Momentum

When I was in Memphis, the fall of 05, I painted eight canvases. When I arrived back in New Orleans I had a list of ideas based on the six weeks I was there. By June I finished seven more. In August I completed the series with eleven more. The whole process took place over a year’s time.

While working on the Memphis pieces, I began plans for another bunch based on my return to the New Orleans area. The ideas came much more slowly. I didn’t want to do “hurricane” or “flood” art. Instead wanted to keep the same enthusiastic spirit of the Memphis pieces. I wrestled with my ideas. The inspirations were spread out over a longer period of time. In the end it took eighteen months to create this set.

Ideas for the current collection also came slowly, but now production is going faster. Hopefully, I’ll be done in ten months. As I work on them, sales of the second group have been much faster. Eight were sold before wiring and signing. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve accumulated ideas more quickly. Now I have a list for another grouping.

The whole process is beginning to pick up speed. I’m clearer on what to do next, even if painting is still time consuming. When sales picked up, I ordered more canvases too. There’s no reason to run out of them now. Just last week, I sold six more – four from the New Orleans series and two more from the Memphis series. Hopefully I will be able to sustain this momentum.