Stairways

"Flight"
14 x 11, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014

One of my most popular posts lately has been the one about Hopper in Paris. Hopper's interiors--particularly his staircase--generated a lot of response from faithful readers. Inspired by Hopper, and by the stairs in my Paris rental apartment last month, I have been working on a series of staircase paintings. Believe me, this is not easy stuff. But I have been patient, and I have not allowed the object to get the better of me. Instead, I have focused on

getting the gesture of the staircase, as I felt it. I have loved the "starts" on these paintings--quick gestural notes, lots of movement. It was such fun to just grab brush lightly and put my body into the "wooosh" of the line, up and across the canvas.

I have tried to keep the gesture alive in the finished paintings. The first painting (above) starts mid-flight. For the second one (below), I tried to start at ground level and go all the way to the next floor. Or almost all the way! I loved the interplay of the contrasting curves--hence the title, "Double Helix". Sort of reminded me of a strand of DNA.

"Double Helix"
12 x 18, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell

Stay tuned for more in the staircase series...perhaps I will tackle the stairs in my studio building. Since I'm on the third floor, I get plenty of exposure to those!