First, let me say thank you to everyone who responded to my email notice about this blog. Many of you had suggestions of how to make this engaging to those who would follow it, keep it fresh and keep them wanting to return. I will be following many of your suggestions, by adding content and links to other sites that talk about Art, Painting and living a creative life.

The main focus of this blog for me though is to have a platform to show and discuss the work I'm creating. Revealing my thoughts about the pieces as they develop and getting comments from all of you, I feel is important in my finding a direction for my work to move in. I hope it will also help me find a voice that has been missing in my work for too long. Like most creative people I have my own judgments about my work and sometimes don't really know the motivations that make me want to create it. I've taught for so long that I probably over analyze the process and just need to turn the thinking part of my brain off long enough to let what's inside come out in the paint.

Where all this leads is anyone's guess. I'm betting it's going to be a fun ride though and along the way I hope to make some friends, help others to get painting or expressing themselves. I personally think we just don't have enough creative thinking and rebellion in the world, so stirring the pot as it were could only come to some interesting creative solutions and help us think about freeing ourselves from the boundaries we keep putting in our own way.

Today I have 3 small offerings I created over the weekend. I'm happy with the results and have tried to up the challenge from my previous couple of pieces. What these have in common is my effort to make them less symmetrical, to lead the eye across the canvas to a destination where a story is revealed. I'm hoping to engage the viewer, to begins a conversation in which the viewer can participate by filling in the details and making the story more personal.

"So Good"(Shrimp with lemon wedges) was the first of this group. It was a challenge to get the feeling of things being wet. To accomplish this I had to be careful with my value relationships and place the high lights carefully.

"Tasty - Arkansas Blacks" (Apples) is very much about telling a story and engaging the viewer. It uses a simple device of a progression across the canvas to carry you to a conclusion. Like most stories it starts out innocently enough, is then faced with some sort of challenge (being cut in two) and finally left to wither and dry up like bones in the desert.  That's my story, you can read your own into it.

"Showing some Independence" is another narrative piece. I weighed the composition heavily to the right and let that one lone grape add some balance all on its own to the far left. I feel like that grape most of the time.

If you'd like to see these pieces in person you can visit Junor Gallery in Decatur GA.  They are having a opening reception this Thursday from 6pm till 9pm.  I will have nine pieces in the show and yes they are for sale. So showing up an buying some art would be appreciated.  Gallery details are as follows:

  

Junor Gallery Fine Art  

       presents 

  A Royal Season

November 20 - January 15 

    Opening Reception

Thursday Nov. 20, 6 - 9 pm

JUNOR GALLERY

114 E Ponce De Leon Ave

Decatur, GA 30030

404.377.2255

junorgallery@bellsouth.net

 

Hours:

Sun. 12-5 pm

Tues., Wed., Fri. 11 am-6 pm

Thurs. 11 am-7 pm