Essential Lotto

Essential Lotto...ARtGraf graphite block on paper...30 x 16 Ideas come in fits and spurts. During my many walks each week doing a loop around the central area of our small township, I took note of the people going in and out the door of Circle K.....and caused me to wonder just what was essential enough to dawn and mask and shop at a convenience store....gas? made-to-go sandwiches and hotdogs? and, yes....LOTTO. A dream of winnings that might be the way out for many folks of the apathy and distress that seem to hover over this period in time. So....surrepticiously, I shot many photos of these customers as they entered and departed. The plan was to create a series of figurative works describing what each of these individuals considered to be essential. The woman in this work was not young....it took her many minutes to unfold from her car and conduct her business. The door itself was not easy for her to maneuver. Several minutes later, she emerged with a long string of lotto tickets. Ah...THE DREAM. I am quite happy with this work. I hope she scratches off a winning number. I wish her hope.

Jig

Jig   watercolor/relief ink   14 x 28

is the result of openness.  A conflict has arisen in my artistic pursuits.  My favorite subject:  the human figure.  However, posed models are usually at rest, and often the result of someone else's idea of a terrific pose....the artist providing for and arranging the model session.  A group session, of course, has the advantage of the shared expense of the model.  My own studio is rather small and cannot provide the distance I need for my own "big picture".  So, more and more, I am relying on photographs which, for me, do provide that distance, as well as the ability to be altered and pushed into my own vision.  This young woman was playing the fiddle in the middle of the gazebo in my small town during our Wednesday Farmers Market.  She was back-lit, unfortunately, so I had to cull out information from the darkness provided.  I love her gesture...an active one to be sure.  And...as in all meaningful rhythms, runs counter to the direction of her bow.  In order to give more power to the gesture, my task was to combine shapes where possible and eliminate unnecessary detail.  I am happy to have kept my eyes open to possibility and to accept what which was given to me.

Scrabble King

Scrabble King   watercolor   13 x 10

Most of the watercolor portraits I have undertaken have been painted from life....from a model.  In our watercolor class, participating artists voted to attempt a portrait from a photo.  Of course, there are always pros and cons.  Painting from life offers up more in the way of interpretation and, for me, a much simpler way of seeing.  Painting from photos can get just too itty-bitty for me, as the work always progresses into finer and finer detail...towards the likeness offered by the photo itself.  The challenge in painting from a photo, for me, is to keep the work expressive and fresh, when re-painting passages is always an option.  Painting from life usually doesn't offer enough time for the portrait to be overworked.  I chose to paint mon mari, and snapped a photo just after he had triumphed in our winter-nightly game of Scrabble.

The beard is the white paper which has been cherished and retained.  The hat and shirt have been kept simple.  I am pleased.