"The Big Bluff"
Oil on Canvas Panel
8 x 10 inches
Approximately four or five years ago, I took on a mistress who stirred me and caused me to have strange dreams at night. Her sometimes slick skin would arouse my thoughts and enliven my senses in a way that I hadn't had for, what seemed like, years! She would whisper to me and taunt me outdoors or in the confined privacy of my studio. She had a come hither about her that was, quite simply, disturbing.
Well, as you know, Dear Reader, these highly charged, chemistry driven, lusty affairs rarely become "the one." They seem to be defeated from the start . . . perhaps because there is another in the background to which one must answer, if not for reasons of love, but of duty. Or, there might be some other reason, such as some sort of toxicity from seeing too much of each other. Mistresses can become quite demanding and often fail to understand one's other callings in life.
And, after all, are we not to answer to those callings or duties or obligations? What of integrity and honesty? Need they be ignored enough to cause ones self inflicted detriment?
Her name? Oil Painting! Yes, even after putting her aside for a few years her spirit has called to me repeatedly asking to come back into my life. As you know, "the one," Ms. Watercolor, has quite dominated my life of late. Not that I object, you understand, for she is as capricious and flirtatious as Ms. Oil Painting. In fact, Ms. Watercolor has been my muse from the outset. She has been both faithful and even mysterious sometimes, yet always ready to stand up for me come what may. How could I possibly turn my back on her? Yet, of late, her competition has been secretly nosing around and making whispered suggestions to me in the dark of night.
And so, Dear Reader, I must confess! Today I crossed back over the line ! You might call me a fallen man, or unfaithful or of little integrity. In my defense, I must say that I did cross back over as a means to satisfy my burning curiosity about . . . . .well, . . . . . .Do we really belong together? I had to know! Today in the privacy of my studio and the absense of my dear beloved wife, my old mistress and I made love again . . . .rapidly and with furious energy . . . . . Twice !!! And at my age, that's a biiig deal! :-)
So, you get the grist of this tongue in cheek idea. I have come back to painting oils, after a four year hiatus. I had to think it over a bit first and plan my approach and set up some parameters to follow. Namely, I kept one brush for each color family I was using (Fortunately, I have a few extra brushes!) just to see if I could attain clean, bright color. What an amazing difference! And I had to shun my watercolor habit of rinsing my brush for each new color, which will turn clean turp into motor oil in nothing flat . . . . and that dreary mess will permeate every color. So, today, after nearly 25 years of painting, I am still learning (thank goodness!). And I have decided this mistress is going to become family . . . . . .(if she'll have me!)
That isn't to say that my favorite lady, Ms. Watercolor, is going to receive any less attention (or intention) she will always be my first love!
