Midnight Fiesta

The title of a painting just comes to me often with no effort. When I finished this one I immediately was reminded of the colorful clothing of the members of a mariachi band. The painting is saved from being too colorful by the neutral textured vase and the dark background but still has enough color to be quite lvely.

One Steo Ahead

There was a book written several years ago titled Love in the Time of Cholera. Well , painting now seems to be Art in the time of Corona. Some artists are  saying they are having a difficult time getting started painting right now. They feel unsettled and uneasy.I feel that too but I find that painting eases those feeling. Two hours of painting allows me to escape all the worries of the world for a time. Good Therapy!

Blues Club

I had done an earlier version of this painting. It was fine but something about it wasn’t quite right
to me.It took me a long time to figure it out. It was the background ; which I had painted a golden color. I realized what it needed was a little more drama so I gave it a dark background and it made all the difference. It spoke to me; I finally listened.

Make a Deal

There are many color schemes to choose from for a painting. For this one I started with a primary colr scheme and added onto that.Because of all the bright colors I felt that a soft neutral was important in the foreground. Another bright color would have really jangled the nerves of the viewer. The soft beige of the table is just right to make the bright colors pop.

On The Horizon

When painting objects that are similar there are certain things that need to be done to make the painting more interesting.These zinnias are similar size and shape so one way to vary them is in change of color. Some are darker and lighter red and a few are white for contrast.
Another way to add interest is to make the bucket very different from the zinnias. The color and texture of the bucket contrasts with the flowers.

Higher Love

I think the thing that makes this painting work so well is the dark background. It gives the painting a certain drama that makes the flowers pop. The flowers would work as well with a light background but would have a totally different feel to it.

Don’t Stand so Close to Me

In 1980 The Police came out with a son that had a lyric tha said “Don't stand so close to me”. In these days of social isolation it is relevant. When I see a tv show where people are shaking hands or standing in crowds it causes me to cringe. I don’t think we will go back to hand shaking! These flowers are certainly close together in a crowd; although maybe they are in the same family so it may be perfectly acceptable.

Mark My Words

This painting started from a look at a photograph and a germ of an idea in my head. The end result ended up looking nothing like either one, but that is okay. If it was so easy I would be bored instead of being tortured every time I am working on a painting. I go back and forth between love and hate; pride and self doubt every time I paint. Eventually I get to a place where I am pretty satisfied with the result. That is what happens when art is still made by a human and not a machine!