The place is somewhere I wouldn't mind being. 

The composition for it came right off the canvas as I was messing around with the paint. 

Maybe my subconscious kicked in.

Or maybe, its a remnant from a dream.

But, I do know, I could easily fit in here, and with my coffee in hand, and paintbrushes at the ready. 

And I'll bet they have some really cool hiking trails along those mountains. 

Mountain Village in Winter
11x14
acrylic on paper
available at russpotak.etsy.com  

I painted what I needed to say. Sometimes painting is a language. Its a lot easier to say it in this way, than try to talk it out. There is a  life beyond mere words when an artist is a channel for currents of expression and communication. Things said in paint, can reach a lot of people. It can mean many things to many people. One thing to one person, something else to another. This is what thrills me the most about art. It reaches beyond. It taps into something else. Between logic, sensation, spirit, and intellect. Its got them all covered and more. With this piece, it has implications to me. 

I see an angel of light following this person. The sky has stars in it, but also other things, maybe of a dimension not seen but nevertheless there. Forces in operation. All these things going on around us, but not revealed to the common observer. That why I painted this. Its laid bare here for everyone to see. The figure walking in the foreground, is secure and protected. A sense of well being exists, but he does not necessarily know from what, or where. A special night perhaps. An answered prayer. A possible intervention of spirit and message. A night of wonder. 

A Night of Wonder
11x14
original painting,
acrylic on 140 lb paper
Signed lower left

So this is how it happened. This painting that is. I was just going into my favorite coffee haunt, and minding my own business. I was sipping on one of those unheard of coffee types nowadays. Its called just coffee, black. Just your basic cup of Columbian Joe. 

So, as I was having my java, I couldn't help but scan the place with my artistic x-ray vision (which always somehow translates into paint.) As I was just staring blankly into the walls, I realized how colors are like the fabric that hold shapes together. And lines appear as shapes collide with each other. The ladies that were having their coffee, were really just a  compositional element that added interest to an already shapeful room.  (shapeful? is that a word?.. it is now.) So, I took out my trusty pen, and started to record my visual scans. I finished my coffee, and upon arriving back in my studio lair, .. translated the experience to paint, and consequently, this painting. 

I think the women probably wondered why I kept staring towards their general direction. Next time I think perhaps, I should wear some "joe cool"  sunglasses so I won't be so conspicuous.

The Coffee House
11x14
acrylic on 140 lb paper

available at: russpotak.etsy.com 

This is the kind of painting that tells a story. I was looking at one of the photos I took during a Maine coastline visit, and started to once again feel the sea air, the sound of the gulls and the creek of wooden vessels against the docks. I began to experience and feel it once again, and aimed to convey that with my paint. Not tell you how the photographed looked, but rather how it felt to be there. This is how I approach subjects. I need to impress the feelings of how the subject affected me onto the canvas. What I don't attempt, is to reiterate the obvious. 

  So this painting tells of the sea, the sky the fishing boats and the vitality of the goings on, in this active little harbor. I used the paint  freely and energetically to channel these feeling through. 

  I hope you too, can feel the moment here in this salty cove via my painting. 

11x14"
acrylic on 140 lb paper
Maine Harbor Docks
russpotak.etsy.com

8x10
acrylic on canvas panel
available at: russpotak.etsy.com

I didn't really know how this piece would evolve. It was the process of making art as I go along. One thing leads to another, and another, then, .. you stand back, then get back to it,  and keep at it until what you have, is something you want to keep.  Thats how this one started and finished. Just doing art. No nets, no wires. Just paint, and a blank canvas. 

