White Pumpkins and Roadside Purple

White Pumpkins and Roadside Purple   oil   9 x 12

This is the second "quickie" painting done to regain a sense of balance within the bounds of painting exactly what is in front of me through direct observation.  The light source was a studio lamp. The canvas was pre-toned in a warmish neutral.  White pumpkins have always been thrilling to me.  Added to that is a bunch of roadside wildflowers that carry a vibrant purple that can be seen from afar.  They always pop up this time of year much to my delight.

Hidden Symmetry

Hidden Symmetry   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

The quest for balance in our lives, especially in today's fast-paced world, is a tough one, and ever-present.  For me, the self::others dialogue is the most difficult.  Although I enjoy socializing a bit, and having a few laughs with comrades, I am always most at home when I am by myself, my mind fully engaged in attempting to solve the mysteries of painting.  The feeling of being overwhelmed quickly dissolves after a good painting session, or two....or three. 

This painting involves not only the reality of a dilapidated steeple, but the juxtaposition of texture with the simplicity of a smoothly painted background.  It has always been one of my favorites.

"Hidden Symmetry" is part of the "Friends" exhibition at Group Ten Gallery in Kent, Ohio.  Come on along.  Lots of friends will be exhibiting:  Tom Baldwin, David Bamber, Vickie Theiss Callahan, Nancy Richards Davis, Sue Delac, Joseph Filipiak, Brant Gebhart, Terry Klausman, Deborah Vaughn Lindner, Bret Martell, Mike Nevin, Alan Peters, Annie Peters, John Sharp, and the rest of the artistic crew in the gallery.

Balancing Act...

Mary in Polka Dots   oil/canvas   30 x 24 x .5

Yes, indeed it is.  For almost everyone.  Finding that median in the land of polar opposites.  Work:Play.  Self:Others.  Visual balance is important in my work....and I have noticed that most people are highly sensitive to balance and can tell when, in any situation, it needs to be improved.  Being off-balance is disconcerting.  (There are cases, when asymmetry is very exciting and helps to tell the story.  In that case, imbalance is intended and purposeful).  Mary was a tall and lanky young model.  And then she did that pretzel thing with her legs wrapped around the rungs of the stool.  First of all, painting the human figure on a standard size canvas is difficult at best.  If the standing figure is painted in its entirety, the proportions of the surface are wrong to me, leaving far too much negative space.  O.K.  In this case, the lankiness was offset and balanced by some emphasis on the horizontals.  In the working of these horizontals, the relationships of shoulder/shoulder; hand/hand; knee/knee and boot;boot became even more important.  In this particular scenario, the stool had to be included as it was inseparable from the legs.  The horizontal rungs also helped to balance this extremely vertical situation.

I have watched people straighten a barely-crooked painting on a wall as they walk by.  I believe that a need for balance is deeply engrained in our physiology.