The story is still being written.

"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then." - Lewis Carroll

Last month, I was humbled to have Holy Reconciling included in a group exhibition at Blue Line Arts in Roseville, CA.

This painting held so much for me as the world was continuing to recover from the turbulent pandemic. There was no real plan or format for the piece, but simply a combination of things falling apart and coming together. It is the one time in my life that I truly felt all our “veils” were removed and that co-existence was possible on a larger scale. It gave me hope that nature will always take care of itself even if that means flushing us away. Not pleasant I know, but something to consider along with a reminder to remain grateful.

Statement

The shock of a new experience brings disruption by unveiling simple facts that we cannot change.
In other words, “When it rains, the ground gets wet.” Major events come into being through three individual lines of action: assertion of a new experience, resistance to the experience, and transformation through the experience.

Therefore, what does a conscious action look like?

This painting is a response to this living question. I gradually layered watercolor stain, opaque medium, metallic acrylic, and resin until a window into the invisible appeared. As part of my process, I removed all realistic projection or planning of details. Each aspect evolved on its own through written mantras, symbolic mark making, and repetitive editing (pushing/pulling) of the space.

No matter the medium I might be experimenting with at the moment, I always return to drawing.

Basic graphite demands that I slow down, take a breath, build the values, and truly watch something grow. This process is an extension of three Triad paintings. Forces are always present bringing with them creation that continues to evolve. Where does this come from?

The below comps for large drawings are an attempt to allow for this question.

Interestingky enough, both were stolen from the trunk of my car. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, they were returned un-damaged. What are the chances?

Tiny creatures are asking to be heard.

It has been a strange year. Yet, nearing to the close, new developments are emerging and reigniting interests that I temporarily put aside for practical organization. I am allowing more without projecting. The work that comes through is its own being. Can I simply listen without trying to answer? The below drawing is the first in a slow series created in quiet observation of this listening. I begin with the simple construct of the flower of life and watch as the organism grows. There is much that is unanswerable and unknown about the creation of life. Acceptance of this is my main interest.

I’m sitting on the floor of studio allowing the brush to dance along the surface of the panel without forcing anything. This an attempt to allow the inner to guide the painting. What is this unseen movement of the moment that I do not acknowledge or am unable to open too fully? What is really there? This moment is already passing into another. A constant flow of evolution millisecond by millisecond. My intention is to let go of any preconceived ideas and simply observe what is now.

I recently finished the below collaborative piece with artist, Natana Prudhomme McClusky for the USPS Art Project.

Organism, 12x16, Aquarelle, ink, acrylic, and resin on panel. 2020

Always learning.

Everyday life has slowed down now, and we find ourselves raw and exposed. Necessity in simplicity is now more essential than ever. We wander inside this unknown that is always there, temporarily able to see. By stripping away the facade of want and desire, we find that everything really needed was always there. All this exists regardless of you and me. Perhaps we can finally see that there is only the illusion of control in a world that we may never be capable of understanding. Accepting this, can we let go?

Getting back to more symbol creation that will live in between the language of color.

I’ve been playing with transparencies, text, and new materials. Pushing myself out of the box.

Base layering.

So here it is…the obligatory New Years post.

All I can really say is that, 2019, bravo you proved me wrong!

This year really brought with it multiple gifts in all kinds of unexpected packages. I could go into painstaking detail, but I’d rather just say, many lessons were learned. I’m still learning, probably forever.

However, I would like to give you, whoever you are reading this, one piece of advice.

“BE GRATEFUL”.

I know it looks simple and it is really, but we forget so often don’t we? This moment is all we really have now. So, no matter what can we try to remember that? There are rose days and there are scab days, but you are here now. Perhaps, not fully here, but you are alive. Feel it. We have a heartbeat, breath, and pulse. Let’s just try to remember.

Best wishes as we launch forward.

P.S. New work is ahead.

This one recently flew away.

Accidental Magnet. Aquarelle, Acrylic, and Resin on Panel. 12x12. 2019.

Living Fruit, Aquarelle, acrylic, and resin on panel. 12x12. 2019.

Buried Mean, Aquarelle, acrylic, and resin on panel. 12x12. 2019.

Sacred Shell. Aquarelle, acrylic, and resin on panel. 12x12. 2019.