Stacks of Things

Clay Pots   watercolor/paper   19.5 x 11

intrigue me...they are vertical, yet precarious, perhaps a symbol, for me, of the human condition.  One artist in my painting class, in a search for self-definition, has declared her love of the effects of light.  That is, for most artists, the common, yet difficult, quest.  Light creates beautiful patterns on our subjects, as well as transient warm to cool transitions.  I, too, love those patterns as they help to define the planes of my subject matter.  But there I must draw the line, as my love of the more simple shapes and the abstract-ness of my picture plane takes precedence.  For this work, I photographed my subject matter in strong light on my patio from several angles, then selected the one that thrilled me the most.  Clay pots hold great interest for me...we use them.  They crack and break.  We use bits and pieces of them in the bottoms of new plants.  They are weathered and imperfect.

Ah, yes, a metaphor for the human condition.

Clay Pots.

This....wait a minute...no that

Simple Stool   oil/canvas   48 x 24 x 1.5

The idea for this simple stool work was threefold:  to paint the well worn and well used stool that has graced my studio for years; to complete a series of three such chair works (two just seemed wrong); and to pair this unremarkable piece of furniture with some lovely vintage wallpaper scraps, the painting of which I had intended to distress to the point of revealing underlying coats of paint.  I was inspired by a book called Sweat Shop Paris given to me by my son.  Juxtaposing the highly finished with the simple and humble....yes.  As the work progressed, I soon realized that the pattern of the sunlight into the space was upstaging the wallpaper....and rightfully so.  It was this simple stream of light that coaxed this painting into being.  Ah, yes.  Nature's beauty creating more powerful beauty than the manufactured wallpaper.  I was both surprised and delighted.

Am I sorry that I missed this design pattern earlier on?  Not really.  For me, the process is everything.  And I do retain the right to change my mind.