Architectural Delights

Fenn  Corn Crib   oil on canvas   20 x 20 x 1.5

abound here in Northeast Ohio...and they never cease to interest me.  Yin Yang.  My figurative work is composed of organic forms, organic line.  Perhaps the geometric forms of old buildings help my sense of aesthetic balance.  The Fenn Corn Crib is on the grounds of The Kelso House and Museum in Brimfield Ohio.  I chose to accentuate its symmetry by choosing a square format and by placing it plop in the middle.  The uneven hand cut boards, the seen-better-days lumber and the peeling paint thrilled me almost as much as the Gothic window on top, which, by the way, has a mirror window on the other side.  No drive-through corn farms for the Fenns.  Painting such a building fills me with respect for the folks of earlier times whose life was certainly no walk in the park.

Road Trip - Sheep (on green ground)

Sheep (on green ground)   charcoal, watercolor and relief ink on paper   10.75 x 15

Road trips take one off of the beaten path and add discovery and excitement to our lives.  Every so often, I feel the need to enlighten my studio experience.  For some time, I had been craving a drawing experience, as most of my time is spent painting, a more complex experience.  Charcoal conte pencils were used to render the sheep on a sheet of unknown paper (when will I learn to be a better labeler?).  Watercolor was added here and there, as was a sprinkling of powdered charcoal and some blasts of water spray from a bottle.  No method to my madness at all.  Just a trusting of design elements and my hard-won experience of failure and success at creating images that hold my interest and express my personal sense of visual aesthetic.  Relief ink was printed on top...that being the most unreliable of the processes.  Water, pressure and placement are all unreliable variables.  I am thrilled by the layering of pigments and yet, at the same time, am striving for simpler shapes...a combining, of sorts, of traditional realism with a more modern simplicity, where details are highly edited and discarded.

I am pleased.  Road trip....yeah!

The Boston Marathon

To Run The Boston   watercolor   20 x 13.5

is the premiere marathon for runners around the world.  For those who have finished it, the race becomes a benchmark of integrity and endurance for the rest of their lives....such as Bob, one such artist and runner in one of my classes, who always speaks glowingly of his multiple experiences in the race.  We were privileged to experience the race in 2011 when our son competed.  Our class assignment:  the cityscape.  Artists in my classes vote on subject matter.  The cityscape does not appeal to me as a genre.  I am not sure why, but I guess it has to do with the amount of information on the page...too much for me.  My reference photo was taken in 2011 and features two runners from Nigeria.  While the initial lay-in contained many beautiful spontaneous strokes, I was not content.  Too many pieces/parts.  My process involves the laying in of subsequent washes and a push::pull that allows some elements to shine, while pushing others into roles as supporting actors.  This is my final answer.

I am pleased that I attempted a work that I wouldn't have otherwise considered.  I was spurred on by the integrity of these African runners.  Ahh.....it's about meeting of the challenge.....courage.