i went into the cobalt blue and tossed in some flake white and mixed it up a bit. i can't avoid this combination out here-- how could i?? to deny these would be as phony as a murakami piece of crap tossed into the lobby of some skyscraper. i drive with my mom to get groceries and am blown away by the horizon line before me on sherman way, giant palms lining the street, the mountains ahead of me, the sky above and the sheer lines of white cloud. driving to bergamot station, in santa monica, was a bit of poetry in and of itself. no traffic, clear skies, green hills and a morning of painting behind me. yeah... of particular note was the work of audra weaser at ruth bachofner gallery. truely, some of the best painting of the year, to end the year. roughly sanded, vigorous work. very, very impressive...

now, at this late hour, i'm figuring out some paintings. theres some new directions here, the LA trip always offering it's own take on what it is that i do. how to tie it together?? do i need to even bother with such a question?? out here i'm seeing and coming to terms with the relationships between the recent drawings and my paintings, completed and in progress, of the last few years. i really think that the distance, the time away from the work, totally away and apart from the work has a great deal to do with this... in NYC i work. i see and touch paintings day in and day out, they evolve day to day and are with me, in my minds eye before i sleep and as i drive home. in LA, i walk out to the studio in the morning and the dew is on the grass and the work comes to me and i understand it with a passionate (or perhaps dispassionate) resolve. i know that i have these few days, or even, sometimes, weeks to make them come alive and sing their song. and sing they do, or perhaps not....