Opposite Charlie - 2012

Here is a closer look at Opposite Charlie. Charlie didn't start out as a figurative representation. Rather, it started out as an exercise in the utilization of opposing curves. Thus the name. I ran into some lines that were overlapping in ways I didn't think would work aesthetically, so I turned them into a solid shape, which then became what appears to be Charlie's hair do. I want to continue exploring the possibilities with the opposing curves. I think there is a lot of potential there, even if they don't end up the way Charlie did. When Charlie comes home, I want him to hang next to Greg's Velvet Elvis. I think the two will hit it off famously. :)

Forest For The Trees - With Artist

Here is a shot of the beautiful print and mount of the Forest For The Trees image. I absolutely love the aluminum frame. Notice how it looks like it's floating on the wall. Next year, I plan to print the 2nd FFTT image. It will be the same dimension, except it will be in a landscape orientation. The two images together will make a nice presentation on the wall of my office area in the basement of the Seward County Administration Building.

Playful Poodle - 2012

When I was young, Mom had me in piano lessons. I hated it, because I was a pretty typical kid. I didn't want to play the piano. I wanted to go outside and ride my bike. I'm sure it was hard for mom, because she had to constantly get after me to practice the recommended amount of time. Needless to say, my piano playing career didn't last very long. However I did last long enough to play in one recital. I had 2 songs that I played. To this day, I remember, not only the name of the first song, but I can still play it from start to finish. The name of the song was Playful Poodle. As I was photographing this painting today, I had an idea that I would immortalize that song by giving this painting the same name.

Synthetic Storm III - The Elephant In The Room - 2012

I should have posted this one first, because I started this one first. This is the 3rd, and most likely, the last in the series of Synthetic Storm images.

The Protagonist - 2012

This painting was a very spontaneous creation. I began by tracing my hand in the upper left portion of the canvas. I then just built the design from there. Very enjoyable experience. Spontaneous creations are definitely a positive experience. I have received some pretty positive feedback on this one.

Dora My Dora - 2012

This painting was inspired by Pablo's portrait of Dora Maar. At first, I had some trouble with this image. Not the figure, but the room in the background. So I did some adjustments, and felt pretty good with the fix.

Dancing In The Moonlight

This painting created itself. It is early August, and I am really anxious to start the Fall semester. I am excited to begin a new set of paintings. I am wanting to explore the non-representational abstract style.

This one is titled Dancing In The Moonlight - 2012

Fear Nymph

Here is my first effort for the summer 2012. I started with a plan to NOT plan the design, but rather to let the design create itself. I planned to do this by starting with a random mark on the canvas, and then just kind of build it out from there. As I finished the underpainting, I was not very confident that anything would come of this effort. However, I am pleasantly surprised to be rather happy with the finished painting.

Print 2/2

Here is a capture of print 2/2 of Turbines And Fog - 2010. This image will never be printed again in this size. 18 1/2 X 36. However, if you would like a print, I would be willing to start a new series, and round the measurements up to 20 X 40. I would be willing to print 25 of those. These prints will be framed differently however, but I think you will really enjoy them. I am going to print and frame them using a printing company out of Greeley, Colorado. They have a cool framing process, using what they call Alumiplaq. The name describes the materials. The frame is made entirely of aluminum, and there is no glass. The print is adhered to the aluminum, and then coated with a varnish, to protect the art.

When I am dead and gone, and I am considered an internationally renowned artist, these prints will be worth a billion, kagillion, schmedulakachilion .... dollars (evil grin). So be sure and get them while they last. Again, there will only be 25 of them. :)

Zag

This is the last painting from the Spring 2012 semester at Seward County Community College with Susan Copas. Zag is the alter ego that helps me define the vision behind my art.

Playful Partisans

It's an election year, so I thought I would paint something in honor of our great American political process.

Synthetic Storm II - Playful Partisans

Synthetic Storm

The purpose of my painting is not to match the couch. Rather, the purpose is to start a conversation. The length of the conversation is a yardstick to its significance. A good painting creates a long conversation. A great painting also creates a long conversation, well into the future.