Woodland Autumn
9x12" on panel mounted on a 12x16 eggshell white backing
mixed medium
Overall presentation is 12 x 16"
This work has a wood cradle behind it and hangs without a frame
It will hang offset from the wall by 3/4" to give it dimension.
Available at:  russpotak.etsy.com

Started something new. Not sure I know all the reasons why I paint this way, or that way. I do know that at times I need to get into my work in a different way. Like paint wasn't enough for what I wanted to say in this piece. I needed more medium. I am beginning to realize that everything can be used to "paint" with, and the expression of a work shouldn't be limited by the "way", or the "method". Sometimes paint is enough. Sometimes its not. I needed more this time. Next time, maybe not. Art does not follow "rules". Its abhors them. Its one of those things, that the more you try to restrain it, the more it wants its freedom. Kind of like people, I guess. Anyway, I grabbed glue, modeling medium, wood, paint and whatever, in this piece. It said what I needed. And, I was content with it when it was finished. What will I do next? Thats the beauty of it. I never really know what will come off the easel. 

Last night I had one of those moments. The kind where you feel totally lost, not really knowing even if you really know how or why you should paint. Like, what's the point. Been here, done that. Its in my head, so why do I have to actually put it on canvas. I know I can. It would just be wasting paint. Why not just savor the fact that I can if I want, but I'm not going to paint. I rebelled and tried to resist against having to actually say anything on canvas. "I'm an artist, I can do what I want" , I said.. .. but wait, ... maybe I'm chickening out here. Maybe I'm afraid I forgot how to be spontaneous. Maybe, because I don't have any tangible subject matter to rely on, I am trying to worm out of something I may fail at doing.  
  About that time, I got really pissed at myself for thinking like an amateur first year student. Then I realized, its doesn't mean anything. Paint, don't paint. I can if I want, or not. There is no bad art, there is just art that didn't happen because you didn't want it to. 
So, with that thought in my head, .. I decided to start the process. With the first brushstroke it broke the doubt. I felt absolute certainty that I would paint despite my resistant mood. It was as if,  the more I painted, the more that voice saying I cannot, got weaker and weaker, and faded into my artistic furor that now dominated my everything of the moment. It was total rejection of that idiot voice of doubt. 
 Now that I look back at it, I realize my getting pissed, is what pushed me on. I rebelled against uncertainty and I parted company with it. Wether the work I did is good, bad, or ugly, I could care less. It was the fact that I did it despite my mood. Mood does not dictate when I paint. I do. 
Anyway, .. here's the piece. 

There's a place I go sometimes to sit, doodle, drink coffee. Its called "Juice n' Java". I just happen to doodle my way into a pen and ink sketch one day of the table in front of me. When I got back to my place where I paint, (formerly known as a studio) I transferred it onto canvas. I followed up on this theme, by painting various coffee shops around the county. The exhibit of the originals spanned the area as they showed from town to town, coffee house to coffee house. Some of the paintings are long gone now, but I do have prints of these to remember them by. And, I still go to that same place to doodle and have my coffee. And, now as I sit in this cafe having my cup of joe, I can look up on the wall, and see this very image framed on the wall, just above where I sit. How cool is that? 

The Coffee House
8x10 Signed print from original painting
available at:   russpotak.etsy.com

A place I might have been, a remembered walk along an early winter road, or an impression that lasted long enough for me to paint it. All of the above probably played a part in this painting. 
~~~~~~~~~~
Its not about the representation, its about interpretation. 
~~~~~~~~~~
To say something with a way in which it hasn't been said. To reveal. Art should tell us something that isn't obvious. It uncovers nuances and lets us peer under the veneer of life. 
_____________
Not all paintings speak to people equally. Some hear nothing, some more, and some a lot. 
That is the way of art. 

Early Winter on a Rural Road
5x7"
acrylic on canvas

see my work at: russpotak.etsy.com

So not having any idea of what I'm going to paint, I just take this paper, cut it to a size, and affix it to a board on my easel. 
  Then I get out some colors, mostly some primaries and started to put down some red, then blue, in a random fashion. I began to see a form, abstract in shape, but nevertheless a diverse form. So I went with that. I got to a point where it congealed to an interesting subject. Once I saw that it was of interest to me,
I left it alone to live. 

