While convalescing from Rotator Cuff surgery in August 2019, I began painting in my mind.
…I could not lift my arm for more than 6 months…
Ways of painting flowed through me - not only what I saw, but how I played with paint.
January 1st 2020 I made my first Labyrinths in black and white…and they sucked*…
No one liked them, but I saw potential.
Ice Cube
latex on mat board
April 2020
16" x 16" (14" x 14" image size)
Faceted stones fascinate me how they reflect and refract light into rainbows.
I like to think of art as 'wall jewelry', a precious adornment to aesthetically bask in.
An ice cube is far from a precious stone, more like an ephemeral 'flower,’ its beauty is fleeting.
Life is short, art is forever.
Energetic lines in lively colors entertain the eye and ignite the imagination.
Like a mandala, Ice Cube is calming and meditative. The photoshop above shows how it might look in a home.
As I began figuring out this new technique, Covid visited our planet… Our quarantine began mid-March, so with no distractions I experimented. A number of years ago I worked with Latex, a type of acrylic, and liked that it wasn’t shiny with a subtle granularity. Treated right, it can look like fresco or plaster, but it doesn’t crack! It took a while to get the formula just right.
Preparing the surface is a long, involved process. Choosing and mixing the colors takes much of the time. Composition begins with the first layer, and it needs to be completely dry before progressing. Ensuring the color scheme balances between layers is crucial. Each layer needs to be a different viscosity to ensure the colors don’t mix. Finally a clear, delicately wet, stratified surface awaits its gesture.
The line is a sacred event. I clear my mind, breathe, and wait for the energy. As we grow our eyelashes to a specific length, the line flows.
It is fun to follow the path of the line like a rollercoaster,
or to see the whole as a figure.
Mystérieux
latex on matboard
20" x 16" (18" x 14" image)
SOLD
Tango dancing in a lover's embrace, the fiery cord zooms through a velvety darkness.
A soft, amethyst glows as if mysteriously lit from inside.
A high wire act, the line flows of its own accord.
Trying to control it frustrates it, like a leashed cat.
One continuous loop, this is an infinity knot.
“Look into the stains of walls, the ashes of a fire, clouds, etc... For, indistinct things stimulate the mind to new inventions.”
Falling Star
latex on matboard
20" x 16" (18" x 14" image)
In a blaze of light, a meteor enters Earth’s atmosphere.
Dancing brightly on its ultimate flight, it becomes an ugly rock...
“Better to burn out than to fade away” - Neil Young
There are eight lines to this star.
Four Horizontal
Four vertical
Follow each arc through the subtle rainbow of sky.
geometric or animated
it reaches up as it falls.
“Technique and skills must be absorbed, and wrapped up and put away to become such an integral part of yourself that they will be revealed in your work without your thought.”
Golden Velvet
latex on paper
20" x 16" (17" x 13" image)
'Elegance' is an elusive quality that is infinitely quiet yet demands engagement.
Here, an organic geometric line is dragged through thick grey and celadon paint into a woven form.
Folding in and out of space, the sheet floats softly through crescendos of light and dark, bright and mute.
The interior above is a photoshop to show how it might look in a home.
‘Shibui’ is a Japanese aesthetic quality for objects that appear simple overall but have subtle details. We find new ways of seeing in this balance of simplicity and complexity that allows its aesthetic value to grow over the years.
Peat
16" x 20" (14" x 18" image)
latex acrylic on acid-free matboard
signed & dated verso
SOLD
The smoky allure of peat gives scotch a round fullness that wraps itself around the tongue.
There is a romance of mucky peat fueling the luscious quality of scotch.
Sophisticated in its simplicity, this painting’s gritty earth-tones support
a refreshing deep blue/purple line that invites the eye to explore.
This painting sold immediately. It named itself immediately and has always been a favorite. Some works are shy and need coaxing to tell me their name. They are made flat, so there really is no up or down. The is nothing represented. It is as pure an abstraction as possible.
Each orientation conjures new associations and fresh ideas.
Rotate them to what feels right to you.
Keep them alive.
I want collectors to turn them and rename them often.
Some of my favorites are the poetic, 8 inch squares. They have an intimate feel, like a gemstone.
Moon Dance , latex on matboard, 8" x 8" (7" x 7" image)
I bent this leaf when it was freshly fallen, and it feels like it is dancing. Turned upside down, it looks like an old man.
How is it that we see characters in these inanimate objects?
Swimming Laps
latex on matboard
8" x 8" (7" x 7" image)
Swimming Meditation
latex on matboard
8" x 8" (7" x 7" image)
SOLD
I made a number of these swimming pools.
The photoshop above shows how a wide, 3-4 inch, mat gives them room to breathe.
Huggy Heart
latex on matboard
8" x 8" (7" x 7" image)
SOLD
I did plan this to be a heart, but didn’t plan the sideways figure eight, infinity symbol.
In this photoshop you see how elegant it looks simply framed.
These little 8" square 'poems' would be about 14" square framed like this.
Heart forms are intentional.
I have practiced drawing them.
Each is different.
I don’t want to rest into a pattern.
I want the razor’s-edge tightrope,
flirting with serendipity.
“Drawing is simply taking a dot for a walk.”
*So what does a ‘dud’ look like?
The line bunches up oddly, crowding in places, and it goes out of the space…it’s not horrible, but definitely not ready for prime time.
…I’m not sure it’s Art, but I probably won’t throw it away…
Front of my first Labyrinth, January 1, 2020
Back of my first Labyrinth, after it was used as a support for smaller pieces.