Jerome: Mist Rising, 12 x 16″, oil on masonite, 2013
When I returned to Portland from Jerome, AZ, in April 2013, I knew the paintings I had done there were mostly not-so-wonderful. But I had Notions about what I might do next.
I was plagued by medical problems in the spring, and I’m definitely not much of a painter when I’m not feeling well. The notions were more kin to scribbles than much else for a long time. However, I kept working at them, and when I returned from Chicago and started the new meds, the notions came into focus.
This is where I started — with semi-recognizable Jerome scenes:
Jerome Stairs, 12 x 12, oil on masonite, 2013
The Rim and the Valley, 18 x 36, oil on masonite, 2013
And this is where I moved to, away from the (more) literal to the (more) abstracted:
Echoes from the Mogollon Rim, 12 x 24″, oil on masonite, 2013
Moon Rising, Jerome AZ, 12 x 16″, oil on masonite, 2013
From the Balcony, Jerome AZ, 18 x 24″, oil on masonite, 2013
Not only am I inspired by (the memory of) the view the Jerome offers of the Verde Valley and the Mogollon Rim, but in my mind’s eye, I have windows, or window-like structures that sometime impinge on the view, providing “zen views,” partial and more enticing bits of the landscape.
I am also, as I have said before, fascinated by stairs, perhaps because we never lived in a house without them. And of course, the geologic formations which are so clearly delineated in desert terrain continue to thrill me. Having grown up in gentle forested Pennsylvania mountains, where all is hidden under aeons of soil and foliage, the starkness of western mountains and ridges, particularly in mining areas, are all fodder for my wide-eyed gaze.
Jerome Formations 1, 24 x 11.5″, acrylic and paper on masonite, 2013
Jerome Formations 2, 30 x 40″, oil on masonite, 2013
Jerome: Fog over Formations, 30 x 40″, oil on masonite, 2013
At some point my painting process and memory blur together, so it’s difficult to know whether I was inspired by Pennsylvania’s September fogs or the Verde Valley’s March mists toying with the mountain’s rock formations. My various lives blend together (as does everyone’s), and out of that comes the one life and creative action that we lay claim to.
Next post, I’ll show you the miscellaneous brews on canvas that I have been working on, in and around these more focused, Jerome-centered pieces.
June
juneunderwood.com 
10 responses to “Jerome Abstracts, summer 2013”
I am beyond impressed. This is such good work and really reads as a coherent body of work. I love the opening painting, all softness and smudging, but the following abstracts just blow me away. Echo’s from the Mogollon Rim is perhaps my favorite of the lot but the last two are fighting hard for that position too. Let’s hear it for meds!
Thanks, Sheila. “Echoes” was the first one of the lot, but it still resounds for me. It convinced me that I was on the right track, which was no small thing. The next to last one is a recycled canvas, maybe thricely recycled — I can’t remember. But the underneath work really helped me sort out what to do with the top, although I don’t think there’s anything left of it.
Thanks for checking in.
I think I’m partly reacting to the color palette (but not completely). Although I rarely use it myself, I find myself drawn to paintings with the blue/grey/tinges of green accented with that wonderful reddish brown. I always find there’s so much to see and ponder in your abstracts. Yes – I’m an unabashed fan!
Ah shucks, m’am. Thanks.
Love the new work June ESP view from the balcony
Thanks, Clairan, “View” is probably the least conventional, so your response makes sense (I mean in terms of our past conversations). It’s a direction I think I’ll be moving in more and more, but I’m a bit uneasy with it still. So it will take time.
Thanks for checking in. Hope your August is going well.
June – The new work really speaks to me. I think you are so on the right track. Keep it up! And hope your health is better.
Hey, hi Marni,
Thanks for the kind words. I’m pleased that the abstracts have brought you out of the woods (so the speak); it’s been a long time. And I hope the summer is treating you well, also. Thanks for checking in.
Hi June, I have been looking at these on and off for a while now. They are really interesting, and my favourites are Moon rising and Jerome Foundations 1. I just wish that I could see them for real, but it is those two which give me the feel for the big country and for the accumulations of Jerome itself. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks, Olga, I appreciate your looking — and looking again. I’m upgrading my blogsite and should be able to show larger versions of these, which would help give a better sense of them, I think.
I am currently reading Frank Stella’s “Working Space”, which has a fascinating analysis of Renaissance paintings and Modern works — Carravagio, Rubens, Mondrian, Pollock. It’s set me on a path that I’ve fiddled around with for years. I think I need to give it another try — an attempt to make the painting move beyond the edges of the canvas — up, down, side and side. I’m not sure I understand all he says, but it certainly has gotten me involved again in thinking about the challenges and techniques of dealing with space and place.
Thanks for checking in.