Paintings don't need finish, they need to take root in their own way. Once the work begins to live, its a fragile thing.  I hate it when I persist in getting in the last word on an already evolved piece.  Restraint from dabbling is necessary at this point, unless the intent is to dabble. 
Anyway, I called it,          
 "Configurations"
 8x8 inches
 acrylic on paper

Winter on Cheshire Lake
8x10
acrylic on canvas panel
$100
russpotak.etsy.com

Living near a lake in the Berkshires, has it stellar moments. Like when the ice fisherman are out on the lake as well as some ice skaters too. The low sun in the afternoon creates some beautiful patterns on the snow and ice. The mountains deepen in shadows and the sky turns a salmon pink and orange. This is my interpretation of that moment of the day as I was there sipping on my coffee.

Stretched this canvas by hand, and wasn't sure what I was going to do on it. It was last winter, and I was intrigued by the open barren fields just getting their first snow covering of the year. I kind of liked the way a lot of earth colors still peeked out and the bare bones look of the landscape. I did a quick sketch, then headed back to the warmth of the studio to work on this piece where a hot coffee was waiting.  I particularly like the way the colors play out on this painting. Some ochres, pastel blues and pinks, all in a low key palette. Like winter itself. Saying it with less. 

Winter Landscape

                                                                             16 x 20" acrylic on stretched canvas

                                                                              available through: russpotak.etsy.com

I wake up, make coffee, and rummage through my sketch book, or head out to get new sketches. It's certainly not rocket science, nor is it a major preparation process. I just see life and respond to it, in the form of a painting, in whatever way I have to. Impressionist, expressionist, abstract, etc. I don't spend a lot of time planning. I save that for grocery lists. So, I'll see something, or feel something from what I saw or experienced, and just start laying in some lines with paint or just painting randomly trying to formulate my vision. When I get to a certain point, where I feel its said, .. I stop. I am not one of those people who stop after every little facet is completed and accounted for. I don't want that. I want unfinished elements in my work. Its those areas that add mystery, exploration and life to the work. Why should I tell it all? What I leave out is just as important as what I put in. 

So, in this piece, I had gone down to the lake and did a quick pencil sketch... very loose, as to what I felt I wanted to remember in the subject. Then went back to the studio, and just started painting. A line here, a bunch of color there. All semi defined. Thats enough for me. 

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note:  This is just one way I approach my work. Sometimes, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I just start messing around with the canvas to see what develops. Some blue here, a line, yellow, a shape.. and so it begins.

This is a piece I did a year or so ago, maybe longer, but it reflects some of the things I sometimes strive for in making a statement in color, shapes and interpretation of a subject. I often, move back and forth in my work. Sometimes, more traditional impressionism, and sometimes on the verge of abstract expressionism. Whatever works. In this painting, I just wanted to incorporate a busy, lively, twist and turn little city with a lot of activity and angles, lines and shapes. 

Its an 11x14 on a panel 

and done with acrylics, paper, gel medium, glue, and whatever. 

Acrylic on paper

5x5" 

Shoreline 

Keeping the brush moving in this piece was very important so as not to let it bog down in a tired execution. I want the paint to live and not be diminished in any way. Overworking can make a fine looking crafted painting, but thats not my art. This is my art. I hope I can keep the two separate. 

"Road to the Other Side", 8x10" acrylic on canvas, signed lower left

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This is a rather somber little piece I did from a view just outside my studio, looking north up the road as it ascends up a slight rise. Nothing unusual in subject matter, ... and rather ordinary. But, I like its non importance although,  I decided it was important enough to paint.

High Seas

8x8" acrylic on paper

for sale

$100

Contact me

Here's a sketch I did while having a coffee. I thought it had some potential to become a painting.  And so it did. Shortly afterwards, I began to paint out the sketch. A few things changed but all in all I kept pretty close to the sketch concept. (the photo though, is reversed due to comp. camera. )
I'll post the painting as soon as its web ready.

