The inspiration for Michael Carson’s most recent body of work came to the artist when he received a few pieces back from a gallery that he hadn’t seen in close to a year.
“Seeing them with completely fresh eyes made me want to repaint them and the finishing seemed so much easier—so, I started that practice in my studio,” he says. “The start of the piece is always the easy thing for me but now when I get to stage where decisions don't come, I put it away. I come back later, knowing that eventually the answer will become clear and that I will eventually come back to add new layers over the dried surface.”
In The White Room, oil on panel, 40 x 30"Carson’s latest series—titled Resurface after his new process—will hang from December 13 through January 13, 2020 at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Not only do the works in the series showcase the masterful depiction of color, light and the female form that Carson is best known for, but they also feature a newfound energy that he has been applying to the canvas and beyond.
“The title also seems appropriate in that I'm making conscious efforts to get out of my home studio more often and make some attempts at a social life,” he says. “The act of working alone day in and out is so easy and uncomplicated but eventually you will go crazy and start talking to your mailman about conspiracy theories. Time to resurface.” 
In Deep, oil on panel, 30 x 20"Another way in which Carson is “resurfacing” is by concentrating more on the design of his paintings before diving in.
“I’m worrying less about [having an] accurate light source or appropriate color palette and focusing more on directional composition and negative and positive space broken up by figures and vague environments,” he explains. 
Listen, oil on panel, 24 x 18"
He adds, “As much as I love to get lost in the larger feel and mood of the piece, I still find most of my fun is really focusing in on the subtleties of face and expression that tell a story but doesn't get anywhere close to [being an] obvious narrative. That way the viewer is a participant in what direction the narrative is. It becomes personal. The real fun is getting to a stage where the tiniest of movements of brushstroke will subtly change the expression and drastically alter the mood and feel of the painting. It might even tell you a completely different story.” —
Bonner David Galleries 7040 E. Main Street • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 • (480) 949-8500 • www.bonnerdavid.com
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