This is the last painting I completed in 2022. Yay! I had been working on a set of 13 small paintings that I built in the fall. Things have been going well and I was feeling on a creative roll. The subjects for my works come to me in fits & starts so when I am on a creative roll, I can’t help but to seize the opportunity. An image of a reclining nude came to me as a theme but I didn’t feel that it fit with any of the remaining 13 small canvases. It was then I realized I had another incomplete small work from the year before. The rectangular shape of the canvas lent itself well to the subject. I don’t like to force finishing a painting and will often stop working on a piece until the inner muse tells me it’s time to complete it. This is a perfect example of the muse telling me that this painting’s time had come.
I enjoy a challenge. Hands and feet are a challenge for me. I have been rediscovering artists that play with light in their works. Both of those things came together in this work. There is an obvious play on words with the title, “Sole Study”.
This work marries the subjective and the abstract, which is an important theme for me. The figure is reclined but bright, full of life. The environment is green, chaotic and also lively. This represents an entire world captured in a misshapen box.