Pansy in Simon Teabowl 2 and 1

Attempt 2 at trying to marry everything I think I've learned
lately. Attempt 1 is below. I tried a second take because I
thought I was still too cautious with the first one.

Abandoned—Sold

Lonely building between the freeway and train tracks.

House on Madison

This may not be finished yet but I stopped to escape that "tidying up"
compulsion that grips me toward the end. The earth reds from the
underpainting may need to be toned down a bit, and the contrast
overall. I wanted to work on thick and thin paint, also to not describe
and define everything. I don't always "see" clearly what I've put on
canvas or I superimpose what I want to see on what's actually there.
It will take some time of living with this to get some distance and
notice whether I see it differently. Don't want to rush in and "fix" stuff
without a clear intention.

Towne Place

Same street as a previous painting, different reference photo . . .

Turning

One of my goals lately is to work towards an interesting surface quality which 

hadn't yet appeared on my radar. I've been switching subjects as an exercise 

that forces me to think differently depending on the subject, then try to apply 

what I've learned to the next different subject. It's helpful for someone like me 

who tends to approach things the same way when what I wish to do is change 

or see transformation. Since switching from the way I used to work to more 

representational subjects, I long for the freedom that used to come naturally.  

There's a balancing act to work towards and it's good to identify it, because 
it's not always clear what my goal is. I'm working on a nude now, hoping to 
apply what I've learned to the figure but am still too tight—still fixated too 
much on getting it "right" which my brain tends to translate as "rigid." I may 
just have to accept that until something starts to shift on its own. 

Downtown Sunday

I really enjoy painting these city scenes because they offer
so many variables and compositional relationships to consider.
With so much to look at, I'm forced to simplify and use a kind
of "shorthand" to convey the scene. I find it hard at times to
not spell everything out and these are great practice to enable
that mind shift. Hope to take more liberties and get braver
with the paint.