Sea Harbor

9x12

acrylic on canvas

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Done primarily with a palette knife tool. Colors are allowed to meld into each other, and texture surfaces where the paint is thick. I find exciting qualities in this kind of paint application.

You ever wonder what Van Gogh did when he wasn't painting. I mean, everybody has an image of artists always in their studios or out in fields, painting away. But, think about it. There is a lot of time in between to think, meander, get ideas, socialize, hang out, have a beer, tend to the garden, or just look for some place to grab a cheap meal. I mean, artists are people. But people with a passion for getting something created with a burning desire, and in the process, that creates a colorful lifestyle at times. Because, REAL artists, live the life in order to create. Everything is put aside for their work. Unlike a hobby or a recreation,.. it is not a fill in occupation to close the dead space up, while they are on to do something else. Usually the artists life, is built around his need to do his work, and not much will he allow to get in the way. I guess, that is why, an artist would choose to live on the edge of starvation, before giving up his work. How many other things can you think of where that drive is so strong? I'm sure it exists with some other passions as well, but artists have, I think, a corner on that determination.

So, when you see an artist doing something else, besides painting, ... it is always best to assume he is filling his spare time with whatever... not the other way around.

Van Gogh and the rest.. built their life around art. It was never a hobby. A real artist, usually can't afford a hobby.

LIGHTHOUSE BLUFF

9x12

acrylic on canvas

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I am beginning to really love the use of palette knife, as it lends itself to the effect of texture. I find that texture and impasto, create so much more than just the image. When the paint is revealed in the work, and is used as an energetic force, then the work becomes infused with this combination of image and medium. Not dissimilar to how a sculpture is viewed. The viewer takes in both the image, and the medium. Its a dual experience.

I am confident that I will continue to search out any other means to I can, to achieve the effects that help in the completion of my painting. However, or whatever I need to make the painting work, then that is the most important thing.

The day was superb! Soft warm air and the scent of earth. Just last week it was miserable and looked like we were never to see the sun again. Now, its just a memory. Spring has shown it full beauty today. This is what we wait for, and why seasons help us to remember that.

I wouldn't even attempt to paint it. It's too... perfect.

Harbor Along the Coast

11x14

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

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The small coffee stained sketch is still at my desk, and I wonder how a scribbled pen and ink drawing, which I can barely recognize, becomes a painting. But, at the time, the sketch was fresh and alive, and I knew exactly what I wanted to say. That is why, if I feel it necessary to add notes and info. bites onto the drawing, just in case I can't get to it right away.

Fortunately this one surpassed my expectations.

Warm Water Sailing

11x14

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

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Done from a 2x3" thumbnail sketch on notebook paper, while having my coffee. The overtones are meant to be pastel hues with candy flavored skies, since I think of the tropics as a sweet warm place. The green in the ocean, comes from the sand and coral shallows that reflect light from the sandy bottom.

SAILING BY

11 X 14 acrylic on canvas

I really like the non-complexity in this work.

I said what I needed to say, and let it be. For me, it is a very singular event, with minimal definition needed. I like the passage of time, as noted by the sails, going by, and almost out of the scene. Like a flock of birds or a herd of deer, they are just passing by to who knows where.