Bob And Betty

I made a few last minute tweaks to my Bob And Betty. Here is the final iteration :)

New Kansas Images

Here are a few new Kansas images. :)

New Art

Some new art images. Bob & Betty is my new painting. :)

New Art Activities & Expressions

There has been a little bit of activity in the past several months since my last post.

First, I entered the following images for the 14th National Juried Art Exhibition at Baker Arts Center, in Liberal, Kansas.

 

Neither of them were chosen for display in the show. Being rejected was actually a good experience for me. Show me a successful artist, and I will show you a stack of rejection letters. Once you are able to truly comprehend the concept that art is a truly subjective effort, then you realize that rejection letters are just a part of the process. I personally think these two images would have printed and displayed quite nicely. The juror may have even agreed. However, she most likely thought the ones she chose will display even better.

It's ok with me, because I create my images for me first. If others like them, all the better. But the bottom line is, they have to be pleasing to me first.

2. I was honored to meet the great crop artist Stan Herd, when he installed, with the help of our great maintenance crew, one of his murals in Seward County's Administration Building. It was great to meet Stan. A very down to earth (no pun intended) man. A man who does not place himself above the others in the room. He is truly an inspirational artist, and fellow human being. Seward County will have the ribbon cutting ceremony for the mural install very soon.

3. I was recently given the opportunity to apply, and interview for the position of Member, on the Board of Directors, at Baker Arts Center. It was an honor to be presented with the opportunity. I enjoyed meeting the other board members, and the new Executive Director, Mike Brack, during the interview. They apparently liked me too, as they offered me the position, and I accepted. I am looking forward to learning the art world from the perspective of the art center, as opposed to artist or patron. It will be a great experience for me, and I am excited to begin the work.

Mike's appointment was published in the local newspaper, and I was very happy to read about all of the exciting new ideas he has in an effort to re-energize interest in the art center within the community. I too agree, that perceptions need to be updated to get the community more involved in the local art scene. I will be very supportive of his efforts as we move forward.

http://www.bakerartscenter.org/

4. Mary and I recently made a trip to Denver. We wanted to visit our daughter Amanda and her fiance Jen. It was a wonderful visit. We also had a nice lunch with my Dad, and Step-Mom. During our weekend visit, we took a trip downtown to take in the Clyfford Still museum. Clyfford Still is one of the pioneers of the Abstract Expressionist movement in painting. His work was one of the biggest influences in that movement.

http://clyffordstillmuseum.org

The museum is very nice, spacious, well organized, and the work and life of the artist is covered very comprehensively, with interactive digital displays on the history of the artist. The paintings were absolutely breathtaking. They were displayed very nicely, with no, or very little framing. In fact, it was really nice to be able to walk up close to the painting, and be able to see the raw canvas behind the paint. Wow. I did notice the security folks were keeping a close watch on me, as I was very close to the paintings, but was careful not to touch.

http://blogs.findlaw.com/legally_weird/2012/01/woman-rubs-butt-tries-to-urinate-on-30m-museum-painting.html

As you can see, the security is definitely watching out for weirdos like this one.

5. Also during our visit to Denver, I took some time to capture the downtown Denver skyline. Here are a few examples.

One of the great things I love about digital art, is that no one image is ever static. I can do and re-do these images any way I see fit. I absolutely love that. When you shoot in camera raw, your original image is always there, for you to start over with another creation in mind. These examples show one twisted image, one straight color, and one straight black and white. Well, actually, the color was manipulated a little. I changed the color of the sky. I absolutely love how the colors just pop though.

6. One last thing to share. I have recently taken up painting with oil on canvas. I enrolled in the Oil Painting I class at the community college in Liberal, and am very glad I did. Susan Copas is the art professor, and I am very happy with her instruction. She is very good, not only with her art, but also in how she approaches the art student. Teaching an art class is difficult, because as I mentioned before, art is a very subjective thing, and one must be very mindful of that when teaching. I have learned so much from Susan just in one half of a semester. Form, line, color, composition, color, color, and more color. I am looking forward to learning more. When I think about painting, I kick myself for not discovering this very therapeutic activity sooner. But I am also reminded, that I have plenty of time left to enjoy the process of learning that craft. Here is an image of the still life project in our class. Ha ha ... not bad for a first effort. Also, not bad, considering my interests in painting lean more toward the abstract. Surprised?