Heath and Apples - Objects as Art

Heath and Apples oil/canvas 11 x 14 x .5 It is so very aesthetically pleasing to be surrounded by useful household objects that you consider to be beautiful. Such is the case of our salad bowl from Heath Ceramics in San Francisco. I am inspired by the smooth solid surfaces and the clean lines. A beautiful salad or arrangement of fruit in such a bowl can rival a beautiful painting on many levels in my opinion. In this case I placed similarly colored apples in the bowl and surrounded it with both a planter and a fern. The first rendition honored many more lifelike details. On subsequent passes through the work, detail was subdued. I can only say that what resulted pleased me.....at that time. This is not to say that I will embrace it more in a month or in a year....that remains to be seen. What I am noticing, to be sure, in the continued simplification of forms that is occuring with each work....I have no set formula, no set process....strokes are layered over randomly in subsequent passes until I am pleased. My process ressembles a state of semi-anarchy.

Tulip Pair

Tulip Pair watercolor 12.5 x 9 I have always thought flowers to be among the most complex of subjects. Their forms are very complex, their forms quite articulated and the relationships....well....more than abundant. The poetic stature of tulips is so interesting to me, as their blooms rise above the leaves. I photographed two on my daily walk. Their colors were adapted to a better design and, I think, the relationship between the two was augmented. A bit of animism on my part. And...the simplicity which I have come to embrace is, I think, apparent. While flowers are not my favorite of subjects, I am pleased.