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| Abstract 19 |
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| Boundaries |
My goal for this painting was to use the warmer side of the color wheel with blue through yellow only. This required that the blue and yellow would not be used where they could blend to green. I wanted the main focal area to be a light area on the lower left with secondary areas in the upper left and upper right. I added the lines to set "boundaries" between close colors and values and to provide suggestions of movement.
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| Structures 4 |
My goal in this painting was to create a point of interest in the upper left with bright yellow and to have that area supported by shades of yellow, green, and blue. I added the lines for definition and to create movement.
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| Quiet Patterns |
This painting developed into the idea of the focal area on the lower left with repeating colors and values leading to the lower right and then to the upper right. With my decision to keep the composition quiet, I chose a palette that eliminated all the red and lavender pigments so the all I am using is azo yellow, Prussian blue, and phthalo green with white.
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| Object |
The idea I wanted to explore in this small work was the presence in a completely nonrepresentational painting of one, clearly defined object. Naturally the object would be the center of interest, but I wanted the other features of value, color, and line to create movement and interest within this context.
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| Structures 2 |
The concept I wanted to explore in this painting was the evolution of color, form, and line beginning with yellow in the upper left and quinacridone rose in the upper right. I wanted an area in the upper right quadrant to be the focal point and sketched in a few lines to guide the forms. As I added prussian blue and white to the mix and extended the red/lavender, these forms and transitions evolved.
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| Structures 1 |
In this painting, I wanted to work with the transitions between yellow through green to blue and do it in a way that looked like a progressing between structures. I wanted the vertical shapes with to suggest something solid but organic in form.
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| Patterns 6 |
My goal in this painting was to experiment with blue and yellow as they combine to make green. I wanted to show a pattern of blocky shapes rising from the lower left and becoming more clearly defined and edged as it rose to the upper right.
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| Structures 1 Acrylic |
My goal in this small "daily" painting was to experiment with Lucas Pasto acrylic to create texture. On top of the texture, I added standard acrylic for color. As the painting developed, colors seemed to fold one into another giving the painting "structure." I added the lines to separate and add distinction to the color areas. The idea was to draw the eye to the upper right where it could rest in the dark red and then to the left to circle the painting.
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| Experiments 1 |
Something entirely new for me - experimenting with Lucas Pasto heavy acrylics to add "dimension" to the flat surface. Set the design and colors with Lucas and went back with standard acrylics to refine the composition and colors.
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| Acrylic Patterns 1 |
My focal area was to be the two rectangles in the lower left - one is blue the other a light blue violet. From that I wanted the four quadrants to radiate out with the blue on the left, green on the right. I used the acrylic because it dies quickly and can work to overpaint in areas and to deepen the saturation.
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| Patterns 22 07 05 |
I did this small abstract with a goal of expressing a sense of calm and a feeling of contentment, but I also wanted to create a composition that held a strong focus and encouraged movement and a little tension. I limited my palette to yellow, blue, and purple, with a touch of phthalo green and white. I would like the viewers to create their own story in this painting.
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| Curtain Patterns |
My objective in this painting was to build around a focal area in the lower right with two bright pure colors - blue and yellow. I wanted then to build the composition from that with other primaries and combinations. Stroke by stroke the curtain of color evolved, and I added some ink lines to draw the composition together.
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| Patterns - 6/27/22 |
In this study, I experimented with using areas of contrast in color and value to create a pleasing composition that brought the attention and interest to my focal area. The format is small enough that I could experiment, and after a number of iterations, I found that amorphous forms with lines worked to create interest and bring focus.
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| Patterns 06 23 2022 |
My initial goal for this painting was to have a focal area in the lower left that as either light lavender or light green with purple and green on the sides coming together at the bottom. I worked on this idea, and though I liked the color, the result was not quite right. My wife suggested I turn it upside down, and it came together. Sometimes it's the simple things that help.
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| Pattern 22 06 19 |
My goal in this small abstract was to use basically "soft" colors and mostly soft lines with no ink line support. I wanted to see if the "no lines" abstract would stand on its own.
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| Abstract #21 |
This is number 21 in a series of 20 because number 19 was a disaster.
My goal in this painting was to create interest and movement with warm colors and contrasting shapes and values. I chose blue to purple for the upper left and light yellow in the lower right blending into warmer orange and red moving upward and to the left. I had to add the touch of green to keep things honest.
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| Abstract #20 |
This is number 20 in a series of 20 small abstract paintings. My goal in this painting was to dominate the composition with lighter, cooler colors and values. My initial intention was to use the mauve form in the lower left as the focal point, but I darkened it's value in order to make the light yellow green of the center of the composition the primary focal area.
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| Abstract #18 |
Number 18 in a series of 20 - My goal when I started this painting was to use light and pure colors of yellow, green, and turquoise in broad, unblended organic shapes. I deliberately avoided straight lines and edges in the borders between colors and in the ink lines. I had planned to use more opaque gouache with white to build up the colors and make contrasts and values more intense, but the original transparent wash was so soft and delicate that I chose to stop here.
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| Abstract #17 |
When I started this series of abstract paintings in gouache, I had initially thrown my first painting aside. After taking another look I added some pen-work to the painting, and it came alive. So I had to renumber my series, and in doing so, I realized that the original #3, this painting, needed the same kind of revision. That allowed me to renumber the "old #3" as the "new #17."
The original concept here was to use blue and its complement orange to create composition around the colors yellow, red, and purple. The later addition of more lines and separation keeps the composition from becoming lost in its own complexity.
Morning in the Dunes Acrylic on canvas panel 8x10 Behind the beach at Talbot Island, the dunes march away one behind the other. No clear pa...
