Inside and Outside

I thought I’d share a small view of our surroundings – it’s such a beautiful time of year. I spent most of the weekend gardening – next weekend I’ll definitely use sunscreen while I put in the vegetables!
This panoramic shot is the view from the back of our house – we have windows all along [...]

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Curioser and curioser…

Unraveling, 15 x 15″ Acrylic on Illustration Board
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
- Albert Einstein
I suspect that while we can find all degrees of talent among great beings or great actions, at the heart of each of them is this same passionate curiosity. It’s certainly at the root of all great [...]

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Inner Moonlight

Whorlds, 15 x 15″ Acrylic on Illustration Board
“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.”
-Allen Ginsberg
I love the thought of our “inner moonlight” – usually we think of a brighter, sunnier source of illumination for our creativity. But the cool and uniquely intimate way in which moonlight reveals is a nice counterpoint to contemplate. Perhaps [...]

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What’s Bugging You?

Infernal, 10 x 10″ Acrylic and Spackle on Illustration Board
“You are no bigger than the things that annoy you”
- Jerry Bundsen
I love the efficient wisdom of this quote. What you let bother you defines you. Makes you think twice about to what exactly you are willing to concede that power to.
I’ll admit it – I [...]

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A Dancing Star

Dancing Star, 10 x 10″ Acrylic on Illustration Board
“Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.”
- Henry Brooks Adams
I like the contrast between “life” and “habit” in this quote. One of the reasons I love non-objective subject matter is that helps me avoid habit, which, for me, equates with boring. When I was painting landscapes [...]

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Artful Violence

Cycle, 10 x 10″ acrylic on illustration board
“One never paints violently enough.”
- Eugene Delacroix
Painting and violence are not words commonly juxtaposed. We often think of painting as a refined activity, one in which we connect with our gentle spirit. Painting calms us, allows us to achieve an almost meditative state. So what place has violence [...]

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Practice Makes Perfect?

Macrocosm, 10 x 10″ acrylic on illustration board
“Artists are notorious for spending more time ‘producing’ paintings and spending little or no time ‘practicing’. “
- Tom Lynch
I will admit it – I am very bad about practicing anything. Making art is no exception. So I am one of the “notorious” members of the non-practicing art crowd [...]

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What’s in a Pattern?

Intersection, 10 x 10″ acrylic on illustration board
“A repeated shape is not actually the same – the more subtle, the more poetic this repeat is, the more we feel that resonant pulse.”
-Suzanne Northcott
In the pursuit of confusing myself, I am working on two series simultaneously which have very different objectives. Recently I’ve been posting work [...]

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The Spirit of Art

Cosmic Dance, 10 x 10″ Acrylic on Illustration Board
“Being ’spiritual’ simply means being willing to look into the nature of life, to ask questions and to wonder, and to listen. It also means seeing art everywhere.”
- Quang Ho
I liked the simplicity of this definition of “spiritual” and its connection to art. It means being curious [...]

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The Art of Arrogance

Heavens Collide, 10 x 10″ Acrylic, Soft Gel Medium, Granular Gel Medium on Illustration Board
“Walk to your easel casually, but with a dollop of arrogance.”
- Harley Brown
Harley Brown is a well-known painter famous for his wit and somewhat outrageous declarations of what it takes to be a good artist. So the statement above really is [...]

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