Outfield

 

Outfield   12 x 9 x .5   oil sketch on canvas

Homage

I'm afraid my annoyance has far outweighed my appreciation for these large and powerful geese from up north.  After all, their feces seems to be everywhere...including beautiful playgrounds and parks where we take our grandchildren.  I have read recently that these birds defecate every 12 minutes!

But.......while driving home along a dark country road recently, my headlights suddenly picked up a parade of these geese crossing the road ahead of me.  I aimed for a space between 2 birds and drove on through.  I have no idea if I had injured or even killed one of these geese...and, I'm afraid, I will never know.  

What I do know is that my opinion has been forever changed as our paths crossed that night and our humanities merged...their power, grace and vulnerability became mine.
 

Homage   oil/canvas   18 x 18 x 1.5

Old Buildings

Thurman's Guitar and Violin Repair (Kent, OH)   oil/canvas   10 x 20 x 1.5

Thurman's Guitar and Violin Repair on Franklin Avenue in Kent has always held such fascination for me.  I drive past it en route to the post office.  It is a rather dark building with no signs of life within.  Dark.  Mysterious. Wonder regarding the person who has chosen this as his life's work. And the lives of precious instruments housed therein.

It is such a small niche in the complexities of the everywhere flashy businesses we see daily.  It may speak of a simpler time, where neighborhoods housed small businesses to meet the needs of the local community.  

Throughout my painting career, I always procrastinate when it comes to the landscape genre, which has never held much interest to me.  (Shhhh...don't tell the students who come to my classes)  When the landscape assignment rotated around again, I searched quite a long time to find the photo reference shot many years ago.  And, I gotta say, IF we can squeeze this painting into the landscape genre at all, this is my favorite attempt of all times.  Things were kept simple.  Unnecessary elements were squelched.  

I am pleased.  And, by the way, after searching online, I have realized that this business is still in operation.  So....next time you need your guitar or violin repaired........... 

Aerial Tabletop Bird's Eye Overhead

Citrus Slices   oil/canvas   11 x 14 x .5

These terms all refer to a viewpoint that is atypical for painting.  Shapes from above become so important.  As do their shadows.  I found that my usual process had to be discarded as harder edges were needed to help avoid visual confusion.  And so, I have gained even more respect for two painters that excel at this presentation:  Cleo Clark Williams from Canton, Ohio and Linda Tompkin from Copley, Ohio.  As my strength does not lie in detail, I felt completed weighed down my this small project.

But, as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained....right?

Garden Shed

Garden Shed   oil/canvas   14 x 11 x .5

 This painting of our garden shed is, for better or worse, the image that greets me on an almost daily bases.  In it are tools, pots and potting soil as well as remnants of dried and drying herbs and vines.  It is moody.  It is crooked.  

I am satisfied with this painting, as far as painting from direct observation goes.  

The peeled layers, the cracked glass and the rusty roof provide charm.  This is where scraping and gouging into the work have a direct usefulness.

Don't forget to close the door.  The chipmunks might get in.  

Umbrella

Umbrella   oil/canvas   36 x 48

 I really have no idea why some glimpses of life are more appealing than others.  This scene appeared as I walked around a nearby allotment. This kind couple agreed to let me photograph them, although the small girl seemed to be perturbed by my request.  As per my usual, it is the visual that suggests contemplation...and spurred thoughts of umbrellas and their purposes.  I think that we all agree that umbrellas perform the function of protecting us from the elements.  It creates a bit of a boundary... the inside::outside feeling also provided by clothing, cars, homes and fences.  

And so each of us finds our comfort zone in the interior::exterior polar opposition.  

Do you know where your umbrella is?

In Memoriam: Judith B. Carducci

Turnabout - Carducci   watercolor/gouache   13 x 20

Although I have seen her only minimally over the past several years, Judy was a constant throughout a major portion of my life.  We met through our local arts group The Akron Society of Artists.  It was there that we participated in life drawing, critiques, and hosted exhibitions.  Her medium of choice was pastel.  Mine:  watercolor and oil paint.  One very  hot summer, three of us painted from models one evening a week in the upstairs garret room of The Italian American center in Akron.  Judy, Jack Liberman and I comprised our little group.  While we did not always agree artistically, I believe that we had so much in common...mainly a great love and respect for the human face and figure.

