Works in Progress: Jerilynnross.com

I don't often document the stages of the development of my paintings, but I am wanting to do that more. Since a painting starts as an idea, its development tends to take on a life of its own. I can think I know what I am painting, but as the process works on the idea, and vice versa, what emerges may be nothing like what I had imagined.

I like being surprised by my own work. It makes painting more of an adventure. It makes it more a part of my psychic development, as well...something like active imagination. As you look at the stages, you might see some of what surprises me...at least I hope so.

The Triptych

Of course, not all I am doing can be executed within a day. One project in oil is a triple paneled look at my bedroom. I was taken with the rich color and shape of a dress thrown onto the comforter. I will be adding stages of this process as I go. My hope is to find a furniture maker who will frame the canvases into a free-standing screen, which will act in the place of curtains at the glass door from my bedroom to the porch...the boudoir within the bedroom. The idea was inspired by two Japanese prints that hung above the bed. I understand why such prints have inspired artists throughout the last century or more. We shall see how it develops.

Darkening

In the stages of "Darkening of the Light," the process was a surprise from the beginning. My idea (which I would still like to execute as it is in my imagination) was to create a bright, luminous center over which a smoky transparent darkness is spreading. It is expressive of the feeling I got when "W" was re-elected. The goal is to "veil the light," yet have it still shine. Transparent darkness is a tough concept—I'm still working on it. It has inspired many of my studies and other non-objective works, including "Carol Ann's Dilemma."

Altar Piece

The Altar Piece is an homage to mythology, the Italian Renaissance, classicism, and the Christian tradition. Here I show the completed panels that depict the story of Amor and Psyche, as retold by Apuleius within the collection, The Golden Ass. My work was inspired by reading Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine, A Commentary on the Tale by Apuleius, by Erich Neumann. I intend to post stages in the development of the remaining top and center panels depicting 1) the god and 2) the assumption of the pregnant Psyche, having been accepted into Olympus as a goddess with nods from Zeus and, finally, from Aphrodite.

Obviously, displaying this work will involve some creative framing. The work is done in colored pencil on colored paper with elements of collage. Once completed, the panels will be mounted on foam board and laquered. My hope is to find a collaborator who will create the free-standing frame for the Altar Piece, plans for which I show in the catalogue above, although I would encourage other suggestions for the design from any collaborator. Ideally, the frame side panels would close over the center to reveal an inlaid mandala design made whole by its closure.

Bookstore

On a summer trip through Archer City, Texas, I snapped a picture of Larry McMurtry's bookstore, Booked Up No. 4 (of four hence, the last bookstore.) It is on Main Street, Highway 25, where Billy was run down in Bogdanovich's movie version of McMurtry's The Last Picture Show. I liked the symmetry of the image. As I tell my students, every good painting is a mandala. The only question is whether the balance is symmetrical (formal) or asymmetrical (yet harmonious.) I am compelled to walk the line of balance on this one. Of course, I call it The Last Bookstore.