Scott Gellatly

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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Painting: from a verb to a noun

On a Saturday afternoon in late October, I drove five large oil paintings through a torrential Portland downpour to Brian Marki Fine Art gallery on the other side of town. As I've done in years past, I varnish the large paintings at the gallery, away from the sawdust that has overtaken my studio from the framing process.

This was a very satisfying errand for me...handing off what amounts to a year's worth of artistic output for the gallery to install and light properly - which they do an amazing job of.

The exhibition wouldn't officially open until the following Friday, and I would wait to see the show until then. I wanted to see the work fresh, along with everyone else.

These few days between delivering a show and seeing it is a special time. It the time between painting being a verb and before it becomes a noun. Like most painters, I revel in the process of painting - whether it is putting color onto a surface, varnishing, framing, or driving the work across town - it is all part of the process. Friends, family and collectors come to admire the work, which I'm grateful for. To me, the paintings are simply remnants of a process that has become an essential part of my life.

So, with that said, here are some installation pics of Native Shores and Distant Sands, on view at Brian Marki Fine Art through November 2015.