This recently completed painting is the third in a series of seasonal backyard views at our house. All of the views are sunlit in the early morning. Comparing summer, winter and autumn shows the obvious changes in vegetation, but also variation in the angle of the sun (and shadows) through the year. Nearly ten years have passed between the painting of the winter view and the summer view. New growth and loss of trees are seen when comparing the paintings.
On one of my walks around a field not far from home I found a row of trees that used to be used for a fence. My guess is that the fence was abandoned at least fifty years ago. This is one of the trees. A bit of the fencing wire is still there. The tree is still growing.
This image titled “Vincero” is one of many I’ve made over the years of the daylilies in my own perennial garden. While it is not one of the photos featured in my new book “In The Style Of”, it has been processed in the same manner. Photographed against a dark background and edited slightly for contrast, then transferred to Photoshop where texture is added with blending modes.. The effort is meant to give a contemporary look to the style of the 16th and 17th Century floral painters.
This image is one of several from a recent online slide show on the gallery website. It is also in my new book: “In The Style Of” available in the fall of 2020. The images in this series are based on creating the look and “style” of the great 16th and 17th Century floral and botanical painters. Most featured dark backgrounds and textures as part of their work. My approach is to use contemporary editing and processing software to emulate, but not imitate the look of those early paintings in a more contemporary manner.
This painting is included in my collection: Form and Feeling. It was inspired by my desire to create a composition which contained only pure color or pure color plus black. In color theory these colors are called shades. This was a challenge as the painting would have an overall dark tone. However, the result is a striking painting with an assemblage of various shades of colors on a very deep blue-purple background. It is available for purchase on my website.
With relatives and friends in the Washington DC area, I can usually visit some of the museums there every two years or so. On our last visit, I discovered a huge display of orchids in the Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery. This cross stitch was designed from one of my photos taken there. Then the lattice work was created to enhance the orchid design.
This series is a continuation of several bodies of work created over the years in which I overlap several layers in different materials. As noted in some of the comments below, these layers have always been about protection.
This is the first collage painting in a series titled “At the Crossroad”. I was drawn to this form and after painting it for a while and realized it was a symbol for the personal difficulties I am having in making decisions and maintaining hope during this pandemic. It also represents my feelings about the critical juncture we are in as a country economically, environmentally, socially and politically. I am interested in how the orange brought in at the bottom, gives weight and complimentary with blue builds tension. I think this is a symbol I will work with for a while – simple and meaningful.
