Watercolors
518 - Double Spiral,$350 (Watercolor, 8.25" x 11.5")
This painting was an experiment in watercolor painting without preplanning. That is, I was challenged by Peter Bonner, instructor at The Art Students League of New York, to create a painting without a prepatory sketch. Working wet on wet, I set the stage by painting two big spirals in the center. Now what? The fun begins; painting here and there, the design emerges. The two interlocking spirals revolve around each, or is it an embrace?
517 - Spiral Gyre 6, $350 (Watercolor, 8"x 9.25")
Sometimes I get lucky and a painting goes smoothly. That is the case with "Spiral Gyre 6". It is the same design as "Spiral Gyre 4", with the arms of the spiral moving away from the center. While I push and pull with the watercolor, dropping some orange here, blue there, I like to think of the great spirals of the cosmos. Such a wonderful universe.
516 - Spiral Gyre 5, $500 (Watercolor, 10" x 14")
Sometimes, I like to paint the same design a couple of times. Change the color, size, and value, then you have a different painting. This painting speaks a bit softer than "Spiral Gyre 3". Maybe the spiral has settled in to a gentler mood.
515 - Spiral Gyre 4, $500 (Watercolor, 14" x 16")
With Spiral Gyre #4 of the "Spiral Gyre" series, the main spiral is starting to unravel. In this depiction, I wanted to hint at movement and depth. And, who knows, maybe the spiral will tighten up again as it spins around?
506 - Spiral Gyre #2, $650 (Watercolor,21 x 15)
While imagining my next series of paintings, a spiral theme popped into my mind. I like the idea that life sometimes resembles a spiral. Much like a circle, it seems like we come to places that we have been before in our lives. But, theses places are not exactly the same because the context is different. Hence the spiral seems appropriate to me. And,it is fitting for me to resurrect the title "Spiral Gyre" from a 2008 painting and turn it into a series. The spiral continues and more to come!
497 - Irish Breakfast Tea 2, $275 (Watercolor, 10.5" x 7")
This watercolor is the second in a series about Irish Breakfast Tea. As I understand it, Irish Breakfast Tea is served with milk so it seemed natural to add a milk pitcher to the composition. When I grew up in small town New Mexico, what I knew of Ireland was through St. Patrick's Day. In other words, the colors green and orange plus a shamrock. Since my youth, I've learned a few more symbols associated with Irish culture, like the triskele. That is the three joined swirls in the orange tea. And, then, I added greens and a shamrock to the painting for a tribute to Irish Breakfast Tea. Oh yes, I do like the tea.
496 - Three Minute Egg, Espresso and Timer, $650 (Watercolor, 18.5" x 13.5")
This is the 13th painting in the "Three Minute Egg" series of paintings. I am inspired by memories of Saturday morning breakfasts with three minute eggs. It was always sort of exotic. The egg cups came from our parent's time in Europe. It made breakfasts a little more special. I chose the colors to emphasize the idea of morning and happy memories.
493 - Three Minute Egg #12, $650 (Watercolor, 14" x 21")
My favorite things: egg cups, espresso cups, a timer and a spoon. I am reminded of special family breakfasts we had when I was young. It just seemed exotic to have an egg served in an egg cup. I loved dunking my toast in the egg yolk. The design of the painting perhaps emphasizes the idea of remembering the past. The items are simplified and expressive rather than realistic. Its about playing with shapes and color to create something joyful.
437 - Still Life with Toy Pony D25, $650 (Watercolor, 13" x 21")
In design 25 of my Still Life with Toy Pony series, I rearranged the placement of my still life objects. I purposely "flipped them", with Toy Pony being placed at the left side of the paintings. The order of the other objects, the vase, candlestick and espresso cup, is reversed as well. I wanted to see how the different arrangement effected the composition. I added rings as if the light came from the lit candlestick and tying the objects together.
436 - Toy Pony On a Spiral Night, $450 (Watercolor, 11" x 14")
I like the grace of spiraling curves. I am fascinated by how often the shape shows up in Nature. I thought it appropriate that my Toy Pony character should visit the land of Spiral Nights. Its a place of dreams and imagination.
435 - Three Broken Shells and a Knot, $450 (Watercolor, 10" x 13")
In this still life painting, I re-visited some of my favorite subjects: broken seashells and a knotted napkin. The folds of the napkin reminded me of waves water which fit my seashell theme. I liked the rhythm of the wave so much I repeated them in the background. The star of the composition is the broken seashell up front with it gracefully curved chambers.
433 - I Can't Hear You, $450 (Watercolor, 15" x 12")
This painting was based on my ninth drawing in the "Just Sayin'..." series. I am fascinated by how the use of a cell phone has effected our culture. One of the more amusing gestures I notice is the finger put to the ear in order to hear better. In this painting, my thoroughly modern lady is talking on her cell phone, using the thoroughly modern gesture of finger to her ear.
432 - Just Sayin'...V8, $175 (Watercolor, 10.5" x 7")
The "Just Sayin'..." series of paintings is inspired by the ubiquitous cell phone. One can scarcely be in public without noticing someone talking on the cell phone and overhearing the conversation. In this variation, my subject is an "upscale" lady, perhaps dressed for a special occasion like afternoon tea. Even she has a finger to her ear as she talks on her cell phone.
416 - Lighthouse, D12, $175 (Watercolor, 10" x 6")
This painting was based on the 12th drawing I did of the local lighthouse. I imagined the lighthouse as a beacon in the night…perhaps during a strong storm when things seem to go sideways. Inspired by Cubism, I fractured and played with the lighthouse shapes just for fun.
415 - Still Life with Toy Pony, v39b, $650 (Watercolor, 12" x 21")
In this variation on the "Still Life with Toy Pony" theme, I was interested in simple, bold geometric shapes. My intention was to create movement in this otherwise static arrangement through a diagonal flow to the light and dark pattern. When I look at this painting, I see a cool, formal modern design. Yet, the warm, shifting colors suggest to me that perhaps there is more going on. Any moment now, Toy Pony will twist, turn and leap across the still life!