Thursday, May 15, 2014

The thing I love most about landscapes, is that they change, morph, and are in a constant state of flux. Not the physical land, but rather the life and mood they exhibit. Like a person, they have personalities. They appear in many different moods, .. some happy, some meditative, some angry, or sullen and everything in between. They are limitless sources for an artist from which to take note and express those qualities. Its free for the picking and it occurs in any season. All you have to do is tune in, take note, listen and look,.. and especially .. see. The seeing is the most important part. The look just points you in the right direction, but then you have to see. With a little patience, the land will reveal its true inner self to you.  The essence of what it is saying. It does speaks. You just have to listen. 
12 x12" acrylic on 200 lb archival paper
© 5/14 russ potak 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Sometimes its a feel, or a sense of place and other times it a mood, or reaction to some colors or shapes. Other times its pure experimentation. A dream, a mood, a feel, or just pure and free creating. But its almost never ever,  a true and correct representation. I have no interest in that whatsoever, except with the medium of photography.  In this instance I was surfing the web and found some photos  of Malibu State Park, and right away, I felt some inspired moments by observing some of the features in the land. I went with that, and a feel for  what I was seeing. The rest just evolved. This is usually how I like to work best. Just letting things happen. No nets, no plans, no expectations. Free to explore the subject and the medium. 
Painting inspired by Malibu State Park
12 x 12"
acrylic on 200 lb cotton press paper
©5/13/14 russ potak