"Catfish Musicians" contemporary figurative painting

"Catfish Musicians" is another attempt to create a composite image of archetypical images while experimenting with color.  At least that is a dry way to describe it after the fact. The actual process of creating it was a lot more subconscious. I just thought about the cypress trees and other things in  the Delta and down in New Orleans, and this is what came out. I keep intending to work on some naturalistic portraits and landscapes, but every time I sit down and do so, I find that I am approaching the painting as a technical problem.  Worse than that, I can see exactly how the painting will look when I am done, so I become bored with it. I seem to enjoy the more expressive stuff. It's always more of an adventure because of all the variables.

Sometimes I look at these recent paintings, and all I see are the flaws and compromises.  That is not a bad thing because it means that I will continue painting, and my painting will improve.  Other times I look at some of these recent experiments, and I am blown away by how much I like them, or at least certain aspects of them.  The work continues.

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