Well, I'm finally back in the online mix. Its been a while but its good to be back. Been a busy summer, and doing back to back shows plus everything else I can get my hands on. The season is starting to enter the grand finale stage with October approaching.
  I do look forwards to the winter months in a strange kind of way. For me, its a quiet time. A time for quality studio time and plans and preparations for the coming year. My most productive times are in the midst of winter. Winds howling, snow flying, temperature dipping below freezing. Its weird, but this allows me to hole up in my studio without the summer distractions that lure me away to do other things.
 I'm pretty much "showed out" from all the summer fare. Set up, take down, set up, take down, and on and on. It can get really tiring. And having to fake a smily face all the time at these shows can really take a toll on your face. I think I might need some wrinkle cream.
 Anyway, they play a part in keeping the survival boat afloat so to speak.
But, with winter approaching, my attention will be more inclined to be focused on online activity and sites that carry my work.
Speaking of which, .. in case you haven't heard,.. you can catch some of my work on the set of NBC's New Season of Parenthood. Tuesdays, at 10 EST. Its in the Braverman's household. From my studio here, to the studios at Universal. Not a bad transition if I say so myself.
Well, that's about it for now. I don't want to tire my delicate painting fingers on this infernal keyboard.
Till later,..
Ta'!

Since my  blog seems a logical place to get out some pertinent information, I will post this here as well. 
Because a lot of followers don't always scroll down to see later posts, I will repeat some that I feel are important to all those inquiring minds that need to know. 
Here goes.... 
First, to all of you, or some of you, .. I've experienced a pretty extensive hard drive burn out on a lot of systems on my computer. That means, I lost mail, followers on my FB account, and many systems operations such as the ability to download new pictures to you. The same goes for all of you Twitter followers. If you notice a lack of tweets,.. very uncommon for me... this is the reason. Tweeting in nearly impossible and sometimes I can get the text on, and sometimes I can't.
For Facegook fans..  if you see your name missing on my page, its not because I dropped you, or put you in a "little black book" or something. Its simply, info. that got deleted and scrapped as my files were maliciously dumped by my ailing computer in order to save itself. Its running on life support at the time and I am walking on eggshells every time I request a function from it. Wondering,,, if this is the last time I'll see the screen even come on.

I really miss giving you the visuals on what I do, and in the meantime, I will try to create verbal visuals about what I do, and what I've done. I hope I can maintain this and I will try.  I know this is a pale imitation of what you are used to, but, life is short, and even shorter for computers.
Thank you for your following as always, and for my FB fans,  if you need to click on again and "like", please do so. I will try to re-establish my page as best that I can.
~~ I will repeat this post from time to time in order for all to catch it ~~~

Sometimes, pricing a work can be a real mystery to some. Many try to set up some kind of "normal work job type measure" as though they were working in a factory at GM or something. Well, it took $22 of raw materials, 14 hours of labor, and two hours of double time after midnight, then they divide by square inches and come up with... 
My head is spinning just thinking about it. A work of art is not

 a product. It does not get repeated and sold in bulk to a dealer like a box of cheerios. It can be measured only by the inherent quality that a the artist applies to it. That usually determines the cost. If the artist is realistic and keeps an eye out on the open art market, then he usually has an idea what a particular piece is going for, but the last word is ultimately the artists. A more successful work usually goes for more that one thats not. But this measure may not be apparent to the viewer. Only the artist. Works that match the intent of the artist and hit the mark are the ones you'll see higher prices on. Galleries know where the demarkations are on most works. Its their job. Size means nothing over accomplishment. A small work can rival a larger one if it " hit the bulls eye" so to speak. And then comes, reputation. You pay for "who" did the work. If Paul McCartney painted and sold a painting, it would of course cost more than if your old high school art teacher painted the same size and quality. To most, that seems unfair, and it may be, but thats the way it is. Brand names sell for more. Van Gogh was nothing at the time, but then became an "art rock star" after he went to the big easel in the sky. Now his name along will command exorbitant prices for even a so so rough sketch.
Also, experience, investment and dedication, track record of the artist involved and so much more. Its almost endless. Pricing the arts, is an art.
So the next time you ask an artist how he or she prices, remember, there's more to it than weighing a bunch of bananas at the market.