This particular portrait of Judy was done in 1999 as a group demonstration for 

The Hudson Society of Artists.  As Judy lived in Hudson, she was a ready volunteer.  Reference photos were shot and the painting was finished later on in my studio.  The painting was exhibited in Watercolor Ohio 2000 sponsored by The Ohio Watercolor Society and was purchased for their permanent collection.

I believe that each artist's personal aesthetic is comprised of all she has viewed and experienced and loved.   So....Judy was and is and will be a part of my work...forever.

Judith B. Carducci.  She was 86.

Jack Liberman  2004

Judy Carducci 2004

world getting smaller:: hearts growing bigger

Amanda   watercolor   20  x 13.5

Amanda, originally from South Africa, is an artist from my past watercolor session.  She is a sculptor by training.  AND

She has lived all over the globe in countries that have so little for their children to grab onto.....and hers is the hand that reaches out to them.  She is an ESL teacher....English as a second language.  For our session, she chose to pose rather then paint and was pleased to serve as our model.  She is wearing a traditional house dress from one of the countries she visited.

Painting from life involves much spontaneity and quick decision-making.  What a fun process!  I much prefer the energy of the impulsive searching strokes over the smooth plastic-y nature of a work that has been noodled to death.  It is definitely imperfect.  It is definitely wabi sabi. 

These sessions usually last about 1 1/2 hours.  I try to take a photo a few minutes into one of the 20 minute sessions so that I can add a bit of detail at home.

Call me crazy. I LOVE this kind of work.

Three Scoops on High

Three Scoops on High   watercolor  mixed   14.25 x 6

 Summer=ice cream.  No doubt.  

...and while we are experiencing a bit of mixed media fun, here is the result.

My idea revolved around realistic and highly textured scoops of varietal ice creams as well as a wrapped waffle cone.  The colors needed to be FUN!  This work was begun as a monoprint.  (see "It's The Berries") After printing, I began my first pass painting directly with paint on top of the monoprint.  I realized that the intense opera pink background, while super fun, completely upstaged the more subdued color palette of the cone.  Woe is me.  

My first corrective pass involved neutralizing the background with green.  No pizzazz.  

Time to take some risks.

As an all-out effort to save my idea, I created a template of tracing paper that was stuck to the top of the cone.  I used an old checkerboard linoleum plate to print on top of the watercolor ground.  As it was so very sharp and so very intense, I used a brush flooded with water to create some areas of mushed-together blandness and, at the same time, allowing some of the original pink to peek through.  Edges were then refined to conjoin the cone with the ground.

I am happy.....it was fun and gave me an adrenaline rush similar to the partaking of the luscious cone itself.  

It;s The Berries

Raspberry   watercolor   13 x 10.5

 "Raspberry" was such a fun watercolor project!  As I become bored with the repetition and seriousness of more serious projects, I throw in a bit of fun now and then.

This began as a monoprint in watercolor and finished up with the usual brush and paint.  A loose drawing is made and transferred onto a piece of tracing paper.  The reversed tracing paper drawing is put underneath a piece of plexiglass which is the approximate size of the paper.  Paint is applied directly to the plexi.  Paper is then pressed down onto the plexi.  You can use a baron if you want to....it changes the reception of the paint onto the paper a bit and flattens it out.

The painting is then continued as one would do usually, by assessing just what needs to be done.

By starting with the loose chaos of the monoprint, the work often has an energy of its own and a textural quality in direct opposition to the direct application of paint with a brush...this process shakes up the creative problem solving element, which refreshes my  desire.  

I like this painting!

At The Hip

At The Hip   Watercolor   25.5 x 16

 Oh Yes!...a scene that I am very familiar with...dressing up young boys for a formal event...in this case, a wedding.  These young lads...cousins...are ready to attend the wedding of their uncle.  Baseball caps and ties askew are part of the look.

I began with what is a darling photograph, and tried to give it a bit of my own flavor with capitalizing on their joint gesture.  The faces have been underplayed.  The horizontal line of the arms and waistbands of the trousers have been given dominance.  These boys are besties!  Color is kept to a minimum.

I like this work...and it represents much of which I hope to achieve in future paintings.

Brown Eggs

Brown eggs   watercolor   13 x 9.5

 One of my spring rituals is to paint eggs...'tis the season!  

This year I decided to paint brown eggs, which is a bit easier than painting the subtle shading and reflecting that occurs with white ones.  Although the scale of the eggs is a bit larger than in reality, I still enjoy this painting as it is, to me, the quintessential watercolor painting, i.e. the use of savored whites and the splashiness of application.  In order to accomplish this, I have had to let go of perfection by resisting the urges to smooth over brush strokes and to generalize the patterning on the bowl.

