Couple/Polar Opposites/hard::soft/Roses in Aluminum

Couple   oil/canvas board   12 x 12

This small painting is a metaphor for all things yin::yang in our lives.  My idea was to create shared space between the two roses...a relationship merged yet individual. 

One of my passions is to eliminate the unnecessary edges which represent fences that block the movement of the pieces/parts.  Because all of these operations are so subjective and so personal, I spent a good deal of time on a sketch that solved (hopefully) potential errors and helped to convey my feelings.  In the past, I have found that the division of space in square formats to be a challenge. In this case, it worked out......

There is much that pleases me here...right down to the simple limited palette.

In addition, the opposition of the quintessentially beautiful roses with the aluminum can completes me.

LOVE...

Love   oil/canvas board   8 x 8

Happy Valentine's Day!  Oh-so-many years ago, I painted roses, roses, and more roses while doing greeting card work for Papyrus....at that time Shurman Fine Papers.  Roses are complex.  And they are difficult.  I don't particularly favor them, but they are certainly appropriate for the season.  Actually, I thought that I had had my fill.  In painting them, I try to understand their construction and have found that painting individual leaves (at first) is the way to proceed.  This little ditty was painted as an exercise, a discipline.  Understanding their construction helps us to understand other kinds of folds and other kinds of complexity.