Seth Tane

I turned 66 last week, and I'm thrilled to have survived a few months of hard labor building myself a new studio and getting back to making paintings instead of welding, driving screws and being both the rigger & crane operator (no mean feat). It was a true design/build project but the dimensions and layout, lighting and location all came together to make a space that I feel inspired to work in. I hit my marks on time & budget and only sustained a few minor injuries, so I'll call it good for an aging amature.

I started out small as I got back to painting after taking the better part of the year off following my solo show in San Francisco last May to do some logging, fabricating gates and improving roads and paths on the property, and to build the studio and complete the move in. One reason I needed a new studio was for more space, including increased ceiling height to facilitate better lighting, but the other was to get out of the room I was using in our house to change my perspective. Because my location is on a forested hill with epic views, I had no interest in the usual studio in town, with a climate-impacting commute, extra expenses and a loss of spur-of-the-moment access. I’m happy to report it was a good move despite the effort, because I’m now working in a well-designed dedicated space that’s an intellectually and artistically stimulating pleasure without much concern about noise or mess.

After getting everything back in order and starting to remember how to mix and apply paint, I banged out an underpainting for one of my NYC street scenes. Confidence returning, I decided to take advantage of the great new space and get started on a large painting, but my gallery wasn't thrilled about the logistics of handling another large heavy panel. So it evolved that I began my first diptych, a natural (at least in my mind) above & below pair of East-West images connected by steel rails. The underpainting is going well and I'm excited about the progress and promise it holds to be a powerfully engaging experience to stand in front of. I've been working with this theme for a long time through individual paintings, but it sure makes sense to try working with the juxtaposition in closer proximity...stay tuned for new images I'll post as I work on it.

I'm also pleased to be included along with over 50 other realists for the second year in a curated show of small work at the Louis K. Meisel Gallery in SoHo NYC: Size Doesn't Matter: Food for Thought that opens February 28th and runs through March 30th. If you're in the area for the art fairs that begin next week, be sure to see the show !

My wonderful gallery representation: LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
And as always, you can also contact me directly by email: info@sethtane.com and follow my occasional photo posts on: Instagram