Water Wetlands Woods watercolor collage 13x35 inches
I`ve been painting landscapes, preparing for my Open Studio and an exhibit at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach in November. Fully occupied yet all was not well within. I have been using oil paints for months and was really missing working on paper. A small window of opportunity appeared and I leapt. This began as just a painting but when I placed fragments of old works on top, it came alive quickly. I had such a good time and noted carefully those feelings. This 'technique' might be a bridge between representation and the abstract work I did during lockdown.
These are some of the new paintings on view during the Lake Oswego Open Studios [Oct. 14 and 15] and in November at the White Bird.
Winter Slough oil on canvas 36x36 inches
Memory oil on canvas 16x16 inches
Wetlands Morning oil on canvas 40x30 inches
Coast Stream Morning oil on canvas 40x30 inches
Cook`s Butte Study graphite watercolor on Yupo 12x12 inches
Lagoon graphite watercolor on Yupo 12x12 inches
my desk
I`m really not looking to claim more neurosis than I already have but so many stories in the press revolve around
ADHD and the complications it brings to peoples lives. Because a couple of them say clutter is a symptom I`ve tried to learn more. Even taking a test to self evaluate. I`m not restless by and large, I have no trouble listening to others and I complete my most important tasks. But I sure leave a wake of disorder. For the photo above, I just stood up and took it. It`s typically like this. When I had the 'practice' open studio for the other artists in Aug. I cleaned everything up. It takes no time at all to trash it. I`ve learned to accept it without much embarrassment but is there something wrong with me?
cartoon by Bob Eckstein
This is my ultimate fear but save for cardboard boxes that I may very well need to ship paintings in, I`m a ruthless anti-hoarder. There will be thousands of works on paper but they don`t take up much space. John, however, has dead toys and electronics in all sorts of cubby holes he thinks I don`t notice.
Charles Bukowski
Now that I`ve been sober, the poet
Charles Bukowski is a hero to me. Here`s what he has to say about cats;
"Having many cats is good. If you feel bad, you look at the cats and you feel better, because they know that everything is just the way it is. You don`t have to be nervous about anything. And they know it. They are saviors. The more cats you have, the longer you will live. If you have a hundred cats, you will live ten times longer than if you had ten. One day, this will be known and people will have thousands of cats."
He was on to something!
still the one
Twentyfour years! When I entered into my first real relationship at 45, it was not a leap of faith, it was a sky dive. This younger guy was steady, deflecting my anxiety and rookie mistakes. I am a lucky man!
After the open studio I`m off to New York to see old friends! Yay!
Rae Klein
Take some time and check out the website of
Rae Klein. She is involved with myth in a psychological context. The work is absolutely strange yet affecting.
Come talk to me.
Bonus:
Leslie Peterson Sapp will also be showing with me. This is her first foray into open studios and she will have a variety of work. She`s maybe best known for her paintings based on film noir. She will have some new stuff too involving Archeology. She just returned from France where she toured the prehistoric caves with all those amazing paintings. Knocked her out. She will be fun, guaranteed.
5373 Lakeview Blvd
Lake Oswego OR
97035
Oct. 14 and 15, 10-5pm
Click
HERE for some work for sale in my studio
2 comments:
Randall,
That Coast Stream Morning piece is exactly where I would like to be! Your imagination and ability to interpret is boundless!
For your question about the desk I think you can use the "visceral" test. If you look at that desk and are viscerally/mentally agitated/bothered in a personal way then it is an area that could use further pondering. Is your time at the desk unpleasant physically or mentally? Would you feel better physicality and mentally if the area were different? I don't mean that you want to please anyone else by the desk looking different but would you yourself be pleased? That's the Libby Litmus test.
May we all have someone in our lives that brings us peace and joy. Congratulations on going the distance!
Good luck with the Open Studio affair. And have a safe trip to New York! And enjoy your cats!
Libby
Hi Randall, really enjoyed your post - as usual!
I especially love the watercolour collage and the oils...
I have been investigating autistic spectrum disorder recently after a lifetime of knowing I am quite different to lots of folks. Sure enough, I have most of the traits, to a greater or lesser degree. It comes with its problems that I have to manage, but it hasn't stopped me living a life with great joy, thanks to nature, art, books and poetry.
I am hoping that eventually we will drop all labels and appreciate and allow each others differences without them being pathologised and put in hierarchies.
Live in peace with your clutter xx
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