Keeping it simple. This is something that, for me, helps to make the statement live and breath on the canvas much more so than pounding out a the work until there is no life left in it. The essence of the energy that makes up the painting is fragile. If overworked, too much, .. it can kill the work. I now keep this in mind as I paint. Knowing that if that breath of energy lives on the canvas, to watch out that its not stepped on in an effort to "make a painting".
(bloggers note)  - I am resigned to writing for the time being instead of posting pictures that should be accompanying my words. I have lost my ability to down load pics, due to a hard drive crash. 
Words are the only thing I have that I can presently share with you at this time. 
As in my art, I use whatever I have at my disposal that works to get it done. Words still function and need no downloading. (knock on wood) 
So, .. just to say, 
thank you for your "reads".

Saying it with less. That is what I feel where my current direction is heading. Get it down, leave it alone. If I think about the process and rationalize the results, then stagnation is inevitable. The brushstroke must remain exactly that. Its what it is. If it lives, works and has life, .. then try to leave it be.  The subject helps spawn the way I approach the painting. If the subject has moved me in some way  that is good, but not always necessary. What I have derived from it all, internally, is ultimately more important to me. The  mood, a feeling evoked, a need to say something that moved me at some point. These are all motivators behind my brush. And lastly, .. I just need to tell it in paint. Speak it out. To express what I have been witness to in my soul and mind. Art, being of course, our first original language,  makes only sense to me.

For those of you who have noticed an absence of posts for my newest works, you're not imagining things. I have been unable to post any pictures or visual data due to my hard drive crashing, bit by bit. 

This is not a pleasant experience to say the least, and it undermines the entire framework that is to be a blog. As an artist, without the visuals, I am reduced to verbal. Most distressing. I am told by professional tech guys, .. that my computer is too old, and needs to be gracefully buried. I don't disagree. I already have lost much of my valuable data, and it cannot be retrieved. 

All I can say is that, for now, its been a good run, and I hope to be back in the game, as soon as I have some technology to back that up. Free would be great, but I think that isn't going to happen, so .. one of these days will have to suffice. I hope to at least keep a verbal link open on my blog, and if nothing else, maybe I can learn to write out my finished painting descriptions to you. ... or not. 

After all, if I could write them, I don't think I'd need to paint them. Interesting thought though. 

So, check back every now and then, and monitor my journey. Its sure to be an interesting one. 

Now, I think I'll go brew a coffee. No technology needed on that one. ~ whew!

Sometimes I love to explore the paint. How it reacts to different papers, panels, canvas or whatever else I can find to work on. This particular painting was done on some heavyweight paper I found from a print company nearby. Its got some tooth to it, and I think its 64 lb texture weave, or something like that. Anyway, I decided to work on it, and I found I loved it. Takes the paint really well, and any buckling that occurs, I can generally straighten out later on once it dries.
 Here is my piece. Somewhere off a coastal island perhaps, in the tropics. Its 11 x 8 1/2 and done with acrylic paint. I liked it so much, I immediately framed it, so I could hang it and look at it for a while, until it sells.

Its just after supper and from my studio window, I hear the traffic making tire noises that are somewhat different because of the oil and stones from just refinishing  the road. I see the chipmunks scurrying around the daylilies and notice the angle of the shadows are growing longer. It must be around 6:30 pm.
 Having finished three paintings this past week, I now have to take the photos for site downloading. This takes some time for me because of my antique computer. Its stone age you know.
  .. and I caught up on my tweets to fans, and tweeps, checked in with my Facebook fans, and made sure my print sites have my latest images.
 All in all its been a week. Now if I can just download another of my more recent pictures of my latest paintings, I'll be all set.
  Life it the art lane. Thats the way it is for me.

