Done with a sort of squegee technique that Gerhard Richter is known for, with some of my own style interpretation.
28 x 22 inches acrylic on canvas.
10.28.2017
9.23.2017
Nylon Transition
Meant to be a gradual transition from loops to something else.
Acrylic on 11 x 14 inch wood panel
Washington Mountain Scene #2
Another Washington state scene done in an impressionist style.
18 x 36 inches acrylic on canvas
3.07.2017
Washington Mountain Scene
A mountain scene painted for friends at GearTerra.com.
48 x 36 inches in oil on 1.5 inch thick canvas.
Ray Dunlap Artist
Tribute to a friend and his way with words. Artist Ray Dunlap.
About 9 x 12 inches on board. Mixed media - acrylic, wood, paper, and ink.
About 9 x 12 inches on board. Mixed media - acrylic, wood, paper, and ink.
Star Flow COD4
"COD" style made with adding dots to contrast with the flow patterns.
About 12 x 18 inches on canvas board. Acrylic.
About 12 x 18 inches on canvas board. Acrylic.
Swirls
I set up a checkerboard type pattern and in each space I swirled 2-3 different colors with the end of a paintbrush. Unfortunately I didn't get a very good photo of this before I sent it to a friend in Houston. The photo is slightly tilted as you can see.
About 18 x 24 inches on 1.5 inch thick canvas. Acrylic.
About 18 x 24 inches on 1.5 inch thick canvas. Acrylic.
4.11.2016
The art (or lack thereof) in spontaneity
I was just thinking tonight about what makes a great painting, and thinking about all the contemporary art I see these days. There are so many artists that think great art is made by just slopping paint in all directions, filling up the canvas. And in the early stages of learning, I think that's a typical approach (speaking as one who's never been to art school). And it makes sense...often it's just great to see how different colors react to eachother, and to see how the paint flows or drips. We become convinced that we have developed an artists spontaneity and an eye for great art. In fact, we often become attached to our own creations.
I certainly followed this path for many paintings. More than I want to admit. But to continue to progress in talent, an artist has to objectively evaluate their paintings alongside the many thousands of paintings out there online and everywhere else they exist. If we're very honest with ourselves, so many of those abstract techniques have been done many, many times before. Drip paintings (in the Pollock style), flow paintings, basic brush stroke paintings, geometric paintings,...they're everywhere. Are your paintings really demonstrating anything new or interesting? Do they at least follow some basic principles of design, or are they literally just slapped on paint in all directions?
I think real spontaneity, and the kind that looks organic, is very hard to do. As soon as we put the first brushstroke down on the canvas, or the first shape (however it's created), our minds start to fall into old patterns and techniques. I sometimes think abstracts can be done better by a machine or a blind person who is not influenced with what already exists on the canvas. As for me nowadays, I think an artist who is progressing is intentionally trying new approaches and new techniques, often. And willing to really seek out critical feedback. Ask yourself what you bring uniquely to your craft. Maybe you haven't hit that point yet, but the artists I appreciate are those who are always striving for innovation and creativity.
I certainly followed this path for many paintings. More than I want to admit. But to continue to progress in talent, an artist has to objectively evaluate their paintings alongside the many thousands of paintings out there online and everywhere else they exist. If we're very honest with ourselves, so many of those abstract techniques have been done many, many times before. Drip paintings (in the Pollock style), flow paintings, basic brush stroke paintings, geometric paintings,...they're everywhere. Are your paintings really demonstrating anything new or interesting? Do they at least follow some basic principles of design, or are they literally just slapped on paint in all directions?
I think real spontaneity, and the kind that looks organic, is very hard to do. As soon as we put the first brushstroke down on the canvas, or the first shape (however it's created), our minds start to fall into old patterns and techniques. I sometimes think abstracts can be done better by a machine or a blind person who is not influenced with what already exists on the canvas. As for me nowadays, I think an artist who is progressing is intentionally trying new approaches and new techniques, often. And willing to really seek out critical feedback. Ask yourself what you bring uniquely to your craft. Maybe you haven't hit that point yet, but the artists I appreciate are those who are always striving for innovation and creativity.
