Red Surf-hospice

                                                                 oil on canvas 8x8 2010


The ocean is the source of life on earth and our blood is the same salinity as the sea.

My mother entered hospice this week and all trajectory stopped. At 88, after a lifetime of health problems, she said no more treatment. I admire her decision. How marvelous it is to see someone face imminent death without fear. That is a gift to the living. I`ve been present for a birth  and a death and the profound gravity and intimacy are similar. It`s a privilege to be there.
She`s watching a movie tonight, so it appears Mom lives another day!

                                        Barcelona triptych three oil on panels each 24x24


I delivered this commission to the building site of the Barcelona apartments. The project is to provide low income housing in the 'old town' part of Beaverton. I was 'hired' by the Kimberly Kent Art Brokerage. I find commissions really tricky because there isn`t a personal motivation propelling the painting. But the client liked my work, I was given the theme and the specs and I thought I can do this, I`m a professional.


My show in Oregon City continues through Dec. 23, though a couple of holiday related closures are happening. If you`d like to view it, give a call first.

work for sale

The Apex of Spring - more plein air - -Rothko

                                               The Apex of Spring 1 oil on canvas 20x16


 A couple of weeks ago I walked the completed Burnt Bridge Creek Trail in Vancouver WA. Much of it was open to the sky but on this overcast day it was cool. The new growth of the season was peaking, the grasses forming seed heads but nothing yet fading to yellow. This moment in the Northwest is truly extravagant, everything exudes health and vitality. Then it ends suddenly as summer advances and the rain stops until autumn.
I painted two views of the creek.

                                                The Apex of Spring 2 oil on canvas 20x16


 And the antidote for green is Red of course. I need it more than ever in summer.

                                                      watermedia on Yupo 12x9


In a 'first' for me, I did some plein air painting the other day in a friend`s boat on Lake Oswego. Although we were anchored somewhat, the boat drifted in a slow circle while we painted Phantom Bluff. The steep basalt cliff has an almost decorated look with colorful lichens, mosses and ferns cascading down it. Best of all was just feeling the water under the boat. Just a little motion which along with the sweet breeze made for an 'I can die now' sensation. The painting was shiny and wet and I thought 'Damn  Randy, you good!' Then I went home and saw it dry. What was I thinking? My bold adventure in color looked garish and cartoony;

                                           Phantom Bluff watercolor on Yupo 10x8


 It was still a lot of fun!
I did do a remarkable rescue however. When I got rained out painting with my friends beside Tryon Creek during the Paint Out, I figured my watercolor had been ruined. This is what it looked like when I pulled it from the plastic bag meant to protect it;

But because the experience was so recent and my impression of the dark creek still clear, I was able to find my way back in;

                                         Muddy Creek Study watercolor on Yupo 12x9


 When the great painter Mark Rothko committed suicide in 1970, I was 16. This was obviously a tragedy for the world but also a devastating personal blow. I was beginning to imagine about my future life as a painter and he mattered to me because of his persistence through ridicule and poverty. And he had become celebrated at last!
“The only thing I care about is the expression of man's basic emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, destiny”
His shimmering giant paintings had opened up the concept of abstraction for me. He was the guide who showed me exactly how less is more;

 Chronically depressed, acclaim and success could not sustain him.
Through Pinterest, I`ve run into some early watercolors he did as he was becoming influenced by the surrealist ideas about the unconscious;

 So when I saw these, I was initially shocked. The disrespect shown to this grave, tortured artist was an outrage.
But also hilarious!

This is good too;

 The extraordinary painter [and pal] Don Gray is having a show at the RiverSea Gallery in Astoria June 13 through July 7. Included are some truly poetic seascapes like this one on the invitation;

 Check out Astoria while you`re there. Our local public radio was touting it as a new hipster outpost. It couldn`t be more beautiful and it`s affordable! It`s like a tiny San Francisco!

work for sale in my studio

Non Objectives-Coos Art Museum-Big Trees!

                                   oil on cradled panel 12x12

  Although American Abstract Expressionism was an early, exciting discovery, I`ve not done much truly 'non objective' work, painting that has no subject. Aside from portraiture, this is the most difficult painting of all. This may seem counter intuitive, without the constraints of a 'plan', what`s the big deal? sounds like freedom! Well I need some direction most of the time. This usually comes from my experiences outdoors. So my efforts in pure abstraction have been of short duration, but I try from time to time.
  The painting above had two previous incarnations you will see below. Neither were really bad but after a while I realized I didn`t want to look at them. This is my criteria about what can live or die  in my studio. As I get older, what I leave behind is becoming more of a concern. I want my heirs to receive things of beauty and sincerity. If they also have a market value, that would be terrific. So if I don`t want to see them again, it`s time for them to go.
  Many painters would agree there is something deeply satisfying in painting over a previous work. It feels like thrift, revenge and a clever head start. Often something good will happen.
  The untitled painting above captured my attention to the point I can`t stop looking at it. I emailed a photo of it to myself so I could look at it on my cellphone in the bathroom. Vain? of course but this is truly a measure of quality, at least personally.
  How simple, do I want to look at it?

  Here are some abstract painters I`ve discovered recently that I love: Wendy McWilliams who also has a way with words, her titles are inspired! Alexander Kroll is doing strong yet lyrical work and Jeri Ledbetter`s nervous marks on canvas have a raw emotionality I find moving. Check them out.

 I will be having a solo show at the Coos Art Museum July 9 - Sept. 24, 2016!

  Yesterday I was in my old neighborhood in Portland and went for a walk in Laurelhurst Park. This is a place I visited nearly every day for 11 years. It has a dozen or so enormous London Plane Trees I recognized as old friends.
'Trees' doesn`t do them justice, they`re more like 'beings', so magnificent and expressive!

  Baroque music seems especially suited to winter. Here is a piece from Bach`s Cantata #82 that will break your heart. I heard it on NPR a couple of years ago and it stopped me cold. It`s sung by countertenor Andreas Scholl, a dude with all parts intact. Bach`s love of God is absolutely palpable! This is evangelism at its best and most convincing. Scroll down within this link.

  "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it."

updated work for sale in my studio 



studio oil painting demonstration Dec. 13, 10-11:30. Anyone is welcome!
5373 Lakeview Blvd
Lake Oswego OR
97035

Fertility

So I had a  red cloud. I liked it. First there was a seascape underneath but that wasn`t working, too cold. A couple of years pass and I figure it out, it needed green. Something growing.
This isn`t a recommended way to paint but sometimes it takes time to understand what to do.
oil on canvas 10x8


available work in my studio

Red Shasta Bally

Shasta Bally is the round, maternal looking mountain that looms above Whiskeytown Lake in Northern California. I painted in a cabin there near Brandy Creek as an artist in residence for 10 days. The whole area west of Redding was spectacular and mostly unpopulated.
oil on cradled panel 12"x12"


work now in my studio

Rio Grande Gorge

Another from the past with red. This was painted soon after my move to the Northwest in 1993.
The Rio Grande cuts a deep gash through a vast open plain in Northern New Mexico. When driving to Taos on the 'low' road, it suddenly appears and looks kind of shocking.
watercolor on paper 15"x8"


Available Work in my Studio

Poppies

From the turn of the century. I`m sure I was just craving red when I chose this atypical subject.
watermedia on paper 19"x13"


available work

Eastern Oregon Study 4

I`ll be having an opening this Friday night the 6th, at the Hanson Howard Gallery in Ashland OR. I want everyone near southern Oregon to stop what you`re doing and come say hello.
acrylic on Yupo 12"x9"


Available Work