August has been a deucedly productive month for my painting, as I've seen all the works that I've been toiling on blossom into fresh new areas.  As I look around the studio, I feel a certain completeness to the themes of the work that will fill up my show. 

It's an awfully good feeling to have some of the works resolve themselves before my eyes.  After starting to seriously work on the paintings in May, some have shuffled through my space for two-three months now, as I've moved back and forth from canvas to canvas making slight progress in small chunks.  Once the calendar flipped to August though, something clicked, I bore down and everything has fallen into place. 

I've also started some earnest work towards the linocuts that will dot the walls of the show as well.  They've been relaxing to work on, mostly recreations of paintings from the recent work and recent past, but they have a carefree feeling of a second chance at the work - as I have to recompose them to fit the next format and technique. 

Of course, odd unexpected things happen throughout the course of working towards a big show like the upcoming "A Hopeless Romance'.  While starting the last new canvas I would have to finish for the show, a rather pat standard emerged - a bunch of strippers staring back at the viewer.  While there was nothing wrong with the image or the painting, I felt it lacked something and took a step back to look at it some more.  As I stared at it, I noticed Elvis' head appear in the loose brushstrokes between two of the painted heads.  He shook his head, and explained I could do better.  Heeding the King's call, I ended up converting the painting to three young, big breasted blondes strutting with smooth gestures on stage.   I dubbed it 'American Idols' and continued on my torrid pace, hoping to finish the month as strongly as it carried me this far.