11/22/25: Stage II of New Painting

Intuition is a valuable tool. I would argue that it is my most precious asset. Some may call it a feeling, others call it their muse. For me, it is my constant companion and most trusted guide.

The following statement is not a boast, it is put forth for context. While my BFA was in drawing with a minor in sculpture and my grad degree was in mixed media with a concentration in sculpture, for better or worse I am a self taught painter. Painting is the one thing that, for reasons yet to reveal themselves, I have never allowed anyone to teach to me. It didn’t become the core of personal expression until the late 1990’s. A friend commissioned me to do a painting for her husband. I almost rejected the offer, but she believed in me, so I followed her intuition.

That first piece was good enough to display that there was something there to further develop. So that became the primary focus. There were many duds. There were some successes. As confidence grew so did the challenges. Each challenge started out as an intuitive notion. One of those was ambidextrous painting; painting with my left hand. There were a few paintings where each half of the canvas was painted with the corresponding hand.

It is a good thing that I invested the effort to learn that skill. At the time of the above video, it had only been a few weeks post right rotator cuff surgery. Art serves many purposes in my life, not the least of which is as a source of equilibrium. So there was no way taking 3 to 4 months off creating was going to be an option.

Luckily, the canvas for this piece was stretched prior to the injury. Making a frame and stretching the canvas over it would not have been possible during this stage of recovery, and buying a canvas in a store does work. My canvases are an aspect ratio that is not found in the Hobby Lobbys or Michaels of the World.

This piece represents a new series of paintings with he source material for each being one of my early photographs. In the early to mid ‘90s, photography was my expression. A friend sold me his 35 mm SLR film camera and it went everywhere I did. A raw approach was taken to shooting “the moment”. Over the succeeding decade and a half, thousands of slides were shot. It was then that my relationship with intuition strengthened. This process revealed a fundamental truth about creating; “you have to be willing to do poor work before the refined can come to the surface.” An overwhelming majority of the shots taken were bad to mediocre. A select hundred or so were descent. An even rarer few dozen were really good!

Fast forward to earlier this when the final piece from The Magnificent 7 was nearing completion, and thoughts about which direction my work would take started to scratch at the back door of my mind. Intuition led back to those rare few dozen slides. Could this be the new direction? Those “raw moment” shots were reflections (no pun intended) of the stunning beauty of the ephemeral that my lens caught.

Ten images were selected. Those 10 were put before you, my social media followers with the question; “Which would you like to see painted first?” Collectively, you chose this image. This new series will see all 10 images turned into paintings. Those paintings will each be made available as prints. Hit me up if you would like to preorder your print.

Frankly, what you chose was surprising. Don’t get me wrong, I like the image. The morning that was taken was magical. The steam silently rising from the glass reflection of that pond struck me in that moment to reach for my camera. However, it wasn’t until work on turning this into a painting began that the transcendent nature of the image revealed itself. What an unexpected joy it has been to engage with this.

Thank you for playing your part in this creative expression. I look forward to seeing which of the 10 photos y’all choose next for me to paint. My intuition tells me that while the end will be unexpected, the journey will be one hell of a shared experience.

Thank you for reading,

Earle Rock

Earle Rock Studios