Along the Coast

11x15 

acrylic on 140 lb paper

Working from a sketch, from a snapshot I took on the coast, I used a limited palette to achieve some low key tonality. I wanted to give the feeling of some unsettled ocean weather patterns that one would see forming near the shoreline. In the distance is a lighthouse on point, and overhead, some sky patterns that look to be forming dynamic weather patterns. 

I love the sea because of this drama that sometimes unfolds. Its a living dynamic force and a pleasure to watch and translate onto my canvas. 

Sailboats on lake in the Berkshire Hills 

11x15 

acrylic on 140 lb paper

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Done on location a few days ago from a place I like to paint from. Located next to a lakeside restaurant  and if I get hungry I can always go grab a bite to eat or get a coffee. They have this dock at the end of the parking lot, where tourist who stay on the other side of the lake can boat over, to eat here. This is the finished painting, looking south from my vantage point.

Quiet Cove Refuge 

11x15 

acrylic on 140 lb archival paper

From a quick snapshot, to a sketch to an paining. Thats how this evolved. One of my favorite places along the northeast coast is Cape Cod. I love the tranquil scenes and subject matter. This painting is one of many I have produced from that area.

~~~~~~~~~~

Just recently, I stopped in to one of my favorite coffee shop/restaurant to have a coffee. There was this incredible eye popping expressive art on the walls. It appeared that it was a solo exhibit as the paintings were all by the same person. I couldn't help to stare over peoples shoulders and tables to get a better look. I spent almost forty five minutes going through the works, looking at them, and looking again. I was liking what I saw. Good solid expressionist work. Stunning. It caught my eye as soon as I walked into the establishment. Like a shining sun.

Then it struck me. Kind of like, the feeling you might get as if you were a ghost, and no one could see me, or notice how I was awestruck and gawking around with my laser like focused eyes. Here I was, going from table to table, craning my neck to see the works, and almost knocking someone off a stool to do so, and yet nothing. Like I'm invisible. I was almost hoping someone would say, oh, "I noticed you were looking at these paintings" .. and start a conversation about them.

I went back to my table, and just viewed the work from afar, just admiring it. I must have been in there an hour. People coming, eating, talking, texting, cell phones ringing, on lap tops, on Ipads you name it. I took very careful observations. Very careful. Because something was not right. Something caught my attention and I needed to make sure I wasn't wrong on this. And here it is.

Not one single person ever looked up to see the artwork. Not one. No one. Not a soul. Totally obliviousness. Even though it hung right over there heads, and was practically in their face. Here was this dynamic art, obviously done by a very accomplished artist. The life and soul, the guts and honesty, all there on canvas. And no one cares. It too was invisible to these crowds of people. Might as well have been ghost images. Work hanging in vain. For it was the proverbial saying come true. "What if a tree falls in a forest, and there's no around to hear it. Does it make any sound?" Perhaps blindness is not just a physical affliction.

I returned to my studio, proceeded to pick up my brush but had a hard time shaking that experience. And, I think made it a little harder to maintain my motivation to paint, or at least for the time being.

How sad. How very sad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking along the Creek in the Winter

About 9x9"

acrylic on paper

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was from a photo, sketch combination of a place nearby here, where I occasionally walk. Sometimes some of my best subjects are just outside the door. Usually a familiar place, memory, mood, or even a dream can produce enough information for a finished painting.

Painting just for paintings sake, despite the subject is also something I like. Just pushing the paint around is enough. Doesn't really matter what turns up on the canvas, just so long as it happened. With art, you never know.

One day this, one day that, .. and the possibilities seem to be endless.

I particularly like this painting. I have my reasons, and as an artist, it may or may not make sense to the viewer.

Sometimes I feel the need to understate. Many of my paintings though, are what I would consider complete to most viewers. But its a fine line between enough information, and too much. In this piece, I didn't want to make evident everything with a clarity of definition to the viewer. Rather, I wanted the mood and overall composition to capture the senses. An ocean side cottage? Perhaps an Inn? .. or beach houses. I don't know, and I really don't care. Sailboats in the distance? Yes. That's pretty evident. An ocean of blue and some sandy bluffs or dunes and beach grass. Its a feeling that I want, not a pictorial account and depiction. I could have taken the suggestion thing, even further, but that is for another painting. Maybe at some point, I'll remove all traces of visual identity and just let the eye assemble the image in the mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Seascape with Cottages"

7 1/2 x 11"

acrylic on archival paper

russ potak

Sometimes a painting is just a painting. No message. No complex underlying compositional equations, .. and no deciphering meanings.

Sailboat in a tidal pond, is just such an example. I did this last year, and it is really nothing more than a place in my mind, derived from a place I was at, and translated into this painting. I thought it a pleasant scene at the time, and thats all I needed to convey it. Sailboat lazily being pushed by a gentle breeze into this backwater pond on a soft and splendid day.

