"Hidden Agendas"

Jacobi, Hidden Agendas, acrylic, 24"x30", 2008 (click on image for larger view)

This is my latest painting. I am not 100% sure that it is finished, but I think that it may be. After spending so many years doing carefully planned and executed paintings for my illustration jobs, I now like the idea of working in a more spontaneous, intuitive manner. Kelly's Ghost (see previous post, Feb. 19) was painted that way, and this one was as well. In fact, when I started this piece, I didn't have a thought in my mind--not consciously, at least. It just unfolded on its own, in terms of the subject matter, composition, and manner of brush strokes. The color palette is something that I have used on a number of other pieces--that part was a conscious decision.

I like the idea of working "in the moment". As such, although part of me wants to go in and tweak this painting a bit, my inclination is to leave it as it is, as an expression of the moments that it was painted in. I have been sitting on this one for a few weeks, trying to decide. I think it's done-- enough so as to post it here on my blog, at any rate.