Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Adding my own twist to an old story........

             

Inspiration sometimes takes me to unexpected places. As an agnostic who was raised an atheist I never expected to suddenly have a image of Adam and Eve pop in my head, insisting on being painted! How do I paint a biblical image that has nothing much to do with the usual classical interpretation? Well I just except it....... I strive in this image to not only be true to my inspiration but also to respect the religious and historical significance of the subject. Did I mention this is HARD!  Stay tuned for later updates on my progress...we will see if I can pull this off!


  Here is the drawing I started the painting with.



Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Finding Inspiration in everyday life




       I never know when inspiration will grab me. Sometimes I just look at something, in a store, during a hike and.... boom, there go's my mind. What starts as a tumble on free associated images gradually congeals into a image.  Sometimes it's a landscape sometimes a character.   Then there are the big ones......the times when an entire painting arrives in my minds eye. I have at times needed to stop what I am doing and sit quietly for a few minutes until the image is completely gelled in my brain, I once had to pull over and stop driving. After that the image in my head will "bug" me until I draw it. After that starts a process where through small and sometimes large changes this initial inspiration becomes a painting.

Monday, February 20, 2017

Painting my grief



  Sometimes global events really get to me. One day I sat down at my easel preparing to start my afternoon painting session, when the BBC informed me of the latest atrocities preformed by ISIS and the extinction of the Northern White Rhino.  I felt overwhelmed with grief and my helplessness to do anything about this. From my feelings sprang the beginning of this painting.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Laluzapalooza 2017






















I am pleased to announce that three of my pieces have been included in this year's Laluzapalooza show at La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles California.    http://laluzdejesus.com/laluzapalooza-2017/         The show runs from March 3erd to April 2and.

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Whole World is a Tiger




Apex predators are the top predator in a particular ecosystem. When humanity removes that predator devastating changes can take place in that ecosystem. Humans saw this clearly when wolves where reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. The elk population was kept in check, which changed the tree and shrub mix, which changed the environment for fish, birds and insects.There are so many unintended consequences to our a actions we can’t even imagine. We must tread very carefully on our natural world.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

One of my latest works



This is one of the last paintings I finished in 2016. I call it "The Thief", its a fun painting about a god like creature who finds a hidden universe and steals one of the planets. I can't be serious all the time, sometimes I just have to have a little fun. Often I feel like I am illustrating a book that hasn't been written yet.   The Thief is acrylic on panel 16"x20".