~~~~~~~~~

acrylic on canvas

16 x 20"

Early this morning as I opened the shades in the studio, I watched the morning light change and create patterns against the woods and fields. I was about to run and get the camera, but then I thought, why photograph something you already have seen. Why not translate this experience into a painting?

The camera is never going to be able to put the feel and drama of the moment into something that is 60% visual and 40% experiential. Its that 40% that counts. Its what goes on in the mind and hearts eye. Its the guts of the moment of awe. A camera would have recorded it, and yes, you can fudge around with it a manipulate it with photoshop, but, I like to keep my hands and flesh on the controls as much as possible, and forego the techno-control over the final statement. Thats one of the reasons, I paint. Its the human element that has the last say. It was me that said it, and did it. So later, I took out the sketch book, put it down, and later I painted it. Its a painting. Its not a photograph.

This is it.

11x15

acrylic on paper

Sunrise patterns, against the woods and field.

A Painting? An Illustration? Who cares?

Sometimes subjects just come from something I feel like translating into an image. Its not like the other works in the sense that I'm working the elements of color, and shapes for the sole sake of a finished piece. When there is specific images that are being tossed around, its more of like,.. how do I say this, and still incorporated the basic elements to make it work and make it interesting.

More along the lines of an artistic illustration, than anything.

At least for me, that's how it is.

I find I become bored quicker if my work tends to fall into too much information. So when I do something like this, I try to find ways to keep my interest level up. That might be using colors to my advantage, or shapes to created movement. These kind of works come and go in between my other more art for art creations.

But, nonetheless, I find that somehow they fall into place nicely anyway.

___________________

In Flight

16x20

acrylic on canvas

Just outside, not more than a stones throw away from where I gaze out from the place where I paint, some people call a studio, and I call a room that takes on the appearance of a studio, .. lies these hills.

They constantly change in light and color with the seasons and are more revealed in the winter months. I have done a number of paintings from this exact vantage point many times now, and you have probably noticed a similarity in subject matter if you have been following my paintings. That is because they are. The subject is the same, only the lighting and the seasons change. How convenient for me. These hills and mountains pose permanently for my canvas.

This one in particular I especially like, because I incorporated a stressed surface resulting in a texture that adds an extra interest to the overall work. Its simply called Winter Landscape. Its on a 16x20 stretched canvas and has a light coat of varnish over it. Sometimes, the subjects for an artist are no further away than the back door.

You can find this original piece listed for sale on my Etsy gallery page . russpotak.etsy.com

I'll try to post some other paintings from this location soon, so you can see and compare the way I handled the subjects.