4.09.2016
I don't like the color black.
Here's a bit of a disclaimer. I'm not an expert at color but I am definitely finding that the differnce between an amateur painting and a more professional one must definitely include attention to details like color. Now to the point... I don't like using black. I don't see the color in nature very much and so when I use black in a painting, it looks un-natural. It's like a shortcut color to get a dark value effect on a painting. But I think it's a bit too much of a shortcut, especially for landscapes. Even the night sky is not really true black but perhaps more of a very dark blue + brown. Paintings with deep blues and deep browns feel richer and more interesting to me. That said, I don't doubt the power of grays. It think a master painter will typically be a master of using gray. It provides those subtle variations that really are in nature but are difficult to observe.
3.21.2016
Le lieu de peche
New abstract art piece created by combining many of the elements from previous paintings, such as circles, dots, lines, and scratching through the paint.
48 x 24 x 1.5 inches oil on canvas.
1.13.2016
Untitled 3 January 2016
Here's the first start at a move to get back to color mixing type of abstract. I see a lot of this kind of art but I want to add in some of my own techniques to create interesting shapes during the mixing process as well as afterwards, adding in some shapes and modifications after paint has dried.
12.13.2015
Yang Hyang in Korea
My wife, from a photo when we were dating in Korea, about 1992. Someone told me she doesn't look Asian in this photo, but she does have big round eyes in real life. 10 x 10 watercolor on watercolor paper
11.12.2015
Kathe Kollwitz
12 x 12 inches oil on canvas board
9.28.2015
Shackleton portrait
Re-Ionization
A colorful abstract roughly based on the color change new galaxies undergo early in their formation. This painting won the "Most Creative" award at the Silicon Valley Food and Art Show in 2015. 30 x 40 inches oil on canvas. $750
Castle Mespelbrunn #2
2nd painting of Mespelbrunn I've done. This is watercolor, 12 x 9 inches, on watercolor paper.
Survivor, Researcher
Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi war criminal hunter. In an interview someone asked him if he
considered himself an Historian (after having written a number of books)... He
said no, he's more of a Researcher. In a
speech he asked that people not consider him a Hero.... Rather, he said, every
day of his life after WWII he has considered himself just a Survivor who could
not let the victims down. He had to
search for justice for the victims. 12 x
12 inches, oil on canvas panel.
Overcome
Image painted based on a B&W photo of a soldier overcome by the reality of a Nazi concentration / death camp at the end of WWII. 12 x 9 inches watercolor on watercolor paper.
Davenport
A new kind of style I'm pursuing using circles to create an impressionist piece.
20 x 16 inches oil on canvas
1.22.2015
Flower Pot Asbstract
11.26.2014
Fossils
This one is 18 x 24 inches. I worked it over many times to get it to a point where I was satisfied with it. Now I really like it and want to pursue more like this one.
oil on canvas
Towns
This reminds me of towns people construct over a rough landscape.
16 x 20 inches oil on canvas.
Cappucino Abstract #3 "Fissure"
This is an experiment in using acrylic paint and mixing it on the canvas. But the final layers were washed off with a garden hose. That makes a sort of unique texture you don't normally see.
16 x 20 inches acrylic on canvas.
11.20.2014
Battle of the Somme
Scene from the Battle of the Somme documentary. The battle lasted over 4 months and resulted in over a million killed or wounded.
36 x 48 inches, oil on canvas.
10.27.2014
10.24.2014
Cappucino abstract #2
This is the 2nd in a series of 3 very different abstracts that I made with a few shades of brown and tan. I felt like Jackson Pollock while doing this one!
16 x 20 inches acrylic on canvas.
Hold That Thought
As the world is moving around us we capture little pieces of what we see, hear, smell, feel in our memories.
28 x 22 oil on canvas. Sold
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