Survey

Survey
24 " x 24" (overall)
Mixed media on board

I feel this is one of the more successful paintings of the year. You can see the faint outline of the individual 12"x12" panels which make up the overall 24" x 24" piece. I tried to make each individual panel interesting on its own while relating to the whole.

I like the billowing smoke plumes arising on the lower left panel. The airplanes were troubling to paint, I'll never look up at an airplane the same way again (that is, without studying its form!). It contains a lot of recurring themes throughout this years work: smoke, fire, vintage black and white scraps, war, flora.

I've shown this piece a couple of times this year. I usually hide it in the back of the rest of my paintings because I don't want anyone to buy it, but, if someone came along and loved it I'd be happy to part with it - such sweet sorrow.

Some Body

Some Body
20" x 20"
Mixed media on panel

The other day I had tremendous anxiety about driving. I felt like an accident was going to occur and I would be a participant. Would I cause it? Would someone run into me? Every moving vehicle seemed a threat. After fifteen minutes of letting my mind race I remembered I was doing this painting..

I think this is the third time I've painted a car accident or a car in some state of disrepair. There was the broken down rusted vehicle in the forest a few months ago and then one last year that sold.

When paintings sell I always wonder how they're doing out in the world. I wonder how they're doing on people's walls, how people respond to them. I wonder if they're decorative or if people stop and ponder their content? I want my paintings to have a sense of mystery about them, some drama (dramatic mystery?). I use to want to be very direct and to the point but I'm not interested in that anymore.

Friction

Friction

12" x 12"
Mixed media on board

In honor of the gay pride festivities of which I unfortunately did not attend this year.

My Loose Thread

My Loose Thread
12" x 12"
Mixed media on board

The title of this painting came from a Dennis Cooper novel.

What I love most about this painting is the upper right area, the strange marks, drips, scratches of paint, covered in a soft white..

Deconstruction Times

Deconstruction Times
12" x 12"
Mixed media on board

Ever feel like you're being ripped apart?

Tricycle for Shannon

Tricycle for Shannon
12" x 12"
Mixed media on board

Some back story on this painting.

I hit a dry spell recently and couldn’t figure out what to paint. I was banging my head up against the wall. I hate these moments; it’s as if the whole world becomes some gray drab slate and every brush stroke against a surface becomes a moot point. Then, I looked up from bed (I was effectively coping with the dry spell by laying in the dark) and when I looked up from the bed I saw Shannon's painting of a tricycle!

I immediately sent her a message and asked if it was okay to co-op her tricycle? I always loved the story of the tricycle so thought it would be fun to reinterpret. I was expecting offense but luckily she was more than okay with the idea. Above is the result of said interpretation.

A buyer at the street gallery bought one of Shannon's tricycles. Of mine, she said it was “too dark”. A common theme which I wonder if I will escape?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's still raining in lovely Portland, Oregon. I wonder if some kind of record is afoot? With the continuing rain the street gallery was a no-go last week. I was disappointed when I came to the realization that I wouldn't be attending this month but was glad not to be in the thick of the heavy rain that began to fall in the evening.

Laughing Jackass
12x12
Mixed Media on board

I was originally attracted to this image of a bird because it looks like some kind of angry, stout seagull. I like seagulls, and crows for that matter, because they're scrappy little scavengers by nature (human element?). This bird's a Laughing Jackass. When I look at it now I feel like it's smart beyond its status as bird, that its furrowed brow relays some kind of provoked rage or hostility towards its immediate surroundings or maybe the world at large..

May Showers Bring June Flowers

Excerpt From a Painting by Francis Bacon
12 x 12
Mixed Media on board

The month of May was doomed to rain. This is typical in Portland which I think of as overcast and rainy nine months of the year. While the normal spring-jingle goes "April showers bring May flowers" it can be sang in Portland that "May showers bring June flowers".

Tomorrow is the monthly street gallery I participate at with a friend but the forecast calls for rain. I'm crossing my fingers that June is not doomed to rain as May was.

The painting above seemed fitting for an entry such as this. It was one of the 50 Project I did exploring a limited palette. I had a lot of fun doing this painting and I think it was completed in the span of 45 minutes. Sometimes the universe gives you one (just as it takes one away).

Moody Broody

Last week I was turned down for a showing because the general tone of my paintings is too dark. I expect this, I mean, they are pretty "dark". I don't know about too, but they are dark. I wish there was another word for dark? I was watching a film the other day and I heard the quip "moody broody" and I like it! Anyway, this series of paintings does not belong in an ice cream shop or the like. I'm not sure where they belong.

1,000 Dreams on Fire
12" x 12"
Mixed media on board

Most Accidents Occur At Home
12" x 12"
Mixed media on board

The rejection of the black and whites has given me the perfect opportunity to explore another series I've stumbled on.. ..but I don't foresee my foray into the black and whites ending anytime soon!