Drawings on paper and in space....

Some drawing pieces from a few years back ( when I had more space to work).

"Lucifer" graphite on paper.

"Pendulus Construction" graphite on paper.

"Morphology 1" graphite on paper.

"Drawing in Space: Ariel" wood, charcoal, paint.

"Drawing in Space: Embrace" wood, charcoal,paint.

"Drawing in Space: Master and Student", wood, charcoal, paint.

Ascension (for Lois J.)

"Ascension (for Lois J.)", acrylic on canvases, 48"h X102"w, 2014.

Studio view, coming together...

As I embark on bringing the figure back into my work, I couldn't help but place my earlier, copper sculpture, "Metamorphosis" into the mix...and I see there is a nice "dialogue". Recent events turned my perception of what I've been doing 180 degrees and I see things in a fresh perspective...in fact, that process of "cutting through what's known" is what it's all about for me. But, I can get complacent very easily ( usually motivated by fear and a desire to "have the answers") - I'm glad there are people (teachers, etc) who can wake me up again.

The process of art-making really is supernatural - there are things that happen during the process that I can't explain...and I like that. It brings surprise, vitality and magic into my life and I can only hope that my images offer the viewer that experience as well.

Surprise, surprise!

As it turns out, the "angel of light" wanted to become the "angel of darkness and shadow"! As I started the underpainting of my "angel of light" ( I usually begin by working very dark and layering light/color on top of that - similar to an old master technique) I stepped back and received "a shock"... it was not what I had anticipated - I saw, instead of an underpainting for my "angel of light" , another image altogether. I have been thinking about, ruminating on the Jungian concept of Anima ( an inner female component for men, Anumus, male - for women) and how to try and depict the various stages: Eve, Helen, Mary, Sophia. This creature - named Lilith for now - represented something altogether different: a dark negativity - Yes!!! We all carry, in varying degrees, this element of negativity within us. To see my particular manifestation of it was quite startling to say the least. So the orb of light becomes a leaden black ball of bile, dark matter. I continued on with the painting, honoring its new direction...and felt enormous inner relief when it became apparent I could go no further. Does this mean I'm purged for good from negativity? Ha ha! Don't think so - but there is a since that I'm "less identified" with it - that is - I've created a small wedge between "it" and who I am.

Andromeda

This is a small study "Andromeda"(18"X24") for a much larger piece (36"X48") - bringing the figure in - want to start by doing a triptich with three "celestial bodies" : Andromeda, Lyra and Cassiopia.
Developing a technique using major glazing, adding layer after layer, turning it into a "ghost of a painting."

Early, Raw, Uncooked...

Looking at a few earlier pieces today...talking very early...the painting below is from 25 years ago - not too long after the exhilarating stay in Rome, via RISD - where I got to do whatever I wanted - haha! Now, I still get to do what I want - but I gotta pay for it (in more ways than one!) Its nice to see some progress and to see a continuity in exploration at least. As a younger artist, art-making was all about ideas, but the older you get it just starts being about who you are....

Deus Ex Machina ( Total ) - with a very helpful explanation to boot....

I've never been particularly interested in painting pictures to hang on walls for decoration...its been more of a visual odyssey exploring the metaphysical universe of my subconscious and its relation/ my relation to the infinite ... and, like Icarus, I'm always compelled to reach beyond my limits and come crashing down... case in point: this latest image began with a very modest mind-set wherein I was going to paint what I called "A Fragment of a Mystery" - realizing maybe that's all we can hope for in this lifetime. I even painted it in a horizontal (sofa-sized) format, which I haven't used in a long time - thinking - I'm really, really going to keep it to a single image/canvas this time....
just exploring the emotions contained within abstract elements in metaphysical space - coming to life - so to speak....

I was content with it at first, but gradually my mind, as usual, began to "see" the image expanding outward in space. First, I created its reflection on the computer (as I am want to do - I find reflective imagery fascinating and an apt way of looking at manifested reality being a mere reflection of the unseen) . And, of course I began to see many "masks" staring at me, enticing me to go on...

And again, the image expanded in my mind, so I added another canvas to the top and painted away. After that, I added another to the bottom to reach my blasphemous "Godhead" - trembling, holding together just long enough to satisfy my insatiable need "to see it all", after which it falls apart - really more a masquerade, a distraction - and I fall to earth again.....back into Mystery.

What's interesting to me is I see how the boundaries of the canvas are very superficial to me - just a momentary enclosure for what's "moving around in the space of my imagination."
I'm obsessed with the expansion of space and form and light and the "higher emotions those evoke" - plain and simple ( as many painters are) - and the nice thing is this one image can be broken down into wonderful "decorations" to accent any living area - haha!

the top and middle sections (below) are a "stand-alone" pair that offer endless hours of viewing pleasure - kind of reminds me of a coral reef - but with abstract, painting elements coming to life standing in for the fish, etc!