New Season 2

A new watercolor wedged into my oil painting regime, tomorrow the setup will be changed back. My holy grail for a studio is a place large enough for a watermedia area and one for oils. Believe me I know I`m fortunate just to have shelter, my neighborhood isn`t doing too well. But someday this luxury may be mine. I wonder if I`ll still care. My brother Mike says 'you can`t have what you want until you don`t want it anymore'.

Field

My inner pre-Raphaelite got loose last night but he`s no good at titles either. As always with Yupo it`s best not to insist on any idea. I`ll document the development of a painting on Yupo sometime, it`s amazing how many things I try to get something to work.

Joe

A recent figure drawing.

Winter Thicket

I`ve been working on this the past week. Looks finished to me though I suspect it will get tweaked somewhat. This is the largest painting I`ve done in months. In a sense, working big is easier, it`s all more relaxed. With small pieces, everything counts.

Into the Winter Forest

Over the Sea 7

Someone asked me recently if I had been able to express the grief of my brother`s death in my work. I said no, I`m a landscape painter. Then I realized with a wave of emotion, these little 'Over the Sea' paintings were about my loss. They`re almost after thoughts, busy work, exercises to keep painting. Memory, legacy, respect and affection. These find a way.

Reed Canyon-February Trees

Reed Canyon-Summer Path

Untitled

A couple of times a year I need the challenge/relief of painting something without a 'subject', something non-objective. Over decades this has turned into a body of work. Last winter I was working on two shows of landscapes and wanted a break from trees. I did this.

Night Wave

'Tonal' painting was an early interest of mine. When I lived on the farm, I would walk in the forest at dusk and note the values begin to merge. One of my favorite watercolors from that period [1973] was of our three Nubian goats grazing the meadow at night.

Rain on the Marsh

I just looked at my Thesaurus for different words for wetlands. Surprisingly few in common usage. 'Rain on the Fen'?, ah.., what`s a fen? Paintings must be titled, it`s a matter of accounting and organization. My practice is to stick with the facts. This lack of imagination can cause chaos later, especially over the phone; is it 'Marsh Morning' or 'Morning Marsh'? Not so good for business. Numbers might seem like a solution but those are even harder to remember! I`m open to suggestion.