Land of Plenty

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"Land of Plenty"
mixed media
10-25-14

Interregnum

12-27-12
mixed media

Clouds, like seals, swooped through the sodden sky, throwing careless sprays of water that were only tempered by the protective masses of leaves on the dark trees. Not that the bird minded the extra soaking, he was wet to the bone and it wasn't very cold anyway. So, once one got used to it, the rain, in its various manifestations, became a companion to his solitude. But this was an "in-between time" wasn't it? The sun would come out wouldn't it? His spirits had a weight on top of them as if they were shut into a box whose top is ajar but still won't come free. Waiting it out seemed better than to struggle. Indeed, by struggling he had opened the box and put himself inside!

Rain, Rain Go Away!

Pointy People driving through a deluge
16 June, 2011 | mixed media

I'm off on a  trip for a couple of days. See you again soon!

Finishing Things

In graduate school, I had a sculpture professor who made it clear to me that I needed to finish things. Somehow from there on I started a habit of trying to bring drawings to some sort of conclusion. I draw every day and it has become a discipline: finish something (anything!) each day.

I started a new sketchbook last weekend – but I'm still finishing paintings in the old one. Here are a few of those paintings: This painting with the storks on top of the house started out as a nice Crystal City drawing. It was very colorful but that was all. I did collage a big dark cloud above the building but still it sat there unfinished. So at some point, I added rain and then it got darker and darker. I'd had this thought that some birds would be a nice touch. So they flew in yesterday and I'm calling it "finished" – but it probably isn't. Or is it?

06-06-11a | mixed media

I just like this one below too much not to show it. I thought I'd add details to the orange area embracing the ocean in the top section of the painting. But I don't think it would make the painting any better. I guess it's a bit of a "Nocturne" --just a moody suggestive piece. I like the forest just below the palace. I reminds me of the magical gardens that the prince explores as he follows the Twelve Dancing Princesses as they go to their midnight rendezvous.

06-06-11b | mixed media

05-23-11a

Really folks, it's a doodle. The snake's car is powered by some nuclear rock in the back of his contraption. I draw a lot of these, often as I watch a baseball game on television. It's just the right amount of distraction to produce good flow and I try not to get too attached to the results. Later on I tighten things up, add some watercolor or charcoal and call it a wrap. It's just one of the things I do.