The Early Morning

White April Morning Daffodils   oil/canvas   12 x 24

Yellow April Morning Daffodils   oil/canvas   12 x 24

Daffodil paintings are presented here as a kind of "blast from the past".  I had a comment recently from a fellow artist congratulating me on these new works.  Actually, these paintings were done in 2005 and no longer in my possession...at least in the material sense.  The feelings I have when I look out into the yard to see these glowing clusters surfaced again this week.  While I enjoy this work from nearly a decade ago, I understand that this work can no longer be repeated.  My work has evolved.  I have evolved.  I can appreciate them but celebrate the self-examination and changing process that has occurred in my artistic endeavor.  The work of a lifetime is very much like a diary.

I am different now.  But I still get a charge out of early morning daffodils.

Royal Egg

Royal Egg   watercolor   13.75 x 6

is a second attempt at painting an egg on a silk scarf, the first being many years ago.  I wanted the egg to rest center stage.  I wanted to oppose the hard shell with the gossamer feel of cloth.  I am pleased with this result, especially with the paint quality.  While the paper was still damp and the support laying flat, I drizzled and dipped into raw umber in the area around the egg.  The resultant granulation excites me.  The difficulty was the lay of the scarf, which, despite my best attempts, positioned itself differently in each of four sessions...twice during two different class sessions and twice during two separate sessions at home.

An homage to the humble egg...isn't that where everything begins?

Aging Beauty Queen

Aging Beauty Queen  watercolor & gouache   20.25 x 12

On trips to see our family, I never include huge plans for art-making.  So many loved ones to visit.  So many new things to see.  On this recent trip, my one teeny weeny goal was to sketch our new granddaughter....and then maybe to turn it into a small watercolor.  The sketch is dear but unfinished.  Walking through the streets of the Mission district in San Francisco has its rewards, however.  The top half of this aging Victorian home became my first subject back in the studio.  Much detail was distilled and subdued in order to put focus on the fire escape and its shadow.  I used body color in the sky and a few strokes within the structure in order to contrast with the remaining transparency.  I believe that this process makes the transparent passages even more so...even more powerful. 

While urban life within can, at times, seem romantic and magical, I can honestly say that I am quite satisfied with life inside my quiet studio.  I have become a curious onlooker.

A Gift

S...   a sketchbook drawing

is far too often measured in material terms, especially these days....a thing along with a $5 card to go along with.  A more precious gift is that of time, which is more difficult than ever to come by.  Our recent gift, a lovely new granddaughter, was magnified by two weeks holding, caressing and welcoming her into the world.  Our son and lovely wife live far from us, so the gift was doubly appreciated.  Time spent sketching.  Time spent adoring.  Time to just be.

Although this sketch was never quite finished, I will cherish the moments spent in the doing, in the observation, with her tucked between my legs on the couch.