Portraits of St. Louis Artists: David Ottinger

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We first met David Ottinger at last year's studio open house. He is a professor of art at nearby McKendree University and a painter of note. A common theme of his work involves multiple images of the same individual in some kind of struggle with him or herself. He's stuck himself in the middle of the action here.

You can't read the words on the button he's wearing in this small image. It says "Jennifer Weigel was here." She's the artist with the traveling exhibit in the back hatch of her car seen in Sunday's post.

Portraits of St. Louis Artists: David Ottinger

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It's Open Studios Weekend once again, when St. Louis artists open their workspaces or gather in exhibition centers to show what they are making. I went around more slowly yesterday than in the past, spending more time with the artists, learning about them and their work, and of course, asking if I could take their pictures.

I saw some very original stuff, not the least of which was the painting of David Ottinger, professor of art at McKendree University in nearby Lebanon, Illinois. The long painting behind him has four iterations of the same person, apparently wracked in thought. I wish I'd written down the title - it was The Essence of the Decision or something like that. It's quite penetrating.

Yesterday brought portraits of eight or nine artists, many of which will appear here in coming days. Today, the second day of the open house, will feature different artists and spaces.