oh the vastness of a somewhat empty space

It's been over a year since I've had enough space to do a cartwheel in my studio. The monster truck paintings are in the solo show and unless someone begs me in the form of a commission, a hefty bribe, a studio barn out in the country, or a combination of all of the above, I do not plan on going larger than 72" x 60" in the near future. Which is kind of sad, because with the larger work, I don't have to turn the page so often.

Nonetheless, for the group show in Nashville and at AAF, I'll be showing some smaller works, and as soon as I finish making my chicken salad for lunch today, I'm going to walk into my studio, clean up the mess from the recent work and begin again.

Delivered.

This is just a rough idea of placement. We had to eliminate 2 or 3 paintings, and Kristi may pull another one out to go and live in the back room, but I don't think so. I have favorites, so I would hope it's not one of my favorites, but it probably would be. Consistently, my favorites are usually the long shots.

I'm pleased and feel pretty darn good about the whole thing, so I might relax for a day or two.

The good news this week is that I won my ebay bid.

Phase 1 completed

That's it. Will load truck and deliver on Tuesday.

****

It's rather hot here today. 94 degrees. I taught Fang how to eat ice cubes from my iced coffee using a teaspoon. Yep. All I need now is a rocking chair, a front porch and a fly swatter.

Coffee Break

My favorite part of having a show HAS to be the wrapping and packing and transporting of artwork. I am kidding. That's why I am inside on coffee break while outside there sits a Goliath roll of kraft paper, bubble wrap and tape.

It will get done. It's not that difficult. The Goliath roll of kraft paper is cumbersome, but economically it was more convenient and way cheaper than picking up a few yards of it at Utrecht or the drugstore. Should I ever desire to restrict my materials to just kraft paper, I am set for at least a couple of lifetimes. No matter what happens, I can take comfort in knowing I will always have kraft paper.

Excerpts from the catalog

I am so pleased with Max Presneill's essay for the catalog. Max and I talked in the studio on a couple of occasions and he brought up quite a lot that I had been thinking about, using different words and frames of references. The first time Max walked in the studio, within 5 minutes or less he asked if I liked Albert Oehlen. Then he brought up Camus' The Plague and the idea of futility and responsibility. We're two for two at this point, so the rest of the conversation was equally delightful.

From the second visit which was more of an interview, I give you some excerpts from the catalog....

Hackett’s paintings are evolutionary in the sense that each mark, each reactive gestural movement is made in a non-prescribed way and either succeeds or fails according to its suitability in context with the larger organism of the picture plane ...

..... It is the attempt to reconcile the minute-by-minute choices, to fulfill a hidden promise and to transcend the sum of its parts – without reference to spirituality but to ‘fact-ness’ – that grounds these paintings.

There's more, but I'm bleary-eyed right now, and besides, wouldn't it be nicer to read it in print?

Of course now I could post images for the group show....

The solo show opens next Friday May 3rd. It's officially titled, "I forget now what all this is about...*" but instead of an asterisk, it's the number 1, like a footnote. The title is a quote from an endnote of John Ruskin's in Modern Painters. I've written about the relevance of the show's title here. I can be pretty obsessive about details.

We will have to edit the paintings after I take them to the gallery. Though the space is fairly big, 12 paintings will probably be too much information. I've had to deal with these paintings practically overlapping each other in the studio, so I imagine they will benefit with more breathing room than less. If I seem a little excited, it's because it's my first solo show here in Los Angeles to feature only large-scale paintings. I'm defining large scale as 60" x 48" up to 84" x 72" and in the case of the diptych 60" x 96".

The paintings I'm sending to Nashville and NYC are smaller, 20" x 16" and 28" x 22". Scale is a funny thing.

I'm sick today, so I'm doing computer stuff. I should be doing important computer stuff instead of rambling, but this is a nice thing to ramble about-

One of my students had emailed me with a really lame excuse of why he wasn't in class the other day- he bought a Hummer and it wouldn't fit in his garage. I gave him a hard time about the gas mileage, saying I'd be riding my 53 mpg motorcycle to work. After I called in sick this morning, I emailed him saying I was sick and the assignment would be due next week. It was also my way of letting him know I wasn't dead from a motorcycle accident. I received a very sweet email from him saying he was glad it was just a cold- he and few other guys in class knew I rode a motorcycle and since I had never been late or absent, they were concerned. People who ride motorcycles are always concerned if someone doesn't show up. It's like there's a huge buddy system out there.

Oh hell, let's just get it over and done with

The Sky-Holder
oil on canvas
60" x 48"

The silence is killing me I didn't realize how much I missed rambling on about things

Curtain Call of the Gladiator Bouquet
oil on canvas
60" x 48"

10 paintings down, 2 to go.

Fast-acting Mr. Electric Sunshine
oil on canvas
72" x 60"

9 down. 3 to go.

Drowning in a Sea of Love (Heater Speaker)
oil on canvas
66" x 54"

I was at the Grand Prix today

Karen Indeck was the gallery director at Gallery 400 when I was in grad school. When I saw this car, I had this vague memory of her telling me her family was in the racing business. Or not, but I"m pretty sure I remember that.

Tomorrow, I resume posting paintings.

More fodder for the show at Kristi Engle

Linking Room
oil, spraypaint on canvas
70" x 62"

no surprises. still me.

She grounded her ship and surrendered
oil on canvas
66" x 54"

still me

Mystic Hovercraft
oil on canvas
66" x 54"

Me again

Station
oil on canvas
60" x 48"

Mary Addison Hackett

Icon for the 21st Century
acrylic, oil, spraypaint on canvas
48" x 48"

mary addison hackett

Dire Straits
acrylic, oil on canvas
60" x 96"