Aaron Nagel

I probably don’t need to state that some paintings go more smoothly than others. many times, an idea about composition or additional elements in a painting totally work out, and there’s a clear “and it’s done” point. I love it when this happens… it feels like things are working properly, my brain and my hands are working in tandem and the final product is just that, a final product. I don’t think about whether its done or not, what could maybe be added to make it better, etc…it’s just done. that said, this is pretty rare for me. I did have a few consecutive paintings a few months back that finished easily, meaning that I didn’t second guess them and knit pick them into completion (don’t get me wrong, the second guessing works for me too, generally I’m happy with the outcome eventually…but it’s certainly a lot less stressful the other way). these days however, as I work on the last 3 for the “Marks” show, not so much. One is going smoothly and is 95% done, the other two however, are a lot more challenging. they both are a lot more stark in composition, with more of a plain dark background to draw the viewer into the figure…or so I hope.