Parchment and Tar

These paintings are my entry into the Affordable Art Show this year. I applied ages ago and then got swamped by life the universe and everything. Like hundreds of others I left it to the last minute. These pieces are really just paint sketches that capture fast moments. I went down to the new Waitangi Park and sat on a rock, to watch and sketch the moves of a large group of skaters. I love their casual balance and the curvature of their bodies in motion - their brief flights and the long contrasting shadows they cast.

The paintings are only small, each one is no more than 200 x 400 - no time for grandiose ideas here!
I feel a little odd about them, (do they lack depth, are they just 'decorative' ?) and I'm strangely unattached. Is this what it feels like to sell out?

Hah !
In saying that, I want the 3 to remain together (even though they work well compositionally as individual pieces) and I did take them home to play with, so perhaps I'm not as impartial as I thought.
I like the monochromatic feel, and the textural effect of the dark underpainting very much.

I'm going to gesso up a large canvas this week to paint on the weekend. I want to play with texture as a means of indicating the ripples idea that's still persisting (though still in the thought stage - what does a space filled with people look like if the view point isn't from the edge looking in ?) and continue with making the work towards our show.

Decorative or not - painting is a fix - and I can't do without it. It feels so good to be back into it.