Inspiration

Saturday Night's All Right   oil/canvas   16 x 20 x 1.5

Every now and then, I view the work of an artist that literally gives me goosebumps......Alex Kanevsky. His style gives me inspiration and direction...........we agree on on so many things, especially the prioritizing of the movement of the figure. However, he goes for the universal in figure painting, with little detail and color on the faces of his models. I have always, purposefully, chosen to describe the specific, with an intended leap on the part of the viewer to find the universal. I think that I will explore Kanevsky's philosophy and see where it takes me. "Saturday Night's All Right" was painted from a model during our monthly artwalk in Akron, Ohio. It took round about 5 hours to finish. It has just been accepted into "Sensory Feast", an exhibition at 2nd April Galerie in Canton. Opening is September 19............it is a wonderful and magical gallery..........come on along.

sdrawkcab gnikniht

Organic Carrots, watercolor   10 x 17

Thinking backwards is always fun for me....it is sort of a game, and keeps my mind in a playful, nonsensical mode. Traditional watercolors are worked, usually, from light to dark. The opposite is true for working with oils. I enjoy watercolors that incorporate the full-body-ness of oils...sort of a richness with lots of darks. As a result, I have lots of failed watercolors, as it is much more difficult to change your direction once the darks are laid in. Sometimes I try to do the same subject in both mediums to see how they translate. Mostly, I find that a particular subject is better rendered in one medium or another, due to the feelings involved or the appropriateness of the mood. "Organic Carrots" is a spin-off from the "Carrots" oil painting. Why not take full benefit of the purchase of the organic carrots before they wither? Economy is also in my nature. It makes me happy.

Animation

Carrots   oil/canvas   8 x 24 x .5

I was a Disney kid.....my life full of talking trees, humanized animals and magic. (even though I never really enjoyed cartoons) As a result, I love for my still life and architectural paintings to have a life, to breathe. I really do see them as living things. Although I have never really analyzed it, I guess that this can be accomplished by using more organic lines and fewer straight ones. "Carrots" was painted right after "Beets". Painting pairs can result in works with a similar feel. I was striving for animation, but found out that color was the thing that piqued my interest here. Happens all the time. Strive for one goal and hit the finish with yet another. Fluidity is a good thing.

Paint your Vegetables

Beets   oil/canvas   8 x 24 x .5

One of the challenges that I present to myself is to paint quickly and, hopefully, passionately, using as few brush strokes as possible. That is what makes me happy. It seems that more often than not, the first way I articulate a passage is my favorite.....subsequent paint-overs may achieve more detail and more accuracy, but often fall flat in terms of energy and excitement. Vegetables offer so much as subject matter............texture, amazing color and a life-quality that somehow seems lacking in man-made objects. Of course, I am not always successful in my challenges. Some paintings seem to paint themselves, while others snail their way into being. That is the process. "Beets" was such a challenge. It was basically painted in one session, with just a few strokes added to turn up the color volume after it was dry.

Braids

African Prince   mixed on paper   43 x 29

My mind adores free-play....where one idea leads to the next leads to the next.....Such was the case when I started experimenting with the linkage of charcoal drawing to crude printmaking. Our model for one 5-hour session was a young man college-bound in the fall. He arrived impeccably dressed....new shirt, new jeans and sparkling white shoes..............my heart fell. None of those things even remotely causes my heart to pitter-pat. Now his hair, all done in corn rows, was another matter. Texturally, braids of all kinds are beautiful and common to all aspects of life...in the garden, in weaving and in hair. Braiding is not only beautiful, it is strong, a way of combining single strands into a stronger group, yet retaining flexibility. Wow....I had my hook! The charcoal drawing was done during the session. At home, I carved a braided block and finished the work with printing. Nirvana! A braiding of several art forms that I enjoy!

Airwaves

Airwaves   mixed on paper   34 x 20.5

It has become completely commonplace to see people of all ages talking on their cell phones while eating, driving, shopping and walking. I guess it stands out to me because I don't have one. Although I certainly understand the convenience of being able to reach someone, anyone, at a given moment, that fact does not outweigh my dislike for interruptions and talking on the phone in general. We had a young man who modeled for us at a studio demonstration. He sat with phone in hand....a gesture "of the times". I began to recall all of the articles I had recently read discussing the disappearance of honey bees. Several theories were being debated, one being the jamming of airwaves and the confusion of the bees resulting in an inability to return to their hives. That is alarming. The notion of such a drastic consequence to a modern convenience piqued my interest and feelings. I used charcoal to draw the young man and finished up at home using a linoleum print method to connect the two notions. I am happy with the results and the fact that I have recently seen a few honey bees in our yard.

Paying attention

Veiled   mixed on paper   19.5 x 14

I pay attention to things that thrill me. I love strong line. I love simple. I love spontaneity. I love imperfection. I love the searching. I love fabric designs and patterns, although I still love simple. I love finely detailed work, but only in certain passages. I love primitive art, although I know that is not who I am. And I love the paint quality that results only from printing, that which can never be achieved by direct painting. Up until now, I have tried to achieve the qualities that thrill me by painting only. Watercolors remained watercolors, oils/oils, and drawings/drawings. I seemed to enjoy the mixing of mediums, but felt that results were so often murky, and seemed to have lost intent. That is just my opinion, of course. Recently, I have been combining charcoal drawing and simple linoleum printmaking to create patterns, colors and textures. I love the results! I haven't experienced a thrill like this in quite a while.

Reflections

Reflection is an important task for me, in life, as well as in my art. It helps me grow. I have seen countless images where the reflection of one object is mirrored onto another....coffee pots, Christmas balls and glass store fronts. It demonstrates the complexity of a scene, where each object is affected by another. For me, that translates into a metaphor for life itself. It also demonstrates the draftsmanship skills of the artist. In one of my classes, our assignment was to place objects on a mirror. The objects melded seamlessly into their own reflections. Quite a great exercise! In fact, my picture became one big blob, as seen realistically. I had to manufacture boundaries between the object and the reflection horizontally, so that it could be read visually. Once again, I learned to challenge reality.

Group Gesture

Young Warriors   watercolor   12.5 x 17.5

I don't often paint people in a group. I guess that this is because I want to visit personal issues of my own as seen through the beautiful people that I paint. However, I became excited about this notion again when viewing the work of Alice White, the juror for "Real People" in Woodstock, Illinois. Her work is very big, very powerful. In the group setting, the individualization of the models is sublimated while the group gesture takes on a life of its own. That is not only ambitious, but difficult to do. While paying attention to the spark that White's work ignited in my interest, I am making a mental note to try it again. "Young Warriors" was done many years ago and is in the collection of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.