Bird Brained

birds on the brain...that must be the reason. i was doing some photo research on pelicans for a future painting so i found myself, camera in hand, stumbling around the rocks at the sea shore. it was a very nice day and the birds were most accommodating (lazy?) so i got some nice pics and even better inspiration. i wish i had wings...

for the flighty...."Pair On a Popular Perch" and "Simple Requirements"

Follies

i decided to paint...just paint. i find that if i spend time deciding whether my impulse to paint any particular idea is worth spending the time on...i don't. the result of that little exercise is no painting. so, in the interest of producing some paintings, i'm painting ANY ideas that seem interesting. this particular one is not the latest, but it is in the recent roster. i also decided to stock them up a bit instead of releasing them every time i complete one. more on this topic later, but for now...

"Birds Before the Storm" (acrylic on canvas, 15"x30", SOLD)

The Wrong Thing

i really have taken a liking to the sound of the word "bling". it's a wonderfully descriptive utterance for something that has a momentary sparkle and flash...the passing twinkle in an eye used in an over-the-top visual comedy...so sad that we grab onto that so often as the first thing...and spend an inordinate amount of energy of all sorts trying to possess...nothing...or, arguably less satisfying, the wrong thing.

such an incredible lack of discernment..or is it simply just laziness, like looking at nothing in particular and past everything and just grabbing the first "bling" we see?

it makes me very uncomfortable to ponder this one..."calming vibrations"

Facing Faces

i usually take the stand that there are "absolutes", but as i get more experience in life i have to admit that there seems to be no possible way to ascertain what they (or it) might be.

every single object or event looks different, and may have different significance, depending on the person observing it or the location of the observation point...that would seem to include physical location, mental state, life experience, education, and whatever else we could imagine that would make each observer/location combination unique. it sometimes seems to me that if we could just get all the views, we'd know what something absolutely is...or would we?

i'm fascinated by this concept, and it's easy enough to play around with it on a small scale while photographing the same thing from different perspectives...the more i play with it, the more i'm convinced that there's just no telling...and so i go on exploring and observing.

two of the many faces of one of my favorite buildings, the templeton granary..."a matter of scale" and "boxes and boxes".

Arc Flight

i thought i'd post my latest painting. this has some of my favorite arcs and swoops (and the arm and hand movements that go with them), and the animal whose movements i love to trace with those forms. it's been quite a while since i've painted dolphins, and this is a completely different approach to the subject for me. i may go this way for a while and see where i wash up.

for your pleasure..."Arc Flight" acrylic on canvas

A Hit to the Eye

Not much to say here...color...texture....it's everywhere! i like it!

just a couple of pieces that tickle my retinal receptors..."Turquoise Harem" and "Intruder Warning in Red"

Webs We Weave

throughout the world, in all of our lives we see the evidence and consequence of the intrigues we create. we are often aghast to observe that, once created, they are likely to take on a life of their own...completely out of our control, careening down paths that we never imagined. oh what wondrous webs we weave...and in the nature of webs, they become tangled and entangling...it's just the nature of things.

unfortunately, we fool ourselves into thinking that we do have control over our creations and machinations...we don't. it's not that we can stop our web-making, and it's impossible to untangle our creations, but it's worth the effort at times to stop and observe that tangle and try to sort it out to find a focus...if for no other reason than to learn a thing or two about them.

these two pieces required considerable thought to find a focus in the tangle...but, worthwhile i think..."industrial strength web" and "snail snare"