Don't Give Up the Ship Painting

Rachel   oil/canvas   20 x 10 x .5

It is very difficult when to quit a painting. I really do believe in carrying a painting as far as it will take you. I consider that to be a commitment to the work. The result has swung both ways for me. "Rachel" started with promise but was a rocky road to travel. I started with a failed painting that had been covered over with lots of paint and texture. The speed bump that jarred me initially was the placement on the canvas....I worked and reworked the idea. Such a simple beautiful figure that I had done so many times before, and more successfully! I finally reached the point where the drawing was secure and I could be creative with the paint, which is what I live for. Small painting.....hours and hours of work. My New Year's resolution this year is to turn out fewer paintings, but to let none be released that I am not completely satisfied with, at least momentarily. I believe that my work on Rachel was rewarded.

Snowed In

Snowflake

Another Snowflake

Nothing is more exciting to me than being snowed in. I am one of those closet winter-lovers who is energized by the white stuff. Winter provides an inversion, an introspection, an aloneness that my being craves. Things are bare bones......landscapes, needs, entertainment, thoughts, ........
Fewer activities, fewer diversions, fewer noises, fewer phone calls...................wonderful. For me, this season allows for a merging of my thoughts and my artistic desires. Sketching becomes a true pleasure as individuals blend with hoodies, hats and coats. I love articulating their need for warmth.
Let it snow.............................

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!

Snow Day...a sketch

At our house, nothing was ever more welcome than a snow day! Status Interruptus. Negative Space waiting to be filled. Unplanned fun. I have such fond memories of those days. After the news that our school would be closed, the boys often went back to sleep. It was then that I moved in for some uninterrupted sketching. The faces melding with the bed covers, the blankets and the snow. Today in Northeast Ohio, we are in the midst of a blizzard....a snow day to be certain, although the boys are all living on their own. I still feel the twinges of unexpected pleasures as the day unfolds in a way that not anticipated.

Love

I have heard it said that an artist creates out of passion, of love or of anger. I think that I have painted from both ends of the spectrum, but mostly a deep, deep LOVE for which there are no words. This Christmas, I gave each of my 3 sons a portrait of himself. I wanted to give a gift from my heart at this point in their younger adult lives and at this point in my life and career. I call the format "Jailhouse Portraits" as each work shows the face from three viewpoints. This whole notion was stimulated by trips to the post office long ago, where bulletin boards were emblazoned with images of criminals. Anyone that studies a human face will understand that the face changes from minute to minute and individuals reflect many many looks all in the course of an hour......fun.....left, right and center.....I LOVE YOU.