Happy Fall to everyone! I am once again opening my ArtBarn studio to visitors during the Ojai Studio Artists’ Tour from Saturday, October 12 through Monday October 14.
I look forward to showing off to all of you the 12-15 new works I have completed this year!
This year’s Tour theme is INSIDE – OUTSIDE – FLIPSIDE. This theme particularly resonates with me as my inside world has always been my studio, and the clutter that accumulates within it has often been the inspiration for many still life paintings.
Last Spring, in fact, as I was cleaning up my studio I discovered a neglected laundry basket full of dusty old liquor bottles which I had brought from my New Rochelle, NY studio when I moved to Ojai more than three decades ago. This reminded me that back in the 70s, for one of my New York shows I had painted a still life called Habanero RIP using those same ancient bottles. That studio was in the basement of my home, a space I shared with household clutter. As any artist would, I turned those humble household objects into a painting! (Habanero RIP is the name on a bottle in the tableau.)
Fast forward to 2024, finding that clutter of dusty old bottles inspired me once again! I unpacked the basket, dusted off the bottles, set them up on a counter and painted them. I call the new rendition Habanero Redux! I’ve spent the past few months following up this inspiration by creating more still lifes out of all the other clutter that has accumulated in my studio.
Continuing the “clutter” theme, when you take in our current OSA group exhibit at the Ojai Valley Museum, you’ll find me represented by Bandaid, another “clutter” painting I created in that old New Rochelle studio.
So, come and visit me in October during the studio tour! Check out all my new clutter-inspired work, including Habanero Redux, which you can compare to the original Habanero RIP. They will be hanging side-by-side for easy viewing!
Here is a sampling of the fantastic works inspired by my studio clutter!
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