Beach waves surprises!

After I finish a piece, I spend some time living with it. To make sure I am really done. In that time, I am assessing how it makes me feel. This painting feels light and calm, interesting, and inviting to me. It feels good to me. I am happy with that. Then I found a plus factor I had nothing to do with. I turned off the lights one night before going to bed, and the painting seemed to take on a life of its own. It glowed in the dark. The light that makes me feel good during the day lives on in the night. No glow paint was applied! It is so amazing, the unexpected. I hope you like this too.

My process is so much in the moment that I need to write down the palette of colors to remember them, but I think in this painting it's the different blues and blue-greens against the light of rolling sea foam with soft, gentle definition of shape in that moving water. The sky blue in front of the middle wave is bold and enhances that contrast. In the sky, I was looking to pull you in and keep you there! I love for the viewer to wander all around and not want to leave.

I have a new piece that I will post about very soon. It has been very busy since Hurricane Ian, and we look forward to unobstructed time to paint. Feel free to leave a comment or let me know what you're interested in. I'd love to hear from you. To be continued...

why that and what were you thinking

"Boardwalk" This painting is of the boardwalk at Echo Park in Cape Coral Florida. I frequent this Mangrove echosystem along the Caloosahatchee river to get my fill of light play and shadows filtering through to the walkway. It has intrigued me for quite some time. I recently visited after Hurricane Ian to see if it survived. I am happy to say it did, with a few bumps and bruises though.

Below find the condition this park is in now after Hurricane Ian. The sky is open where there was canopy. The boardwalk made it pretty well. Amidst the destruction, life goes about its business of staying alive. I was happy to see tracks in the mud.

The evolution of this painting was so fun. Originally, I really wanted to play with the light filtering through the mangrove trees onto the boardwalk. But the more I studied the photos I took, the more I realized all the wonderful details that deserve my attention. So I played with the light and shadow on the walkway until I was satisfied with the shape and colors. blended different blues and muted blues and greens. Popping with warm hint of yellow white in the highlight sun spots. Then there were the mangrove trees. There are a multitude of them. The detail of the shadows cast across limbs adds to the richness and density. The bushes and leaves I did loosely, as I felt there was enough tight detail in the trees. I also felt it needed an open space, so I added the light between the trees to the back right. It was a lush ecosystem, and I know it will come back. Hurricane Ian actually cleared out so much that it will allow many more plants to grow in the light. Nature always wins. I think I will do a series of boardwalks. What do you think?

These images are part of the evolution of the painting Boardwalk coming together.

I will end with my own quote! "Forget about fear; remember gesso is your best friend!" So go for it, whatever it is. Sometimes we get in our own way and stop ourselves from starting. Don't let that happen to you.

I will end with to be continued..... talk with you soon!

So what is Art to me and where did it start for me!

Horses: I fell head over heels in love with horses when I was 5 years old. I met them when I attended a summer camp in Ohio, where I grew up as a child. From that moment on, we were kindred spirits. I would come home from camp each night and ache to go back and see them. So I started drawing them as soon as I got home. That started my journey into art. I must try to replicate that to which I am so drawn. It was that simple. Practice makes for rapid improvement! I am forever grateful and always in awe of these special creatures.

I continued drawing, but I had breaks as I was a kid and did not live at the day camp as much as I would have liked to. I improved my skills drawing throughout my younger years. I always seemed to find something I was interested with in nature. Animals or places like fields and woods in the area I would draw. It was exciting to me to figure out charcoal and different mediums. How to shade and the like. I mainly stayed with pencil, charcoal and pen and ink.

So then, welcome to my teenage years. That is when art for me really came alive. I was into rock and roll and loved music. Well, what else am I going to draw? Jimi Hendrix, of course! I had many hours of practice with my favorite musicians. By this time, I was living in California with my dad. God bless him; he was so indulgent with me. I had Neil Young drawn in pencil on one wall. Life size with guitar, Yes's Topographic Oceans LP cover on the other wall. I drew all the time and experimented with watercolors and different mediums. My friends would ask me to draw on their walls at parties. Boy, did I piss off some parents. It felt like the Renaissance era. Southern California was great in the 1970s.

I always thought I would be doing art in what ever kind of work I ended up doing. It was just so natural for me. At 18 years old, you don't quite know how it all works yet. My dad was like, "You need to get a job or go to college." So I applied for and was accepted into the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Now that was a great time. I call that my Toulouse-Lautrec experience. I spent more time at the bar across the street! But I did not waste that time. I took my sketch pad with me and got lots of practice with quick sketches of people playing pool, drawing the fascinating faces of patrons in their groups around the bar. I can see why artists hang out there. I learned so much and developed hand-eye coordination to draw what I saw quickly and accurately. Now as far as classes, my favorite was anatomy drawing with models and sculpture. I did not complete my studies at Ringling. I was not disciplined enough at that age. I respected my dad too much to waste his money. As much as I can say I regret that decision, I also say I have made my choices, I have found a deeper respect for myself, and I have proven I have the discipline to learn on my own.

Here are a few items from my sketchpad from the bar across the street from Ringling!

The sculpture was my very first attempt at a figure. The class instruction was only to get a feel for form and anatomy with no details, so I had a hard time following instructions. I had to have details. The teacher loved it! Sorry for the old Polaroid; it has seen better days.

What does art do for you? I have much more about my life later, I would like to know what you would like me to talk about. Please feel free to engage and comment.

I end always like this, until next time, to be continued....