Monday, December 20, 2010



Work in progress
Oil on Canvas, 54" x 96"
Click image to enlarge


I've been working on this as yet untitled piece in the "Heaven and Earth" series for a couple of weeks.  It is impossible to photograph the "presence" of a painting, especially when it is eight feet wide, like this one. Not sure yet whether it is complete, I'll have to live with it awhile.

I took a photo at the end of each day's work so decided to compile a little video of the various states.  As you can see, it has undergone many changes, and maybe many more in store...who knows?

Blogger reduces the file size of videos so much that it's difficult to get any idea of the actual surface.  A few of the detail shots help slightly.





23 comments:

Ruth Andre said...

Wow! Don this is great and I love seeing the video. Fabulous.

Lee Ekland said...

Glorious!

SamArtDog said...

I'm stunned! This is everything..... your rocks, your shells, your dream drawings, your Hawaii, your landscapes, even your video of the clouds blowing over the mountain. I love that you make your paintings into videos, and vice versa. I love this video. I love that it will go on.

Don Gray said...

Hi Ruth--thank you, nice to hear from you.

shirley fachilla said...

Your process seems very like that of an abstract artist friend who was my teacher-in-chief when I began painting.
I loved the video, seeing things and forms appear and then dissolve to be replaced by other shapes and colors.
Very nice.

Don Gray said...

Hi Lee--thank you! Have a wonderful Christmas!

Don Gray said...

Wow, Sam, can't tell you how great it makes me feel to hear you make all those associations with this painting. Every artist would like to make a painting with "everything" they love in it. Thank you!

Don Gray said...

Hello and thank you, Shirley. I'm enjoying your paintings and posts.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating, enjoyed seeing the movement as things changed. Wonderful colors, very elemental, yet lots of detail hiding in there. Couldn't decide if the rocks were reflecting the heat or glowing from within. --Anne Thrower

Don Gray said...

Thank you, Anne. I'm glad to hear your response to the painting.

RUDHI RĂ¼scher said...

GREAT, developing and embracing heaven and earth...

Sheila Vaughan said...

Like walking through a dream landscape Don yet it has solidity in that ephemeral approach. In the video I was interested to feel that the close ups were paintings in their own right and I think this often happens with a huge painting like this. Picasso said something about abstraction having to be rooted in and emenate from a sensed "reality" (can't remember his exact words) but I really believe that and I think this painting proves it.

C Tanner Jensen said...

List-"Thinks to do in 2011"

Go study with Don Gray.

Don Gray said...

Hi Rudhi--thanks and Merry Christmas!

Don Gray said...

Sheila, thanks for your insightful comments. I think it's true that all painting is both abstract and real at the same time--the distinctions are really pretty artificial. De Kooning didn't believe one could paint a truly abstract painting since, as he said, "Everything must have a likeness."

Don Gray said...

HA—thanks, Tanner. Seriously, you should pay us a visit—not to “study” with me—but we could make monotypes in my studio—that would be a blast.

Merry Christmas!

Leslie Sealey said...

Thanks for sharing your process! It's impressive that you are able to switch from realism to abstraction so easily. I enjoyed the dream-like quality of the video as well.

Don Gray said...

Thanks, Leslie. This kind of work is more process oriented and less focused on a specific goal, which is what I like about it. I've been doing both the realist and abstract for so long now that it is easy to transition from one to the other.

martha miller said...

WHOA, Synchronicity Alert! I just posted about my son's house, and I titled a photo of him with his wife, "Heaven and Earth" (!)

LOVE this painting! So rich!! Happy Holidays!

martha miller said...

Oh! I missed the video the first time - WoW! Sooo BEAUTIFUL. Loooove that candle flame! GORGEOUSNESS.

Don Gray said...

Hi Martha--synchronicity, yes! great minds think alike, don't we? :>

Thanks for your enthusiastic comments. Season's best to you and yours.

Katherine said...

Don I can't wait to come over and see this painting! Beautiful! I am so inspired by the video. Your changes are so bold! There is potency to the underneath painting. Merry Christmas!

Don Gray said...

Happy New Year, Katherine! Thanks for your thoughtful comments. Drop by the studio anytime.