I loved the “Abstraction and Surprises” marathon at the New York Studio School last year, and I loved it this year. I thought to continue on my merry way, effortlessly getting better and better at the work. The key word was "effortlessly," but -  that's not the way it worked.  No surprise - right? Nonetheless, I was surprised, as I endlessly am, by the struggle and challenge of pushing towards a new level.  I was also thrilled by the opportunity to be stuck in the exact place in making a painting during the marathon that I am challenged by in my own studio. What relationship do the frenzied mark making studies I make have to the orderly picture/painting/forms that I have in mind for a painting?

I often go from the “known” to the “unknown” in painting, from order into chaos. But what about starting out chaotically, and going backwards into more orderly forms? Or not going into orderly forms at all? I really don’t know how to put this question, but asking it is important.

I look forward to another version of the above “The Horse Form and the Figurative Form.” The title (ahem) needs work.