Tag Archive | 5″ x 7″

Frenzy

Feb16

Many years ago, during a difficult period in my life, and living (and painting) on very limited means, I found myself deeply inspired (and also very broke). It’s been rare to experience inspiration that overcame my senses to the point of painting “in a frenzy”, but there I was. It was an intensely creative few days of steady (mostly sleepless) work. I used up most of the paper and pigment on hand for three series of thirteen smallish pieces, varying a bit in size (I was in some cases working from scraps, but most of this first Frenzy series are roughly 5″ x 7″). I drank too much coffee, and washed my hands too seldom. It was, as I recall, 1997, in Fresno’s notorious Tower District.

I initially began with a notable focus on UV pigments, and interference colors, and any other similarly visually intense pigments I had on hand at the time. The series of work used a specific technical approach to creating the pieces throughout that resulted in a somewhat “Rorschach test” inspired set of images, which nudge the viewer to bring their own thoughts and impressions to each piece. I welcome your comments.

Frenzy I
Frenzy II
Frenzy III
Frenzy IV
Frenzy V
Frenzy VI
Frenzy VII
Frenzy VIII
Frenzy IX
Frenzy X
Frenzy XI
Frenzy XII
Frenzy XIII – “At the End, Whatever is Left Over”

These pieces are available for sale (each original, no copies or prints are available). Please contact me by email if interested.

Winter Sunrise

Nov10
“Winter Sunrise” 7″ x 9″, pastel on Pastelmat, 2024

I sat down to paint, feeling the lingering fatigue of a busy week, and a little low, generally. My heart felt heavy with the weight of unexpressed concerns, mostly fairly abstract and unresolvable. This painting is inspired both by my heavy heart, and also by the awareness that a new day will dawn. I could have titled it “This Too Will Pass” and conveyed similar sentiment.

This piece is painted entirely with Blue Earth pastels, and on Clairefontaine Pastelmat, taking advantage of a new tabletop easel. It’s been awhile since I worked from an easel, and in pastel there are some definite advantages, one being that loose pastel dust falls away from the work immediately, reducing the risk of smudging it into the work in spots where it doesn’t belong.

Sunrise at the Trailhead II

Nov5
“Sunrise at the Trailhead II” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

I take a lot of early morning hikes. I see a lot of sunrises. No suprise then that I also paint a lot of sunrises. This view is a favorite one, from “my” parking place at a favorite trail. I see the sun rise from this vantage point often. This colorful sunrise, a view seen in September (as I recall) was quite a splendid one, and I did my humble best to capture it, although there is no universe in which art could accurately convey the beauty of the colors I saw that morning. I’ll keep trying. I’ll keep wondering at those beautiful sunrises.

Fall Chrysanthemums

Nov5
“Fall Chrysanthemums” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

A pot of autumn chrysanthemums on a table inspired this piece. I enjoy using the bright hues of yellow, orange, and red pastels. There’s something fun and freeing about painting flowers, and an innocence and simplicity the riot of bright colors. Flowers seem somehow undemanding and joyful, and of all the pieces I’ve recently painted, my eyes keep coming back to this one.

September Morning

Oct17
“September Morning” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

The hikes are different as the seasons change. The autumn foliage takes on hues of gold, rusty reds, and hints of orange. The skies are grayer and the chilly breeze directs the migrating birds to warmer climates.

Full Moon

Oct12
“Full Moon” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

The full moon shortly before daybreak at the edge of a meadow inspired this piece. For me, this one is an autumn moment, in September; shorter days and later sunrises sometimes taking me by surprise, thinking I’ll be hiking, but finding myself waiting for the sun. The subtle violets and cobalt blues are among the delights of the Henri Roche pastels.

Autumn Breeze

Oct12
“Autumn Breeze” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

Autumn has long been my favorite season. Maybe it’s the colors, or the leaves falling? It could be the crisp air and chilly breezes. This piece recalls an autumn walk on a favorite trail, trees turning, leaves on the breeze, and migrating birds making their journeys to far off places.

Into the Sunset

Oct12
“Into the Sunset” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

Reflecting on the recent drive to the coast on my last painting getaway, I worked from the recollection of the drive, similar other sunset drives, and the view of a sunset in-progress from the balcony of my hotel room. It was a fun quick piece that I did while the sunset flared to full vividness, and finished as it faded.

Learning From Mistakes

Oct11

On a December trip to the coast last year, I saw an amazing sun rise. The sky was infused with hues of bold pink. I managed to get a shot or two, but mostly just watched it quickly evolve. It developed quickly, and quickly faded away.

So very pink.

On my most recent trip to the same favorite location, I found myself trying to capture that moment and the bold pink sun rise in pastels, using a combination of the reference photo I had set aside for the purpose, and also the view from my balcony (for scale and proportion and things of that sort). I found myself faced with what could politely be called “mixed success”. lol

“Siletz Bay Pink Sunrise I” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

Yeah… no. There are things I like about it. Things I don’t. The “mistakes” shout at me – so I tried again.

“Siletz Bay Pink Sunrise II” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

Another attempt. Another piece about which I have mixed feelings, and a great deal of criticism. lol I set the idea aside for another attempt on some other day.

There are things about both pieces I greatly enjoy. The colors being one of those, and I admittedly simply enjoy a sunrise, and these both find room in my heart on that basis alone. I’ll try this again, though. There is so much to learn from these attempts, and the image that inspires them. I learn a lot from “failure”, if these can really even be called that. They have beauty of their own.

Morning Mist, Taft

Oct11
“Morning Mist, Taft” 5″ x 7″, pastel on Pastelbord, 2024

This piece illustrates how very much art is in the eye of the beholder, and how little control over that an artist really has. I painted this from the balcony of my hotel room on a misty morning, watching the mist fill the spaces between distant hills on the other side of Siletz Bay. Shortly before, I’d received a worried phone call from my partner, uneasy about the potential of a tsunami (because I’d earlier messaged at how interesting it was to be able to see the tide coming in so easily from my vantage point, then suddenly stopped replying while I was painting this very piece). When I shared the completed work with my partner, he saw the image as tsunami-like, more than any impression of a misty morning. Funny how that goes.