Back to where I started..opacity:transparency...Adam Connected...a figurative work

"Adam Connected" is the result of a live model situation at our last watercolor class.  Adam is a high school art student who will be off to college next year.  And, of course, he came along with his phone, the constant companion that he caressed during the pose and more actively interacted with during the breaks.  The face and hands are painted transparently.  The clothing becomes 2-dimensional as a result of underplaying all of the wrinkles, patterns and shadows that, for me, become just too complex visually.  I guess these days I am delving further and further into simplification, which allows for more creativity throughout.  The background shapes and values simply happened, in my own consideration and re-consideration of the picture plane.  I have no need to paint all of the minutia involved in the reality of the scene.  The background is painted opaquely with the addition of gouache, which allows for almost endless reinterpretation.  So here I am again.  Fiddling with the polar notions of opacity and transparency.  It seems right to me.  Back to where I started....but, of course, with more experience and, I believe, more confidence.

ya know it don't come easy...a painting that took years to resolve...Deference

Deference   oil/canvas   40 x 30 x .75

 Sometimes paintings paint themselves.  Rare but it happens.  Sometimes paintings go on and on forever with no satisfiable resolution in sight.  Sketches help, but are not guaranteed.  My goals in this work were to shift attention from the face and figure to the foot of this seated dancer.  After years and years of figure painting, I know that this was a lofty goal.  The face and hands are nearly always the focal area.  So, in effect, I was reversing the norm as well as the norm-in-my-brain.  The model for this work posed in late autumn 2009.  Since those sessions she:  graduated from college, married, moved to New York, moved back, bought a home and had a baby.  All those changes.  And all of those changes virtually mirrored those changes taking place on the canvas.  Although I feel that I have achieved resolution, I wouldn't want to go through this painful process again.

Enough of the upending.  More sketches.  More planning.  More thinking.

Have I learned my lesson?  Probably not.

Food For Animals...and for thought...Pearody

Pearody   oil/canvas   8 x 24 x 1.5

Who among us hasn't experienced extreme love and attachment to a pet?  These are some of the strongest bonds we experience in our family lives, sometimes ever-so-strong due to the simplicity of the bond.  Well, Kathy Johnson of Hudson Fine Art and Framing does her annual thing to support The Humane Society of Greater Akron where a percentage of the proceeds goes to provide food for these animals who are often victims of abuse or neglect.

Where:  Hudson Fine Art & Framing; 9 Aurora Street; Hudson Ohio 44236  (located in The    Brewster Mansion right on the square)

When:  Wine and Cheese Opening; Friday, April 13 5:30-8:30 pm

What:  This year Kathy is exhibiting food art....appealing to all

Hope to see you there!

One in Every Crowd...a celebration of self...and small chicks

One in Every Crowd   oil/canvas   8 x 24 x .75

 What a wonderful notion it would be if each person, each artist, was able to grasp the beauty and strength of his or her own uniqueness!  Gone would be the petty jealousies, the competition and the rivalries, both outright and hidden, that plague us.  No more "he's got something that I want".  Instead, "I'm good with what I have.  It's different than what she has.  It's all good".  Going along with the crowd, understandably perpetuates cultural mores that provide for a smooth functioning of society.  Eliminates snags and questions.  But, in my opinion, it is only when we think for ourselves that we can rid ourselves of the standards of the "other", that we can make choices that are emotionally viable for ourselves as well as others, that we are able to arrive at a sustainable balance.  Question reality.  Our own self-made reality is as good as it gets.  It is when we feel good enough about ourselves and our own work that we are able to appreciate the work of others, even though it is different from our own.

Something to work towards.  A celebration of self.

the minor fall...the major lift...mood is very important to me...Daisy Play

Daisy Play   Watercolor 9 x 9

ah...some of my favorite lyrics from one of my all-time favorite songs...."Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley.

This past weekend some of our extended family was in town and so we met for dinner at a local restaurant.  There was an entertainer...kind of a lounge singer....who sang popular songs and played guitar.  The first few were quite nice.  His voice was pleasant, as was the strumming.  The amps were turned up way too high and we were seated oh-so-close.  (I know....if it's too loud, then I'm too old....perhaps)  When he started singing this favorite song-o-mine, I cringed.  "Hallelujah" gets its power, in my opinion, from its hymn-like mood....a softness and a slowness that transcends popularity.  The delivery was the same as all of the other songs he sang.  And what did I realize from this experience? 

...that mood is a major purveyor for all kinds of art.  Even though all of the design elements and principles are carried out to perfection, ignoring the mood of a work is a huge flaw.  By using all of the tools we have to create, a painting or a song, we have the ability to manipulate the mood.  We can create a slow soft mood by using similar values, subtle hues and softer brushwork.  We, as artists, can benefit from consideration and contemplation before laying down the first stroke.