Stacks of Things

Clay Pots   watercolor/paper   19.5 x 11

intrigue me...they are vertical, yet precarious, perhaps a symbol, for me, of the human condition.  One artist in my painting class, in a search for self-definition, has declared her love of the effects of light.  That is, for most artists, the common, yet difficult, quest.  Light creates beautiful patterns on our subjects, as well as transient warm to cool transitions.  I, too, love those patterns as they help to define the planes of my subject matter.  But there I must draw the line, as my love of the more simple shapes and the abstract-ness of my picture plane takes precedence.  For this work, I photographed my subject matter in strong light on my patio from several angles, then selected the one that thrilled me the most.  Clay pots hold great interest for me...we use them.  They crack and break.  We use bits and pieces of them in the bottoms of new plants.  They are weathered and imperfect.

Ah, yes, a metaphor for the human condition.

Clay Pots.