Chiming the Midnight Hour 2022-2023 and Amber Roza

 

"It was the Midnight Hour" 2023 oil on canvas, 70" x 56" (178 cm x 142 cm)

I had been intensely working on a series of works on paper I called “The Gatherings”.

I gave myself the time and freedom to investigate a layering and interaction of figures, working with homemade walnut ink, sumi and other inks, collage and paint. I drew with feathers.

These ideas stemmed from earlier work, but now,, I wanted to go deeper. I wanted to investigate various aspects of their story, their beings.

Have a look here: The Gatherings, 2022, part 1 and  The Gatherings, 2022, part 2

 

At that point, it was time to pick up the paint brush. I wanted to figure out the paint and the feel of it in the context of these narratives.

What would unfold? How would I translate these ideas via another medium?

"in the early life..." 2023, 19.7" x 27.5" (50 cm x 70 cm)

The first painting I made was called, “In the early life...”

I thought, why not begin on a canvas slightly larger than the paper size. It seemed like a smooth transition in scale and movement. 

The figures were in my hands.

Well, that painting was exciting! Yet, I couldn’t believe the complications it opened up. Such a challenging painting!

What was I thinking? 

It was an important one for me, though, because I saw the figures interacting with me and with each other. 

They had a story to tell. They wanted to claim their presence. They wanted to be remembered.

"The Inheritance of Ancient Origins",  2023, 19.7" x 27.5", 2023 (50 cm x 70 cm)

Next, I decided to focus on a group of school children. After all, we have shared that experience. We can nudge and pull up memories from our youth. Who were these children, and where are they now? Who were we then, and where are we now?

"Thankful we ever were..." 2023, 23.6" x 31.5" (60 cm x 80 cm)

Alongside these works and the subject matter, I painted whatever came to mind, which led to the table again. Groups of figures at a table or sharing a picnic or playing a game. What games were they playing and who are these characters?

 

The idea of the table has been in my work on and off for more than twenty five years. It can be the main object itself or about families, friends, unknown visitors or wild spirits gathering for an evening or in a strange event or happening. Stories are traded, flavored by music, song and poetry. I referred to many of my own memories and experiences, such as a dinner on the Danube, a wild boar hunt, a Summer Solstice Garden Party or sitting under a grapevine trellis in Yana’s garden. And I am sure you have had many yourself.

We wonder who they are, who they were and wonder where we are and who we are.

"the games they play...", 2023 9.4" x 8.7" (24 cm x 22 cm)	"Fool's Paradise" 2022 9.4" x 8.7" 24 cm x 22 cm
"Family Dinner" 2023 15.8" x 11.8" (40 cm x 30 cm)	"Summer Solstice" 2023 11.8" x 9.4" (30 cm x 24 cm)

"somewhere, some time ago in a Plovdiv garden..." 2023
11.8" x 9.5" (30 cm x 24 cm)

The title of the above painting reflects a time in a garden in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It’s the city where my father was born.

However, as I made this painting, a familiar feeling came over me…the memory of late afternoon sunlights and back shadows falling over and across an old house and garden in Samokov, Bulgaria. I used to watch that scene from the balcony where my grandparents had lived.

"Evening Revelry" 2023, oil on canvas 70" x 56" (178 cm x 142 cm)

"Amber Roza"

The making of this painting haunted and plagued me for years. 

I believe I began it after I moved to Bulgaria from my Boston studio. However, I have no memory of the exact "when".. The stretcher was Bulgarian. The linen was Bulgarian, the first layers were in place. Had I found this unfinished painting, stored in my grandparent's house since my Fulbright years in 1997? Was it that old? I don't remember.

With frustration, a lot of scraping and sanding,, I would hide away the painting in disgust. Each time I found it, thinking I could use a fresh canvas, there it was, staring at me in the eye like an old sore. 

Sometimes, I would get so close, only to misjudge a mark or a paint stroke. How many times did I want to pitch it.

At some point, I must have stabbed or sliced it. (or was it another painting). Anyway, it gave me an opening to collage a torn remnant scrap onto the painting. I had nothing to lose.

That's when I got excited.

In 2023, while. preparing for a solo show, I was determined this painting would be included. And she was! And I like it!

"Amber Roza", 2007(?)-2023
21" x 16" (51 cm x 41 cm) oil/collage/linen

All paintings are oil on canvas, or on linen, as noted.