Seasonal
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Tuesday, August 1st, 2006
Stony Swamp Trail, Ottawa, Ontario Canada, Paper Places series, 14 x 11 inches oil pastels on paper with 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish. The series inspired the accompanying poem:
It remains
when things are gone
and people passed
and roads
and paths
and places
we belong
to the essence.
Intuitive response to subject matter impart individual character to each piece, so styles are deliberately different.
Post-dated note: Stony Swamp Trail was accepted for The Artist Showplace Gallery’s Annual Juried Exhibition, February – March 2007.
January Thaw
Thursday, June 15th, 2006
January Thaw, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels, white double mat, brass title plate, 22H x 26W inches wide white frame with white crackle finish.
Willow branches, welcome bits of color during the January thaw, a seasonal expectation in eastern Ontario, when temperatures hover around 0*C. After a period of 1-2 weeks temperatures can dip to -40*C, and the most intense, unpredictable part of winter begins.
The Evolution of January Thaw – a painting is more than the sum of its parts. It transformed dramatically while conversing with other Artists and their critiques on a popular online Artists’ website.
“When I am painting I have no knowledge of what I am doing. Only after a moment of ‘returning consciousness’ do I become aware of what I have been doing. Then, however, I have no hesitation about making changes, or destroying images, because the painting has a life of its own. My mission is to bring forth this life”. Jackson Pollock
Calgary in September
Thursday, May 18th, 2006
Calgary in September, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish. Part of the Paper Places series.
Post-dated note: Won Second Place in the Paintings category in Plano Art Association’s annual One-Two-Five Show Exhibition in Plano, Texas April 11 – May 8, 2007. I think of pastels to be drawings because no brush is involved, but they are commonly categorized in competitions as paintings…heck, if it wins a prize, does it really matter?
Texas Paintbrush
Saturday, May 6th, 2006
Texas Paintbrush, Fort Worth, Texas, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, framed with 3 inch white double mat and white wood frame with crackle finish, total size 26H x 22W inches. Impressionistic style using soft, blended technique with the pastels, portrays the feeling of walking in a dry sandy field on a warm Spring day in northern Texas. Sold.
Southern Spring – Scurvy Pea
Friday, May 5th, 2006
Southern Spring – Scurvy Peas, Grapevine, Texas USA. During April, chubby spikes of deep red and red-brown clover-like herbs called Scurvy Pea sweep across dry fallow fields and roadsides in the southern United States (Genus Psoralia cuspidata), 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, framed with 3 inch white double mat and white wood frame with crackle finish, total size 26H x 22W inches. 3 days of sculpting; oil pastels were applied, removed, reapplied and reworked. Sold.
Goldenrod
Sunday, April 23rd, 2006
Goldenrod, late Summer in Southern Alberta, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.
This piece exemplifies the individuality of each in the Paper Places series; not attempting depth or realism so much here as playing with design, contrasting colors and texture.
Arkansas July 6:45 a.m.
Tuesday, April 18th, 2006
Hwy 30 through Arkansas, July 6:45 a.m.,14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, Paper Places series, 3-inch-wide white double mat, 26H x 22W inch white custom wood frame with crackle finish, sold.
Driving back to Texas on our annual 2 1/2 day trip to eastern Ontario, I enjoy being on the road before sunrise. On lengthy journeys it’s best to take advantage of every splendor along the way, then the trip doesn’t seem to take so long.
Gold In The Mountains 02
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
Gold In The Mountains 02, Kananaskas Valley, Alberta, Canada, 11H x 14W oil pastels on paper, 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.
Aspen / Poplar trees in the Rocky Mountains during Autumn display large yellow-gold leaf masses, represented here with strokes in a diagonal direction. Textures in varying directions add interest, as in tree trunks marked vertically across the entire page, grounding the drawing as a whole with regard to composition. The green-black portion displays the vertical growth of evergreens. Horizontal strokes were appropriate for the mountain, with the golden glow of distant poplars softening its nature and place it back in distance.
Bluebonnets – Four Abstracts
Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
Bluebonnets Abstracts, set of four 3 x 4 inches oil pastels studies on paper.
These studies are based on Springtime scenery along Beltline Road in Irving, Texas three years ago. The amazing fields of Bluebonnets are now replaced by a major housing and commercial development. I can say, ‘I was there when…’.
Bluebonnets 03
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006
Texas Bluebonnets, 16H x 12W inches dry pastels on charcoal paper, unframed, off-white mat.