Introducing “Mindscape Guggenheim”, aka, “Guggenheim #7”. In 2009, I completed and swiftly sold a 30″X30″ painting of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece. In 2010, I found myself longing to paint the Gugg once more, but two canvases of the same subject felt opportunistic — so I committed to painting a new 30″X30″ Guggenheim, each year, for the ensuing 19 years.
Here is year 7, captured in time lapse, with a fantastic soundtrack courtesy of Stefan Zeniuk.
Set-up to begin on that rough-and-tumble city street known as 5th Avenue.
The lighting was more dramatic in this one… so I’m posting both. No progress alongside Central Park just yet.
The underpainting and drawing video files were corrupted for some reason, so the image will have to suffice. Despite the apparent sun, the day quickly turned cloudy and it began to rain. So, I packed up the gear and jumped in a cab.
The second day was much sunnier, which was great, though it left me with a wicked farmers tan.
Steve Thompson from Mattoon, Illinois was kind enough to snap this shot and send it on over. Thank you Steve.
I knew an element of Mindscape was the desired direction… so I began experimenting with a variety of geometrical shape fields surrounding the Guggenheim.
I began this painting in late May… the goal was to finish it before our nomadic adventure began. However, I soon realized this was far too ambitious, considering the packing and travel. And so, I set-out to complete this piece in our Minnetonka studio.
A blue and grey theme quickly materialized and swiftly took over. I was excited by the trees in my Santana’s painting… so I mirrored them here.
The final layer would eventually require two layers of paint on the Guggenheim proper… I wanted the transitions to move… and the initial palette lacked warmth.
Once I found myself here, it was time to make some final decisions. The annex to the left of the Guggenheim felt chilly, so I decided to add some tonal heat.
Once that building was changed, the Guggenheim was repainted and the window treatments were addressed… I knew I was well into the prestige phase.
Nothing pleases me more than the annual pilgrimage to East 89th and 5th Avenue to spend some time with Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece. Year 7 was a blast — and I’m already planning #8.
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