Writers are often advised to write what they know. We
painters make self-portraits and use local light, but even so, we’re most
often painting the mysteries.
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| "Island & Treatment Plant"-acrylic on paper, 8" x 6" |
The misdirection of perception is a resource for the search.
Is that one house or two in the distance? Is that water surrounding skin or
skin capturing water— just what does reflection reflect?
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| "Older Bathers #1"-oil on canvas, 54" x 48" |
"Older Bathers #2 (first study)"-colored pencil on paper, 10" x 8"
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| "Older Bathers #2 (second study)"- pencil on paper, 5" x 4" |
As the poet and painter Blake knew, optics are not
enough. What he “saw” were figures
lit from inside, and this became his way into (and out of) observational
painting.
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| "After The Conversation"-colored pencil on paper, 10" x8" |
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| "Doreen With Her Cup"-colored pencil on paper, 10" x 8" |
There may be
nothing more laudable than getting the hands right, but sometimes misshapen
forms and false color ring true, beyond the limits of skill.
Sometimes.
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| "Doreen In Mark's Garden"-acrylic on wood, 10" x 8" |
