Gate to the Middle Kingdom

I`m setting down the scissors. These collages were really fun but now I`m painting again. I highly recommend an abrupt switch to a different medium. The thought process was completely different and sort of hypnotic. I lost track of time.
watermedia on Yupo collage 10"x7"



Available Work

Corfu

No title yet for this one but I`m still trying.
watermedia on Yupo collage 10"x7"

Her Grandmother`s Garden

It has been so satisfying cutting up my failed paintings for these collages. Sort of like revenge.
I know I have an adversarial attitude in my process. When I paint, I`m stalking and hunting. Sorry but true, the stakes seem high and I feel alert and alive.
watermedia on Yupo collage 12"x9"



Available Work

New Moon - Walking Rain

When I was in the library recently, I found a big fat book on Romare Bearden. He was an exemplary artist and human being, his work is deeply intelligent, inventive and compassionate.
So, I decided to break from painting and do some collage, see if I learned anything from the master. New Moon is the first, simple effort. It's become much crazier, I`ll post some soon.
My friend, the poet Maureen Doallas, asked me if I`d submit a painting and a poem of my choosing for a feature in the online poetry magazine Tweetspeak. For some reason I chose this watercolor from 30 years ago. In New Mexico you can see storms far in the distance, there's nothing in the way. The Native Americans called this 'walking rain'. I couldn`t come up with a poem, so she wrote one in response to the painting. And invited others to do the same. Some did. It was a very cool experience.
watermedia collage on Yupo 6"x6"
watercolor on paper 14"x11"

Geothermal Pool - progression

I began with a pink gesso ground and used multiple photos to help me compose the structure of the painting. Again I had to work with this dilemma; when something is inherently unbelievable looking, when do you know if you got it right? Some of these pools in Yellowstone are so clear you can look deep within the turquoise 'mouth' from which flows the scalding water. Yet surprisingly, many had thick vegetation right at the edges. Even with the sulfurous smell, it`s all you can do not to jump in. It was chilly and rainy when I was there and these gorgeous 'hot tubs' were so inviting!
Oil on canvas 24"x40"



Available Work

Brush Creek Slough

Though I suspect they dry up in summer, in Spring the creek is paralleled by small streams and sloughs. They wander through the pastures and are usually dense with plant life. I was sitting along one painting when I had my encounter with the moose. Apparently it was her home.
Another new discovery is Joan Eardley, a Scottish painter whose seascapes, painted on location, are especially moving to me. She died at 42 of breast cancer. This is infuriating.

oil on panel 6"x12"





Available Work

Eastern Oregon Study 3

After posting 'Abstraction' last night, I returned to the struggle with this piece. It began as a red and green watercolor but soon went elsewhere. There are many layers here.
watermedia on paper 9"x12"



Available Work