Fadeout

Fadeout   oil/canvas   20 x 30 x 1.5

 

Scene:   A typical drive back from Columbus on 1-77 North

Task:  Photograph as many barn scenes as possible from my passenger seat in my moving vehicle

I have never had luck with this before, but current technology allowed me to zoom in on the scenes most satisfactorily.  Barns have really never been my thing...nor landscapes, for that matter.  But....I am a believer in pushing myself.  This particular scene really stuck my fancy with the barn  disappearing into the horizon in the grayness of the day.  I finished the work to my almost-satisfaction but the scene did not allow this painting to be read at any distance.  And so I added a slight color temperature shift at the top of the roof.  That seemed to do it for me.

And as for barns?  Why do we enjoy them so much?  I am not sure, but the simplicity of the shapes, and of the scenes, keep us in touch with our primitive agricultural roots.  Enough said

Maybe another barn next year?.

Sense of Snow

Narrow Bridge   oil/canvas   36 x 24

Winter is my favorite season....it allows for quiet contemplation, a good book by the fire (currently Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg) and, most of all, the bliss of solitude.  It seems that my best work arises from this "perfect storm".

When you start working, everybody is in your studio - the past, your friends, enemies, the art world, and above all, your own ideas - are all there.  But as you continue painting, they start leaving one by one.  And then you are left completely alone.  The, if you are lucky, even you leave.                                    John Cage

"Narrow Bridge" is currently on exhibition at Group Ten Gallery in Kent, Ohio.

Don't tell anyone, but....

Some Things are Seen More Clearly in Winter - Danseuse   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

I am a lover of winter....the snow, the cold and the isolation.  For me, it is my most painting-productive time of year as well as a respite from feverish activity.  This season promotes introspection and the observance of quiet living.  OK.  Well.  Don't ever say it in public, as the vast majority of people seem to prefer other seasons, any other season...summer most often.  It is true that my job does not require me to leave home, so driving and perpetual bundling are not issues.  For me, things are more clearly seen in winter....the visual delights as well as the emotional dilemmas.  Bare Bones.  Less competition.  Definitely less noise.  The cardinal takes on more importance in the background of winter.  Love it.  Love it.  Love it.