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.