featured artist

I am honored to be the featured artist on the Northwest Pastel Society website.

One day it occurred to me that if I lived long enough and if I continued painting, I was destined to become an abstract painter. The thought startled me. Now it amuses me. I must be the least likely candidate to make such a change. At the moment, I view it as my creative evolution but there were times when I wondered what was happening to me...

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new interpretation

Another old painting reinvented. A 2005 painting called River Walk - wiped off, turned upside down and painted again as River Walk II in a more abstracted style. Next week I'm going on a photo shoot, looking for scenes to paint this fall and winter in the Studio. Maybe the new reference photos will lead me back to painting in a more realistic manner...or maybe not.

please, not me...

Paintings aren't safe here. I can almost hear them whispering,"Please, not me...leave me alone."




I'm in rework mode. Any painting that didn't make it through to framing (and some that did) are getting reworked. For pastels, that will mean a total wash-off with the garden hose. But today I'm playing with oil pastel on the 9x12 canvas panels I was painting early this year to acquaint myself with oil paint. "Celebrate" of 1/4/09 has become "Celebrate II" 9/4/09. Here's the little set of oil pastels I'm using. I want more colors.

cold start

My weed eater has a switch called "Cold Start" - I flip it when I haven't used the weed eater for some time. Tonight as I was cleaning my studio, preparing for fall painting after summer break, I came across a little set of oil pastels. What better way to test my own cold start button than with a medium I've never used? Simply "Marsh." Oil pastel on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.