Runway 30x12, Water's Edge 12x24

I had a request the other day for a "re-make" of an older painting I had done. They were worried that it wouldn't be an original if it were the same scene as the other.  Well, short of counting brush strokes and trying to copy them precisely, there is really no risk of that. I have made an awful lot of "similar" paintings over the years and each one has its own personality. Sometimes it is difficult to capture the essence of a scene the second time but that's the beauty and the frustration of oil painting as I do it. I paint with wet paint primarily so the serendipitous effect of paint mixing with paint on canvas leaves plenty of surprises even after all these pieces have rolled off the easel.  So, the creativity never wants for inspiration in these gnarled hands and squinty eyes. I will keep hammering at it as long as I have the breath of life and colorful joy keeps coming off the brushes glowing  like burning coal like it was written in my soul from me to you...tangled up in blue.

Trees & Clouds

The winter's lethargy and hubris finally succumbed to the animas' yearning. I ran today, first time in several weeks I've taken to the road.  I didn't quite make the full three-mile loop. Oh yeah, I could have but the fragrance of spring blossoms accenting and accentuating the sun's setting glow on the Santa Catalinas made my feet stop before my heart did.  Well, also I was trying to text as I jogged and my spoken words which referred to the flowers and the bees translated into saying something about the Bee Gees really making a lot of money. (Bees making honey) I'm guessing he got the idea.  If not, my messaged friend will be googling the Bees Gees to see if they're on a reunion tour. These new paintings are for sale here.

Rain Trails, Slice of Moon Slowly Setting, mitigated Sun

Well, the last two (of 4) just graduated. 20 plus years of home-schooling is now over. I told my dad that I was going to sell the house, send my wife to Mexico and travel around the country in an RV. He didn't get the joke. He thought it sounded like a good idea. I have since repeated it in my wife's hearing.  She didn't think the joke was funny. The kids heard it too. They got the joke, thought it was funny and...think it's a good idea! 
I'm sure I could paint on the road. Look for new pieces picturing hapless homeless, forlorn fathers and indigent adventurers.  These latest are for sale here on eBay.

A Nice Walk 24x6, The Long Way 8x

The long and tall of it.  These two newly minted works were not inspired by a recent foray into the great white north.  Three short days in Minnesota saw us driving in blinding snow, slipping through sloughs of  sleet and leaning into horizontal rain.  Eddie and I made a short trip to see his grandpa and we just happened to have to stop by the home of the original Jucy Lucy hamburger.  Eddie ate two and a small mountain of fries. They serve no ice there and, fame aside, had the most remarkably unremarkable hamburgers I've had in at least a fortnight.  Well, the void was filled and at the end of the day I guess that's what matters most.  There was one dramatic photo op that I missed.  A field with a small creek and a few fine-shaped trees has been one of my favorite nondescript locations to describe in paint over the years.  I look for this field every time I'm in MN. and as we passed the area the sun broke through the western horizon just at that magical moment so as to light the little ribbon of glistening snow-melt with golden fire and splashing shards of crystal delight.  I thought maybe I should stop and even mentioned it to my compadre.  "Na, we'll come back this way tomorrow".  Tomorrow never came. Strike while the iron's hot otherwise you might not get another chance at a Jucy Lucy.

River bend 16x8, Windows In Time 8x12

Here's some more fodder for the blogosphere. I'm always changing up my approach to a painting,...  Well, within reason and my small pile of painterly knowledge.  Sometimes I paint on a thinned wash of black and burnt umber, wiping away parts of the painting that will be the negative shapes (like sky and water) and leaving the positive shapes. That's what I did here.  Other times I paint on a ground of burnt umber and let some of it poke through...kind of gives a vibrancy to the image that can be a good effect. Once in a while I will just attack a white primed canvas cold-turkey and throw caution to the wind.  I usually do that on a very large skyscape. I figure the larger and more intimidating the better. I've been toying with the idea of using some new secret techniques that will revolutionize the way I paint and the way we see the world in general. I probably won't let you know too much about it 'cause it is a secret after all and I'd have to go to lethal extremes to protect the hidden, dark arts I plan to employ. Be that as it may, stay tuned and I might just let a bit of it trickle out from time to time.  These are available for sale on eBay here.