Dynamic Sign in the Sky

The beautiful precursor to high winds, pelting rain, flooding, and marble sized hail.

Texting

On new ground, the past in hand.

Iteration

Adjacent and now, volume of energy flows up, the return and response, that which reaches, touches, and is touched, in perfect repose.

Sequence

Forethought of space and essence the terminal of what and then.

Yes, Carl Sandburg was quite right in stating that what is poetry can not be described.

Yeah, That's Her

Well, I am painting again, with the usual mix of satisfaction and frustration. But what is to stop me from having some fun with photo illustrations between brushstrokes?

New New New

New art studio. New type of painting for me. Possible new series. Yeah, I'm excited!

Atelier, 2nd Floor

After one too many flood events in my home art studio (yes, basement level), I have combined my art studio with my design studio/office, located on higher ground. The last two days, I have started to paint again, and it feels great. It is a whole new environment in many ways. I feel renewed.

That's me, covering a painting from 2007 with a fresh layer of gesso. I am excited to see what comes next.

Trees, Dead or Alive

Always magnificent.

Image Du Jour

Two tone, body at rest.

One Indian Cent

How this 1903 US penny escaped notice, and wasn't pulled from circulation, is beyond me. I received this in change about a year ago. Perhaps it could be on account of its condition, that is, not very good.

It seems to me a little work of art. It has all the criteria of good design... variety, repetition, detail, interaction of positive and negative space (notan), keeps the eye moving, not to mention, excellent form, function and durability.

I often say, keep looking up, however, occasionally, look down, at your change.

Add Beauty

Add light.

Nude

The nude. Graceful, elegant, lovely.

Art Du Jour

Pastel, specifically, Nupastels. Chalky, fun, and no drying required.

Welcome Spring

Welcome Spring, with your hope and your fury.

Why Stop?

Well, why stop now? I am loving this fun with color.

More Fun

A little more fun with red-orange and yellow. Looking good together.

Love of Color

Somewhere near the midpoint between the abstract and the real, this image is enhanced, for emotional impact.

All in a Day's Work

Now there is a job, washing the windows of an iconic Seattle building, the Rainier Tower, yes, all 31 floors of it.

The Place

This is the site of a recurring dream, one of those places that, on the surface should hold no particular meaning, and yet, it does. Why this image of a place 3,000 miles away should hold such importance in my psyche is a mystery. I believe over time, the mystery will be revealed, perhaps with the help of art. As with dreams, art reveals what is within.

Focus on the Ordinary

A piece of ordinary architectural glass from decades past, seems a bit extraordinary when seen through the lens. What may have been overlooked comes into focus. What was clear now reflects an array of color, changing moment to moment, and depending on your point of view.

Real to Abstract

Start with something real, and then remove all traces of reality. The result? Abstract art.

Another good observation from Pablo Picasso!

Two Tone

I think Jackie looks great in red-orange and yellow. She had great hair.

Why should Warhol have all the fun?

Ripple Effect

Creatively, one of the great surprises of recent years is how much I respond to the color orange, and even more, all the colors of autumn, those being weighted on the red side of the spectrum.

Well, that would make it all more exciting.

Striations 02

Striations 02, a digital sketch done one-handed, while talking on the phone. Yeah, that was fun!

Striations

Reflections in a column meet Adobe Photoshop. Looks pleasing to me!

Glimpse

For those of you in the northern hemisphere, how about a little color to brighten your world in these cold dark months. The image du jour is "Glimpse."

Look of Winter

Showing some of the earmarks of good design, this image has variety, repetition, contrast, and the interplay of positive and negative space, also known to the Japanese as notan. All I had to do was look to the sky, point and shoot. I am glad that I had my little Nikon S220 with me, small enough to carry around on my belt. One of the good things about photography is that it provides a kind of emotional record, it puts you right back in the moment.

I wish everyone a peaceful and fulfilling 2011.

Manifestations of Man

If you don't look up, you will never know what you are missing!

Modern Fashion

Attendees at an Austrian fashion show in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China.

Vanishing Art Form?

Here is a master at work, on the sidewalks of Beijing, just behind the Summer Palace. I have it on good authority, that this calligrapher knows what he is doing. As he paints with a water filled brush, the characters vanish as he writes.

I am told that the fine art of Chinese calligraphy, which requires years of diligent study and practice, is proving ever more difficult to learn, and is now yielding fewer true masters than before. The digital age is demanding more of the student's time, leaving fewer hours to learn the myriad characters, and perfect the brush strokes. Brush strokes are giving way to computer keystrokes.

What will come of all this? Will an art form be lost to time? No one is to say.

Triptych

Keep looking up.

Striking

I was fortunate enough to revisit the Museum of Modern Art yesterday. With everything I saw, I think this painting, Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror, rated at the top. A striking work, it looks even way better in person, that is, the scale, the color, composition, mood, etc. The listener is included for scale, missing when the work is viewed on line or in print.

Quick and Fun

It's amazing how much fun you can have, dragging an image into Photoshop, and playing around with it for a minute or so, transforming it to your liking.

Red Nude

"Red Nude" is a new work. Building on several layers of unsatisfying effort, the end result was pure fun.

Fresh Air

Monday's frustrating session in the studio, yields results on Wednesday, after I had time to let the paint dry and revisit several canvases I was working on. Like a breath of fresh air, the above work is aptly titled.

Modern, All In Its Day

Modern Art is a product of the 20th century, er, I don't think so. Take a look at this Greek sculpture from 2,500 BCE, in the collection of the Seattle Art Museum. It almost could pass as early 20th century AD. It reminds me of a Modigliani sculpture.

Maybe there really isn't much new under the sun, as noted in Ecclesiastes. I recently heard Julian Schnabel say, "it isn't who did it first, it's who did it last."