lately in the studio

 Once again, I must say, I am grateful to be back in the studio after months of dormancy. And I am thoroughly enjoying my time in my creative space. As evidenced by some of the recent posts, I have been "stretching my voice" a bit with some of the compositions with which I am experimenting, and which I am creating. It feels great -- liberating in a way. I have done some minimalist, Stezaker-inspired pieces in the past (i.e., the British collagist, John Stezaker). And although this sketch is similar, it emerged from somewhere else in my creative cavern, it seems. I am intrigued by some of the details in this piece, so far. Firstly, the way the stairway seems to morph into the guy's hand, gives it a strong "sleeve" feeling and connects the middle and lower panel. This detail was a serendipitous emergence. Secondly, somewhat in response to that detail and connection, I thought it would be useful to continue the pillar from the middle panel into the upper panel (see below). Now all three panels appear more "integrated" and interesting. This evening, I will experiment with cutting, so that the little girls arm goes over into the lower panel. I will need to be careful to pay attention to the balance of the overall composition (i.e., I don't want it to become bottom-panel-heavy). Thirdly, I am REALLY liking the color scheme of this piece -- tri"chromatic" in a way, with white, gray and sepia). Fourthly, I love the dimensions and the frame color for the piece too. I think this piece is close to being finished... and I think it is a "keeper".