Blog

Back on track with a new painting titled "The Verge".

  This abstract just seemed to come on it's own from my brush and I am very happy with it. The colours are a lot brighter than I normally use and the shapes are more organic than usual in my work. 

    My abstract work had been getting a lot of criticism in the last year, very little of which has been constructive. I absolutely love it when someone can give me a new way to look at and evaluate my work and I try not to be offended and hurt when I hear comments like, "Did your grandkids get into your paint? Ha ha."  "What is that thing supposed to be?"  "Why don't you do a "real" painting?"   It is hard to keep your spirits up when you practice any creative activity and meet with ridicule. Remembering that most great artists went through periods of vicious treatment doesn't always help. In fact, it rarely helps any artist.

  I am embarrassed to admit that I caved in and produced more realistic pieces for a while. With realism, if you have a popular subject, a decent composition, some nice colours and it looks like the subject you were painting, it's pretty well a done deal.  You don't have to do any thinking or soul searching to see if a piece talks to you and most people can see at a glance if the work has any merit.  I will always do a few representational pieces from time to time but my confidence is back so expect to see a lot more work in this vein.

   This painting wraps around the sides of the gallery canvas and all hardware is attached for it to be hung gallery style.