from out the window of a car

a dear old friend and i have been chatting on email lately. i've always considered her someone i'm tremendously close to, and we've been writing about how life goes — how a few years pass, and suddenly we find that we're both parents, homeowners, and tied to jobs, and we haven't hung out and goofed off like the kids we were in days past.

we've made some plans to take some road trips together in the future, joking that our quality time is "on sabbatical" due to geographical distance and our families. this friend is a traveler, and seeing other parts of the country is something my wife and i haven't done much in the last couple years. we miss our road trips terribly, and we're itching for some rugged outdoors stuff. if anyone knows good spots to hike and take in our country's most amazing natural expanses, it's geologist, dinosaur-digging, been on national television, superwoman Merry.

cheers, Mer. looking forward to camping, hiking, and your explanations of the geology all around us.




















some images from out of the window of a car...

















leaving iowa



















rocky mountain national park


















the outermost parts of arches national park


















arches national park (okay, not shot from the car, but from my own feet... sorry to break theme...)



















monument valley


















returning to our beloved iowa

solo show - happy surprise; Gary Justis

some art news to report:

my 2009 solo show that will take place in bloomington has been pushed back from a june—august slot to a august—october slot, and i couldn't be happier.

first off, the curator's reasoning is because she wants me to be seen by a larger audience, so that's awfully kind of her. the art buzz around a town that holds two major universities is somewhat quiet in the summer, so she's pushed back the date to coincide with the first show of the fall semester. she's a sweetheart for doing this. an extra bonus is that i'll be showing during a time that coincides with a Gary Justis show in the main gallery. gary is a well-known chicago sculptor, and an all-around good guy that teaches at Illinois State University. so, i'm quite excited for this opportunity.

the second reason an extension of time rules is because... well... i need extra time. having the adorable little one in our lives means previously open evenings are now filled by time with her — either by choice ("hey, i wanna play with my daughter") or by necessity ("man... she really isn't napping today"). because of this, time in the studio has been very rare. we've actually dealt with this decently enough, though. we've settled into a routine where twice a week (usually a friday night and then a weeknight that feels right) i head downstairs at about 10:30 or 11:00 at night, after my daughter and my wife are fast asleep, where i then paint until 1:00 or so in the morning. sometime soon, i'll have another new painting to post.





i'll leave you with a couple shots borrowed from gary's web site. enjoy.

revamped chloe

i made some changes to the painting chloe today in the studio. i really thought it was a poor painting, and i hope the things i did make me happier in the days between now and the solo show in the summer. here's a link to the old version, and here is what the painting looks like now:
















© matt pulford
chloe
oil on canvas
36 x 36 inches
2008

as you can see, i've pushed it a lot further into this new direction i'm taking, so it now fits in more with the newest body of paintings. conversely, there was a painting i finished earlier this year that i will strip down a bit, and push the opposite way. more on that later.

more new work

a short while back i posted some finished new pieces, and one of them (amelia and fiver) was a new direction for me. i've decided to work on several new painting that follow its lead, and thought i'd share a very unfinished second piece from that vein.



















there's the same dreamlike look to it, where in my head i've laid out this other-worldy, oddball sky scene that has little magic blankets flying in and out of other little ditties in the air. you know - watching my little newborn daughter dream again; imagining her in these traveling scenes. strange. it's about 32" tall by 47" wide. acrylic. it's probably only 20% finished. there are still more elements that will fill the composition, and a lot of finishing up on the quiltwork needs to be done. here's a detail of some of the busy spot in the lower left:

Christmas in Hollis

best xmas present ever. big thanks to chao & gerd.


let's make my posting of this video an annual tradition.