Spurgeon Tower Rooftops • Joe Forkan 2013 Oil on Linen 48″ x 28″

Another addition to the Grid Work series. I’m still building these using completed observational paintings as a starting point. This one is another studio view (see below). Eliminating expressive drawing as a component of the paintings has really ratcheted up my attention to subtle color relationships. Trying to build complexity with intentionally simple marks has really clarified to me how much size of mark and relationships of color build our sense of space and form.

Old & New-Rooftops, Bush Street • Joe Forkan 2011 Oil on Panel 17.5″ x 11″

The image below is an early stage of the final painting, starting with solid masses over colored grids.

Rooftops, Spurgeon Tower (process) 2012 Oil on Linen 28” x 48”