Tuesday, December 20th, 2022

 Wishing all the very best this Holiday Season. May you be visited by joy and peace and may the New Year bring us all tranquility.

Two new(ish) images to share. The first is "seasonal" with "Marley's Ghost." 12"x18" Canson XL watercolor paper. The under image is a print transfer of some doodling that my friend, Dale White, did in my studio messing around with oil sticks. I then filled the rest in with oil pastels and graphite with a coat of linseed and bees wax that was scrapped off.

The next image is of a work that I did earlier in the year and was purchased by a friend who had it matted and framed. This really is how I envisioned the work, completed. "Lilacs" from the series, "Lost Textiles- Found Remnants."

Sunday, Dec. 11th

 Been a minute but things have been humming along. The last piece "Possession in Great Measure" continues to evolve and I'm waiting for it to cure so I can varnish it.

Piece below is a study that I'm hoping I can transfer to a much larger format. This is 16"x20" and in acrylics. Titled, "Dr. Roberts." Long story so the title will have to suffice. Thanks for looking and hopefully seeing.

November 16th 2022

 So, to continuing the pissing into the wind and the ether and asking the koan of one hand clapping and if there's no one to hear a tree falling yadda yadda... I continue..Painting (not pictures!) is an insanely isolated process- you-paint-canvas-notion-objective-intent...por moi, it's become simple...what's the question ,what's the response. Painting, for me is a s Socratic process- query- response...objective achieved or not. Samuel Beckett said it best: "Fail Better!" which I will explore by responding. Todays offering is a 48"x 60" canvas paint over of a failure. The undercoat is yellow oil enamel with oil sticks and charcoals. Titled "Possession in Great Measure." Which is hexagram nunber 14 in the sacred Confucian text,  I Ching. There are 14 object des art. Mediums are oil sticks and charcoal and like Robert Frost, I refuse to...explain..

Tuesday, Oct.18th, 2022

 When it rains it pours but in our case here in Indiana, time to scrape the windshields in the morning- as Ned Stark was fond of saying, "Winter is Coming..." Two images and some verbiage to share my work process (what a fucked up overused word but my  internal thesaurus is on strike).

This is what I call a first draft (once a writer...)- it's on a 48"x60" canvas that has 3 or 4 paintings under neath it. My instinct was to use acrylic gesso and realized that was a non-starter as they were orignally oil and so there is a white oil primer (3 coats) and this is the first iteration:

I identify as a Color Field painter for many reasons but have been moving toward representational forms that are "morphic" in feel and the shapes are iconic, for me, and found in my expereince of nature. I also seek balance with these forms and weight. As a stand alone piece, I find this to have too much white space and the overall feel is decorative. I accept that some may find this construct, pleasing. I reject "pleasing." It contributes nothing to the "conversation." Nice is not something I want nor need to hear. Continuing on the theme explored on an earlier piece ("Lucky Eleven") of presenting colors and forms in motions and balance (or inbalance as is the case with that piece). After completing this stage, I knew I wanted to challenge myself and the viewer see color as an expressive and kinetic process, as it is in nature. I offer this in evidence:

The essence remains but the "process'(fuck) reveals the hand and intent and my reveal of "punkness." In a banal sense, it's the rejection of beauty as an ideal and my belief that that construct is false and not my Art. I hope to create discomfort and misalignment in the hope that a new viewpoint may emerge. Abstract Art is representational. The artist knows it and hopes that in sharing it, s/he can challenge the viewer in ascertaining it. For me, those shapes/forms and colors are in complete harmony( see first image) but my experience is that harmony is messy, dirty and not what we think it looks like. Thank you.

Tues. Oct. 18, 2022

 As Sandy Denny sang so poignantly, "Who knows where the time goes...." been a while but then that's the nature of this plog...easy come easy go. Lot's to unpack with some new work...let's go to the monitor, Sally...

17"x19" rayon bookbinding paper with oil sticks and oil pastels. "Looking for Clues."

9"x12" watercolor paper & oil pastels. "Bowl of Fruit."

12"x18" Canson watercolor paper and Sennelier oil pastel sticks. "Jacobs Harp."

48"x48" unprimed canvas with thinned oil paint. "Eyes Of The Universe."

18"x24" Canson watercolor paper with Sennelier oil sticks and graphite. "The Ram."

60"x65" raw linen hand primed /acrylics. "Pink Moon."

18"x24" Canson watercolor paper with Dynaflo fabric paint/graphite/India ink/oil pastels. 

"A Banana, A Grape and A Bluebird in  Repose."

Thursday, August 18th, 2022

 Lots of new work to share and in no particuliar order:

This is the most recent work and marks a return to easel work and oil paint. 36"x48" canvas. I think I'll return to this in another post to show the evolution of the piece. Undercoat originally in acrylics with all oils on top with oil sticks and crayons and charcoal markings. "Lucky Eleven."

This is a fun piece- 36"x36" unprimed, unframed canvas with fabric paint. Lulu had bought the paint originally with an eye to us working together on a warp that she would weave and I would paint. I was intrigued by the dye/paint so I purchased a set and played with it on unprimed canvas. Turned out well, I thought. "A Day At The Beach II"

The following are a set of four works on paper. Canson 12"x18" watercolor paper. Bad image but each has a one inch border. Inset colors are Matisse gesso with Matisse acrylics and metallic overcoats, silver and opalescent white in the piece above. "Baby Blue."

Same dims as first piece and the mediums are the same- all Mattise acrylics with gold and silver acrylics. "Golden Threads & Silver Needles."

                                                        "Silver Threads & Golden Needles"

Not the best image but this IRT is very lush- "Yellow Roses."

And our last two pieces are a continuation of ongoing work with Japanes paper, specifically Kitakata paper. I so loved working with this that I bought a ten yeard roll of it. It's 16" wide.

This is "mounted" on  22" x 30" Strathmore watercolor paper. The image is 16"x26" with Matisse gesso background and calligraphy ink. "Lost Language Scroll #1"

Dims and media are the same as first piece. "Lost Language Scroll #2."

Thanks for looking and if you like what you see, please leave comments.

Monday, August 1, 2022

 So, essentially, this is the last week of Summer for me- school begins next Monday for teacher orientation and students begin on Wed. Spent most of the evening at the radio station with my engineer Jim doing some long needed maintenance and oganization and updating. We sound better  than we ever have and it was just by running broadcast signal from the board right to the output-no compressor or sound processor- Clean For Gene...more Awagami Kitakata Select paper work. Same dims (17"x20" rough). Inks and handmade dyes. Enjoy.

                                              "Jazz" dedicated to a great American, Bill Russell.

                                                    

                                                                       

                                                                        "Fishes"