Push and Pull

Finally I made it back into the studio last night after a long, strange, uncomfortable evening. Got some good progress made. I forgot my camera so I don't have any image updates to post.
In a nutshell I spent some time on some smaller details. Picking at things. Pushing the dark areas back, pulling the light areas forward and mushing around everything in between.
I was talking to a friend of mine, Christine who owns a gallery called ArtDive where I display some of my work. She is not only the gallery's owner, but also an incredible painter. We were discussing the painting process the other day. She told me that she's forever telling her students to "push and pull". I got a kick out of that since that's how my process evolved, but I never knew what to call it or really how to describe it. Push and Pull. You find yourself working back and forth between the dark and light letting one partially consume the other defining forms and spaces. It fits in with my personal beliefs about how the universe works. Push and Pull. Yin and Yang. Far and Near. Light and Dark. My process then, at its most instinctual level, is an exploration of that.
I've been seeing that more and more lately in my own life. Without boring you with details it was a long, uncomfortable night punctuated by a close-up encounter with a baby T-Rex (Walking With Dinosaurs Live is in town), an entertaining visit from a restaurant prestidigitator, some very unruly kids(mine), an awkward situation that defies description (at least in this forum), a long talk with an old friend while painting, and a re-watching of Little Shop of Horrors. You balance the good with the bad or otherwise unpleasant. Give and Take. Push and Pull. Balance.

I'll get those images and update you tomorrow.

Until then... Push and Pull.

R