It's never over until the fat lady sits on you.

I finished this painting today and thought that I was done with this series. I put out the four paintings to see if I could brain storm some names for them. There are two themes- red and action versus contemplation.

The other three paintings have areas of white which are bleeding into solid color and areas of solid shapes with definite boundaries. This painting is complete on it's own but isn't my favorite painting. In order for it to be complete in the series, I'm going to have to make one shape trickle into the solid color.

I have the photo of the original sketch because I think it's interesting to compare the visceral encounter between artist and environment and the more thoughtful debate. I believe in april I showed another comparison.

Come Play With Me.

My latest triumph. I mean that I overcame all my doubts, fears and general feeble mindedness to complete this painting. I feel quite satisfied with it. I don't think that its quite as fantastic as the first painting in the series but it will do.

The blue stream is covering up a shape that did not work at all. Even though I can wipe and wash the paint off, it doesn't entirely go away. I have to be light enough on my feet that I can deal with failures and turn them into successes. I have to ignore that nasty voice in my head that's saying such unpleasant things. It gets easier to ignore what I don't like the older I get.

I wanted to see if I could have whole areas in a composition in which nothing much happens and still have an interesting composition. In fact subtlety can be even more attention grabbing than lots of frenetic activity. One wants to know what's going on under the surface. It leaves room for the viewer to use his imagination. It is an invitation to come play with me. Which, I believe, will be the title to this piece.

heart of greyness

The working title for this painting is 'heart' but its looking like something out of the bayou in this incarnation. Perhaps my preoccupation with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is creeping into my art, or should I say 'oozing'? I would like my art to be about the issues of the day but I also don't want something dreary hanging on my walls. How do other artists reconcile that problem?

I'm still learning about my materials. Other artists that I know seem to be very knowledgeable about their craft and I certainly aspire to that ideal myself. I also enjoy futsing about and seeing what new, weird, and wonderful things I can create next. The painting on the right is the underpainting. On the left, I added a grey I created. When I put some of the grey on the blue shape, I discovered that ultra marine blue deep dries over night unlike cadmium red or white. Also, the grey I mixed is a lot more reflective that the other colors I have used. With water-soluable oils, if you get any water in it, you have to wait until it dries to get the true color. I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this

working title, red dancer

This is my latest canvas, in its last but one incarnation. I had been wanting to see if I could add some serene energy to the frenetic activity on my canvases. I am pretty satisfied with the results. I have one last sketch from which to work then I am going to devote my energies to getting my little ducklings out in to the scary world to see how they fare.

For me to feel healthy and sane, I need to balance the solitude to reflect on my life with the action of getting out there and living life. I feel that I am growing as an artist as I introduce introspection into my images to balance the strength and energy that goes into my art.

For this series, which I will begin to reveal over the nest few days, I started with a sketch I did on paper using paint sticks. Drawing is an immediate reaction to emotions, images and the medium. Paint brushes put a little distance between the artist and the canvas, allowing the artist, and the viewer to move back and forth in communication.