Distinct realism is difficult to release.  

I like brush strokes so very much.

Simplification.

I enjoy this work.

Paula is cold

Paula   oil/canvas   12 x 9 x.5

 Each art student took a turn posing on our model stand at the end of the winter session.  We were attired in hats, gloves and scarves.  The directive was simply to "look cold".  

I am pleased with this small painting which was translated from a grayscale printout into color.  My touch was light and somewhat accurate.  This does not always happen.  

I like lively expressive portraits.

P.S. In looking at this photo of the painting, I am surprised at its differences from the actual work.  My new I Phone camera captures all of the strokes.  The painting appears to be much smoother.  I will have to learn to make adjustments.

Don't Forget the Garlic

Garlic Bulb   oil/canvas   12 x 9 x .5

 I am always drawn to the beautiful forms of fruits and vegetables.  Sometimes it seems a bit silly to aggrandize such humble subjects.  Over the years and hundreds of exhibitions under my belt, I believe it is safe to say that there are not all that many paintings of this genre.  There is one that stands out, however....it is Van Gogh's "Red Cabbage and Onions". Recently, a small article caught my eye.  In it, the writer(?) acknowledged the presence of garlic in the work, despite being left out of the title.  

In this small monochromatic (relatively) work, my goal was to share fluidity, transparency and opacity qualities in oil paint.  As a painter in both the oil and watercolor mediums, I enjoy the crossover feel when employing the methods used by each....a hybrid, so to speak.

After all, don't we live in an age of hybrids?  

Outliers

Outliers   oil/canvas   14 x 11 x .5

 We hike a lot.  We also notice trees a lor.  Our favorite walks take place at a reservoir close to our  home.  Trees that are vertical, healthy and upright abound.  Then there are those in the midst of being uprooted and have been caught in the hooks of the verticals, waiting to fall.  Vertical, to us, seems correct...all alive and well.  Horizontals are restful with a lack of energy.  (kind of like falling asleep on the couch at the end of the day)  But those diagonals give us pause....those forms caught in the interim between alive and restful.  So..........these outliers cling to vertical, yet lean towards the fall.  Are these trees leaning into the earth or into the water?  Tension.  And yet they cling.

A bit like us humans.

This painting was referenced by a photo taken on one of our winter outings.  While I do not paint many landscapes, the tension of these trees is undeniable.

Onions and Garlic

Onions and Garlic   oil/canvas   11 x 14 x .5

We cook A LOT at our home.  And so it follows that fruits and vegetables are always available and truly a visual banquet.  I have always loved the richness of these paintings with a darkish background.  And, if you have seen my work over along period of time, you will note that I do not like said subjects as a "mise en scene" scenario.  ( no bowls, napkins, draperies, etc.)  And so, these veggies have been thrust into a bit of a visual conundrum.  They were observed on a lit tabletop but pushed almost into a vertical presentation of my liking.  Vertigo, anyone?  It works for me.

The Value of Onions

Onion   oil/canvas   8 x 8 x 1.5

 The humble onion makes everything more delicious...right?  Who can resist the fragrance of the saute?  This onion was our first class project and was painted from direct observation.  The onion appeared rather bland as the interior value shifts were so very subtle.  And so....I exaggerated the value on the edge of the outer skin to bring down the background dark into the onion itself.  Ahhh....much better.

If working from direct observation, realistically, the observed values are honored.

If considering design, the values can be altered according to the discretion of the artist.  For me, design trumps reality.

Game On

Game On   oil/canvas   18 x 18 x 1.5

Children love games.  Adults love games.  This kind of set up is a common occurrence at our home.  And this composition created an interesting triad to explore.  Moving darks.  Moving lights.  Lots of energy!  

This was an exciting painting to create for me.  

And I am often the observer...best seat in the house!

Carol

Caarol   watercolor   14 x 10

 is a watercolor portrait done in my class.  It was Halloween and masks served both as a  holiday bit of fun, as well as a device to avoid too much detail in the way of likeness.

Although it is a bit messier than my usual, I still like it.  Some of the usual slower deliberation and care were sacrificed for the goal of speed.  I think that this would be my choice over the don-over-several-days of careful painting where details and smoothness of strokes can easily disintegrate into a plastic-like feel.

Sometimes these works are more honest?