what would we do without Alizarin Crimson?

a rare red canvas is welling on the easel at the moment, begun last month. When i feel like red and take part, i can never work out why i eschew it so, the rest of the time. Its' nature is to cheer and warm - it's lively. I spent most of Sunday with it and after a few hours, i couldn't differentiate between the reds, disorientating like image burn-in after looking at a bright light. What is very good about red paintings, is that they have an easefulness - i am not tempted to make them representative as happens in my blue paintings, where the association with sky is strong.

This is a nice square canvas 90x90cm and boxy - got it at the discount place over the back for 7 quid. I hope they'll get some more in! I'm using oils mostly and some acrylic with glue for texture, though now i'm using more oil with the paint, i probably won't use glue again on this.

  Also working on the middle section of a lino-cut triptych which is rather too fancy a term, really, for some scribbly abstract cuts.