Category Archives: Uncategorized

We’ve established that color communicates mood, emotion and space.  It has a push/pull effect that can make a colored surface pull forward or push back. It mixes in the eye to make new colors. A colored ground or a thin … Continue reading →

As we hone in on the impact of color we hopefully get closer to true expression by using our own feelings to dictate its use. Wassily Kandiinsky,  the Russian painter who sought to define abstract art in 1912 wrote On … Continue reading →

A tale of a childhood discovery– “I realized that to make an R all I had to do was first write a P and draw a line down from its loop. And I was so surprised that I could turn a … Continue reading →

Now that the paintings have been varnished, titled, mounted, framed and hung on the wall how many of you have wondered—what if I had done it differently?  What if I darkened the background, lightened the sky, emphasized the outlines, or … Continue reading →

It’s one week before the work for the Remax show needs to be finsihed, framed and delivered. And one week before my exhibition is open to the public. I am used to this feeling of panic rumbling somewhere behind the solar plexis. … Continue reading →

Shakespeare may or may not have been right when he poetically answered the question “What’s in a name?”  But it’s a question worthy of consideration as the time comes once again to take stock of efforts after months of endeavor. There … Continue reading →

As most of you know my drive to scribble on walls, sidewalks and coloring books was undeniable from an early age.  For Sheila Martin, it was the making of mud pies that propelled her into creative life.  Some of us … Continue reading →

Olive Trees with Alpilles 1889 Looking at the California Impressionists painting yesterday at The Portland Art Museum with Angelina and her daughter Sarah was a real treat. It’s something I wish I had made time for  sooner so I could … Continue reading →

As an abstract painter for whom art can seriously be considered life-saving, I’ve spent years working to understand how art-making functions.  The formal elements, which we work on regularly, are the physical things that make up the composition of an artwork. … Continue reading →

In a hysterical new video, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld discuss the difference in conversation style (and in their perceptions) between someone smoking a cigarette and someone smoking a cigar. A cigarette smoker, they note, is often in a hurry or … Continue reading →