Hole in the Sky

This new piece, a diptych, was based on an unusual and compelling visual "happening" while meditating on the shore of Canyon Lake. (It seemed as though I could see through the daylight sky into the infinity of space.)

Yes, I was sober! I don't assert any higher meaning to this, nor do I rule it out... but it was fascinating and beautiful.

‎"Hole in the Sky" - Diptych, 30"x24" acrylics and collage on canvas.

Arowana: an Elegant Predator

The freshwater arowana is a primitive, solitary, and altogether odd family of fishes. This specimen is typical of the South American varieties, but they are also found in Asia, Africa, and Australia. His longevity as a species depends upon his hyper-aggression and his fearless hunting technique. Arowanas have been observed jumping more than six feet out of the water to feed on unsuspecting insects and birds (thus earning them the nickname, 'water monkeys').

Insofar as form follows function, this carnivorous river dweller is an elegant, athletic predator whose appearance makes plain who and what he is. Beautiful.

"Arowana (Anger)" 16"x20" oils, available.

Colorscape

A day spent hiking and sightseeing in the beautiful, inspiring Texas Hill Country... and an evening spent painting, and this is the result. A joyous path through the wilderness of the color wheel.

"Colorscape" 16"x20" acrylics on canvas. Available.

Where Nature Erreth in the One...

In the early 17th century, Francis Bacon (philosopher, scientist, and pioneer of the scientific method) wrote the following: "Deformed persons are commonly even with nature: for as nature hath done ill by them, so do they... have their revenge of nature. Certainly there is a consent between the body and the mind, and where nature erreth in the one, she ventureth in the other: Ubi peccat in uno, periclitatur in altero.

It occurred to me that this is nowhere more obvious or evident than in the brilliant cosmologist and physicist Stephen Hawking. Early in his academic career he began to experience the symptoms of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). It has progressed to the point that his only "contact" with the world is achieved through technology that would have made him an intellectual shut-in in an earlier generation.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Hawking has advanced relativity, our understanding of black holes, and improbably he has attained celebrity status for his ability to communicate these concepts to the public.

Would he have reached the same intellectual heights as an able-bodied man?

"Stephen Hawking" 18"x24" oils on canvas. Available.

Intermezzo

"Intermezzo" 20"x20" acrylics, sand and gravel on canvas

Underwater Dream

This painting was inspired partially by Ilya Repin's "Sadko" and partially by my readings on Freud's contributions to our understanding of the unconscious and the subconscious minds. "Underwater Dream" represents a human's invitation to the unconscious, via the subconscious (in my symbology, this is represented by the underwater realm), to manifest itself. Freud pursued the unknowable unconscious by way of analyzing his patients' dreams and neuroses. I am limited to the tools I have at hand: paint, canvas and brush.

Repin's work in "Sadko" is beautiful and evocative. In its colors, its draftsmanship, and its theme it takes me deep into the silent majesty of the muted underwater world. As I painted, I sought something similar. I wanted "Underwater Dream," as "Sadko," to have as its armature an undeniable "strangeness of proportion" (to borrow a line from Sir Francis Bacon).

The ocean of the subconscious -- the vast kingdom beneath the waves -- is a place I think of often. Though we are little aware of it, we come from that dreamwise place. Our very anchors seek stability at the bottom of our own seas of unreason.

Pictured: "Underwater Dream" 35"x25" acrylics and collage on canvas. Available.

Let Joy Bloom

"Let Joy Bloom" - 24"x24" acrylics on canvas.