“(Hank Williams’) Lost Highway”
acrylic latex, charcoal on sailcloth
50” x 36”
October 1995
The Grogan Collection

 

This piece hung in our apartment in Long Beach for quite awhile, before it was purchased by a neighbor of ours. We had a chance to see it in its current location when we visited LB just before the pandemic (photo below). I love seeing my paintings in their new home.

I’m not a good businessman when it comes to the business of art. Letting go of paintings is a hard thing for me, and I invariably wish I had them back years later. Selling or giving them away – it doesn’t matter – it’s always bittersweet when a canvas leaves the studio for a new home. You would think that after 35 years of creating paintings I would have gotten used to it, but no. The fact that someone has fallen in love with something I created always softens the moment and leaves me happy inside whenever I think about the piece. And knowing this painting in particular is cherished makes me really glad it is where it is.

This piece was completed in one evening. Like other pieces from the line abstracts series, painting it was like doing a dance. It was a fine balance I walked between not doing enough on the canvas, and doing too much. Knowing when to stop was key to the success of this painting and why it works for me. Of course I was listening to Hank Williams the night I created this painting.