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