End of the studio cycle

Natural History VI the upper horizontal piece,at the AAF London last week. It featured in the previous post  being worked on at an early stage. So, now bought by a nice couple from Hackney, it goes its own way and closes a cycle. I'm sure had it remained in the studio, one day I would have seen new possibilities or directions and begun working back into it again,and perhaps in that way we are always painting the same painting. I like the quote by Arshile Gorky,

"I never finish a painting - I just stop working on it for a while"  

Below a couple more images from the stand of  Four Square Fine Arts

 

Natural History - a painting's geology

Below are three stages of a painting that was worked on over the course of a year. Often, I couldn't see where to go with it, I would put paint on the rub it off, sometimes nothing would happen would on it for a week, except just looking and looking to see if I could find a clue or way in, which reminds me of a great quote by Matisse;

"The next time I return to the work, if I discover a weakness in the unity, I find my way back by means of the weakness - I return through the breach- and I conceive the whole afresh.Thus the whole thing comes alive again."

In the end it became my favourite painting from the recent series and is like all favourites a talisman of possibilities.