Latest Paintings

                                      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

Spring Rainforests

                                          Spring Light Bathes the Alders oil on canvas 30x24

                                                  Rainforest Equinox oil on canvas 20x16


 Coastal alders in a different season but new and on view during the Portland Open Studios the next two weekends. Maps are available at Muse Art Supply, New Seasons Market and I have some too.
I`m #8;
5373 Lakeview Blvd.
Lake Oswego OR 97035
ph.# 503 380 4731

 Yesterday I was laying down in the afternoon with my sick cat and we heard something in the driveway. We looked at each other and thought "What?". A very embarrassed woman and her family arrived a week early for the Open Studio. I told her I was honored to be her first stop. I was.

 That`s Jackson, the one with 'issues', the one with the Roman nose, demonic voice and kinky tail, the destroyer of shower curtains and throw rugs, the medicine for a previous broken heart, and my end of the day joy. He has cancer or kidney failure and won`t be here much longer. I took this the other day when doing a workout. He likes to lay beside me and get his stomach rubbed between exercises. Such short little lives.

 Listen to Tom Waits read a beautiful short poem by Charles Bukowski.


And here is a great little video from PBS Art Assignments on the Psychological Landscape, which also explains very clearly the 'figure/ground relationship'.  The featured artist, Robyn O`Neil is terrific.

                                         Wild Turkey by the marvelous Edith Dora Rey


 Though I still can`t find an obituary, it seems the wizard of watercolor Nicholas Simmons died last week. 47, how sad is that? Some tributes here on Wet Canvas.

                                                    my article in Artists on Art


work for sale in my studio

Escape Into Life profile

In Bocca al Lupo show [Nov,Dec]