it takes me next.

I've always been a very deliberate painter. I'm happy to let that go and to let the paint and the moment tell me where to go next.

After completing the works on paper I'm holding in the images here, I created this casein painting on cradled wood. It's called "Haywire" and is 16" square.

I'm really excited about this painting -- the layers of casein paint mixed with graphite, litho crayon, and water soluble wax crayons really were fun to work with. There are subtle colors popping through the marks and I'm hoping to explore that more in future paintings.

Never know what will develop at the next studio session!