Dancing

Here is the still unfinished picture called " The dance of the Thunder Storm". Notice the dots? I love dots! I do a lot of paintings with dots. Dots, Dots and more dots! My daughter, Stacey, lays claim to introducing me to dots. She is my be loved daughter and I as a father would never correct her, but........... well OK, Thank you Stacey.

Dancing is also another theme that I enjoy. All my paintings are of people. Well most the time. Faces are my love. But dancing holds a special place. One, I can not dance!!! More than one person has drug me out to the dance floor saying such naive things as " it's simple anyone can dance". A few have attempted to even instruct me. They usually last about five minutes. All have never danced with me ever again. A few, I hear are still in therapy. Do I make myself clear? I can not dance. But I love watching dancers. I love the feel of the body in motion as it expresses the feelings of the moment. The paintings of the dancers are just that. I feel the elation and focus. the joy and the body bending, twisting or simple hopping in happiness.

The Dance of the Thunder Storm is 18" x 24" Acrylic. The second one is " Betty Boogies" 8" x 10" Acrylic.

Betty popped out one weekend when I wanted to try a new Golden Paints product. A slow dry acrylic. Just like oils the add said. Close kind of. I have worked in acrylics for years. Maybe I'm just use to them. I love oils but the different mediums have different pluses. I have worked years and years in a bunch of mediums. I am almost 60 and have been doing art forever. Starting with the cave walls in France. Well maybe not those cave walls. I love all COLOR!!!!!!

Any way, Betty just popped out and brought such joy to the day. She is having such a great time flying with the universe.

Just thought you would like to see The Dance of the Thunder Storm.

I enjoyed showing them both.

Catherian 01 ( Stacey's )

Well here is the painting formally known as " Stacey's". As I mentioned before, my daughter asked for a painting. When asked "what of ?" she replied what ever you want to do. Well the resulting painting is definitely my style. I planned this picture, as I often do ( read as: maybe, sometime, sure ) ( really do plan some paintings! ) and started blocking the painting in. All was well. I had sketched in the elements ( earlier blog ) and started on the face doing a value study of sorts. Then I filled in the jacket. When this was done I stepped back and I knew her name. Catherian. The spelling is hers. Her personality became evident right away. This was not a lady to be contradicted. Nice, yes, fair, yes, honest, yes, strong willed with her sights set on what she wanted!

The blue sky was now going to be green! I resisted this for about three days then decided ... "Green it will be and you will see you are wrong". Then the clouds which were supposed to be a light pastel morning pink be came mountains. As you can see I am always in total control of my paintings. ( read as: I quite often do not have a clue where they are going ). This can be distressing at times but quite often it brings out a very great joy. Glee would be a better word. Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

I enjoy this about my art. I let it happen and it is great fun to watch it appear out the end of the brush. I'm a third party observer. ( I believe that is a definition for large worded disease of the mind ).

I'm still not extremely happy with whats on the canvas but I do know that Catherine will let me know what needs to be done and it will turn out Great!.

I mention all this because this is what happens when I create. This is how I frame and interpret my relation with the painting. It just is. The following may make all this easier to understand.

I drive an hour to work, one way, each day. That is about 500 hrs per year of sitting. During these times I could be solving all sorts of problems, I do not, ( 30 mim. per year ). Instead I weave stories. Like a book on tape but in my head. Some of these stories have been coming and going for years. Some of the caricatures have developed into old friends. One such person was Diane. (See earlier blog for her picture.) Her story includes a person that greatly influences her through out her life. Guess what! That's right it is Catherine! I did not realize this was who it was until after the sky was done. I was sitting there wondering what this lady was all about and where the painting was going. And then I knew. Unbelievable!!!! Now I understand!!!

The point of all this is to show how when the creating bug bites do not stand in it's way. It is so easy to try to figure out all the details, methods and procedures that it ends up very confusing and stops the creative process. Just let it be and watch where it takes you. they say we use only a small part of our brain. What do you think the rest is doing? Having fun of course!!! Follow it.

I have also decided to write down Diane's story to show up some where some time.

Thanks

Adam and Eve

These two paintings grew out of a story that I was reading about Van Gogh. While he was resting in the sanitarium he asked that a picture that he liked by Delacroix be sent to him. The picture that he requested was the Pieta painted in 1850. Van Gogh received a small printed copy, as I understand it, and he proceeded to paint a picture from this copy in his style. Unfortunately or not the copy that he received was reversed! So he painted a reverse image of the original. I just thought that was just to insane. I love both artists and being an artist I thought that I would add another chapter to the story. ( this will all have relevance when I'm extremely famous ) ( 200 + years ) I used the reverse image of Van Gogh and instead of depicting the death of Jesus, savior of all mankind, I thought that the beginning of all mankind would work for me. Van Gogh's painting is dark and tortured. I wanted hope and light. Sooooo here's Eve. Crouched, vulnerable, gazing out at the new bright world. The blue wrap is so often used with religious paintings and seemed to be appropriate for signifying Divine action and presence. I have always loved this painting.

All was well for a day or less. Eve is here wheres Adam?

Well Adam came with a blast! Quick and violent, Uncontrolled and daring. The opposite of Eve. Confident and adventurous, he flew on the canvas. Raw and powerful. Adam was man. Eve in all her beauty was woman. The nature of the genders, as I see them, sometimes, more or less, were placed on canvas.

My paintings are my emotions and understandings on the subject being depicted. I'm sure that there is a lot of psycho babble that can be attached but the truth is ............ there is supposed to be a point? right? oh well maybe latter.

These and others to follow are older paintings, to be defined as done before today, that always enjoy visiting with others. I will be posting some of these from time to time. They are all a part of my body of work ( I threw that in because it sounds so scholarly) ( there really paintings that I enjoy) Have fun and give the wold some beauty like a smile.