Art, Nature & Soul #16

I love a road trip, heading down the highway, an adventure to destinations unknown. Growing up, I remember my family driving all over the country on various trips. Mostly camping, or visiting family, although sometimes they would be to explore historical sites. As I grew older, hopping on the train, or taking off in my car seemed second nature. To this day I still get that adrenaline rush of anticipation as I turn up the music, have the camera ready and hit the road.  Life is about the journey, not the destination.

During this time frame I was taking representational subjects and breaking them down unto their abstract forms. Dripping and splattering the paint attempting  to control the chaos. Besides having a vivid color palette, which colors I applied first became crucial to the dynamic dimensional aspects conveyed. Putting the sky in last, allowed the blue to drip across the entire landscape creating layers of depth.

These artworks seemed to have a theraputic value, a cathartic aspect to them, plus they were so fun to do. As always feel free to comment.

'Meditations 8, the road trip, 22"x10" acrylic on linen, (yr. 2011) in private collection    

Art, Nature & Soul #15

Intuitive and stream of conscious, so were the the artworks done in this time frame. Sunrise and sunset, the day begins and ends,  many of my color sketches, studies and completed works, involve these times of day, as it's when I'm out there, usually walking, inspired.

During this time I was writing and editing a novel, 'Libertalia, Seize the Day for Remember We All Must Die' under the pen name DrahCir. It is a steampunk pirate fiction with historical elements. A fun romp through time & space, drawing on my life and long list of literary influences.

Keeping it direct, raw,  & spontaneous, with all the things in my thoughts influencing the outcome, I set out this morning, with acrylic paints, linen canvas, palette knives,  and brushes to paint a piece for a digital colorplate illustration for the novel (1of24 included). The sun peeking out the sky, the ocean, and a tallship in silhouette. Look carefully and you can add your story to the scene.

'Dusk' (Black Sails) 16"x10" acrylic on linen. (yr. 2011)

It became p'178 for the novel, thus acquired and in a private collection.

Art, Nature & Soul #3

I often find myself in the unique position of receiving a relatively objective critique of my work, unbeknowst to the viewer and critic. Sometimes that can be quite harsh given peoples diverse taste and appreciation for art. Even so I try to take something constructive away from that too. Most of the time though the overall take home is positive. There is much turmoil in the lives of people, including myself and so I strive to find those moments of quiet reflection. This work, has been in a group show on flight, a solo exhibit of my artwork and has been hanging rather prominently  on the walls of Proud Fox Gallery & Frame Shop over this summer. 

Some of the things I've heard are, 'How peaceful', 'Serene', 'Less is more',  'Nice approaching feeling on those birds. All due to knowing what drawing and paint can do in the eye.', 'This should have been the piece awarded', and 'How subtle' to name a few. Trust me I get my fair share of, 'My child could do that', 'I don't get it' and I think to myself, awesome buy your child some art supplies, sign them up for art classes and please get out to an art museum, but thats another story, for another time.

Sublties are something that has taken me along time to grow into. It's very easy to to throw color around, overstate with your brush and beat people over the head with the message and theme of your work. After many years of experimenting and studying, I'm currently using a more multi media approach to layer paint, build those ideas, and leave the bold for the finale and exclamation point. Please enjoy and always feel free to comment on my work.  

SOLD 'Meditations on Flight' 36"x36" oil over acrylic on canvas

Art, Nature & Soul #2

A most unsual piece for me to do, but inspiration just happens and I went with it. We had just arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on the fringe of Cape Cod. I've been on a mission to learn about the plight of the endangered species of whales, especially those along the eastern coast of the U.S.A. It seemed to me, a good place to start was the New Bedford Whaling Museum. To uderstand why they are endangered, I wanted to understand what happened to bring this many leviathans of the sea, to the brink of extinction. Upon our arrival and parking, we noticed a church. It looked familar and turned out to be Seaman's Bethel. The same church that appears in 1956 film, 'Moby Dick', where Orson Welles gives his most famous surmon on the Jonah and the Whale. On to the museum, which was an indepth, and not just a study of whaleing but, the nature of whales. It turned out New Bedford Whaling was the largest industry at the time and was lighting the world, at a great cost, the near obliteration of several species of whale. Thankfully the discovery of our ability to harness electric and edison's light bulb, put an abrupt end to the whaleing industry, just in time.  This turned out to be one of the most fascinating museums I'd ever been to. Standing outside on the balcony of the museum, I beheld this panoramic view of the town and Buzzards Bay. It brought me back to another time, another place, with great awe and wonderment. 

 'Buzzards Bay', 24"x20", oil on canvas.