Reaffirm, renew, invent and explore

  Now is the time to find new ways, look for better places and explore unforeseen options in order to maintain sanity and redefine to save our art careers.  Many things will never be the same (for some, sadly, more than others) but new opportunities will present themselves as we struggle to make sense of the constant changes. My brick and mortar gallery is closed and will not reopen anytime soon. All effort and time is now being focused on launching an online gallery for my website. We are working out the details to make it easy to peruse and purchase with confidence. The new gallery will be offering the highest quality canvas prints of my most popular paintings. They will be stretched, gallery wrapped and coated with a satin finish true to the originals. In fact, they can easily be mistaken for originals. the quality is exquisite!

Center Panel 40x30

This is "Center Panel" one of the many images that you will be able to choose from the new online gallery. Also available will be greeting cards, my two coffee/end table books, puzzles and a fist full of other cool stuff that will be added as we expand this new venue. Soft launch should be sometime next week! I am looking forward to sharing this new adventure and hearing any comments that you have. Stay healthy and happy.......Don

The eyes of the beholder

Last Spring I had cataract surgery on both eyes. Because the actual surgery only takes about ten minutes and is "relatively" painless, I decided not to have the anesthesia during the left eye procedure so that I could remember the experience. As I lay there during the process trying to squelch my panic I focused on the almost painful bright light and the image I was seeing/experiencing. I thought, wow, this would make a great abstract painting so I began to make mental notes of exact colors and tried to find shapes in all the brightness. As soon as I was wheeled to the recovery room I found a scrap of paper and scratched a few notes before the memory began to turn fuzzy. When I got back to my studio I chose an 18"x18" stretched canvas, dug out my notes and proceeded  in my attempt to capture the shapes and colors from my experience. On my next trip to the doctor who performed the surgery I carted my painting along with me. He was amazed that I followed through with such a bizarre undertaking and was so enamored with the work that he purchased it that very day! They convinced me to try the right eye with a small amount of the anesthesia and I felt certain that I could make another painting to compare to the left eye. Well, guess what? Whatever the drug is that they use works even in small doses, I couldn't remember ----!

"Cataract" 18x18 acrylic  on canvas

This is the finished painting. I am happy with the result and it does bring back the experience. I am disappointed that I was not able to recall enough detail from the right eye surgery because I was really looking forward to comparing the two paintings.



Wet paint / Dry paint

Ahhhh....Studio tour is over and I can get back to using it for the purpose of making art.  I use the Golden brand fluid acrylics in most of my art because they have very good permanence and stability and work well for my layering and glazing process.  One thing that I have had to adapt to since I started using acrylics is the fact that some of the colors which I mix and apply to the canvas appear much darker when they are completely dry.  The blues and greens are especially challenging.  here is an example of a green that I was painting with.  I applied a layer on the canvas and let it dry then I dipped in to the same mix and applied a brushstroke of wet paint over the dry color and you can see the difference. 

 

The challenge is to remember to mix the color I want to use at least one shade lighter than what I think I will need.  It sounds kind of unhandy but I have become accustomed to it now and hardly ever think twice about it.  I will post a picture of the finished painting soon!

 

 

Why is the sky blue?

As I am painting I find working with cloud colors and sky colors very intriguing so I went to the Internet for some information.  I found some very interesting reading and scientific explanations about scattered  light waves and spectrum analysis.  This was all very enlightening but as an artist I think the main thing I need to remember is that atmosphere has no color.   If I am trying to influence the mood of a painting with atmosphere I need to be aware that weather conditions and pollutants influence the color.  Water vapor and solid particles affect visibility and the amounts are a good indication of weather conditions and determine which colors we will see in the sky............now my head hurts.



Storm on the Horizon  36"x36" acrylic



Prairie Sky 40"x60" acrylic



Prairie Heat 20"x40" acrylic



Storm Chaser 20"x16" acrylic

Random Thought 4

In my search for serenity, I have found that I  must be at ease with who I am, where I am and what I have today.  On the days that I am not comfortable with any one of these things I find it much harder to produce good art.

"Tree Line"  acrylic  12x12

Let's make good art today.......

Random Thought 3 ......What will I do?

I have come to the realization that my life is not so much defined by what I will do as it is by that that I won't do......

Random Thought 2...... pursuing perfection

After a couple days of creating on the computer instead of the canvas I have given some thought to the idea of  "perfection."   Salvador Dali said:  "Have no fear of perfection, you will never reach it!"  but then Oscar Wilde thinks: "It is through art, and through art only, that we can realize our perfection."  o.k, but I kind of like Michelangelo's quote:  "The true work of art is but a shadow of divine perfection"...  and alas, I think some truth lies in this comment by Gustave Flaubert:  "Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything."  What do I think?  Well.......My conviction is that pursuing perfection is my noble goal but the ability to really  #%$*  things up in the pursuit of it seems to be my gift...........

Random Thought 1

If I think about it too long is it still random?