Friday, October 23, 2009

The Uncontrollable Tide


Shapes swirled in my mind. I am a constant doodler (psychological studies show that doodlers retain more information than those who don't). Scientific solace for the constantly wandering mind...

These shapes found themselves reappearing from my subconscious...a few I really had an affection for. They soon transformed themselves into themes. The ethereal clouds, the force of the waves. Soon ideas became something else...air, water, the fire of the sun and the earthly mountains. I really felt the ideas I had here would have been better suited for a lithograph, but the thought was there and I had to put it down. When I was nearly done, I added the ship to represent man's touch and the uncertainty of our ability to navigate through the uncontrollable. Here are a few of the inspirations, the painting, and we'll see if this leads elsewhere...

I painted the frame to further signify our earthly confines...

I will post some of the inspirational work very soon...

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Kris and Kate


Sometimes things "are what they are" and "it is what it is." Here, you get to see the work in progress...three years later. I paint what I feel but then I have to live with it. This one will change like so many others. I love the shirt I painted. It is hard to tell here but it was put on thick, very quickly, and blended perfectly. I love it. I also enjoyed painting my brother and deconstructing his features. Even the background was fun. What I am not yet satisfied with is Kate. I have not yet done her justice. She is a beautiful woman. In fact, the perfect woman for my brother. There will be changes here, but I thought you might enjoy to participate in the process I go through. Either I will find perfection or this canvas will never leave me...in tact.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Love of my life


The love of my life...I knew this moment would not last. Rarity, yes. It will not come again.

Calm before the storm



These two are the craziest people I know. Talk about passion...they are the personification of it...like a terrible storm, they can blow through and inspire awe, beauty and devastation. The moment I have captured, as any of those who know them, is the calm before the storm. All my love...

Irises my way


Forgery?!? Not quite. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This painting by the great master Vincent Van Gogh had caught my eye even more so than his sunflowers or his countryside paintings of the Southern France. While my hopes to own the original are slim to none, I can have his image hanging in my home with my personal interpretation and twist.

Three wise men


Of all the modern art I have loved and hated, this personifies it to me. The colors remind me of institutional avant garde pieces that oppressed the subconscious back of my mind. How I settled on this I don't know. I almost threw it out (as I did with five other canvases), but this one kept calling me back. It partly reminds me of the sails of boats in California harbors and also of three evergreens in the backyard of my Illinois property. Something of the three wise men also called to me. The rest I cannot explain.

Pavlik vs. Taylor


The 70's and 80's loved Leroy Neiman. Who now carries the torch? I loved these fights! I have loved the fights since my uncle introduced me to Ali in my youth. The sweet science meets true heart. There are fewer and fewer of us who love the "pugilist specialist" as Lennox Lewis  (another great champion) has called himself. I love the ring over any octagon and I will take heart over science any day of the week. Go Kelly!