I had just finished reading "Elaine and Bill" by Lee Hall about Willem and Elaine de Kooning. Earlier, I had been studying books on de Kooning and Joan Mitchell's incredible abstract expressionist works. They really spoke to me. Something about the rage, the energy with which their paint attacked the canvas. That's me, painting fiend, especially when on caffeine-- impatient, agitated, exhilarated, restless.
I turned on the iPod and went crazy. Maybe it was the music (LSJUMB playing Rolling Stones) but the brushstrokes hit the canvas in a frenzy, as though I was possessed. I wasn't thinking too much, just reacting, putting down paint where the painting needed it. "Where the painting needed it"? I've heard people say that, that the painting takes over. But I never thought I'd experience it.
I don't really know what came over me but I wish it would happen more often.
Anyway, here's the painting. For the time being, I'm calling it "Looking for Bill and Joan." Although I may also title it "Bundle of nerves."
BTW, this was originally the "blue" painting. Amazing how it changed from day to day!
