The Kiss

Daydreaming on a winter's day, about love, loss, and that sweetest thing of all, a first kiss. If you have ever observed two cats bond, their companionship is lovely and fun like a couple that's been married for decades. These two cuties, Mottie and Pixie, cuddled up together all the time and often seemed to be hugging and kissing and very caring.  Mottie was almost twice Pixie's size, but that little girl always got her way as he was her very own gentle giant.  Whatever it was that connected them, for me it was adorable to see and always reminded me of "The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt.  A moment of closeness between two loved ones that was for them alone.

This piece is painted in oils in my expressive and watercolor-inspired "take away" style.

More Brewings

Monster Whiskers is moving along.  Petey's eyes are starting to get that appropriate crazy cat look and the whiskers are getting figured out.  There is very little actual color in this image so his eyes will really need to be strong. The composition is simple and so the features need to be just right.  As I layer the white over the darks there is a nice luminosity and volume to his fur.  I have found that white is wonderfully strong with a very dark layer underneath. How dry the dark layer is will inform how warm or cool, and how bright the white layers are.  Still more to go here, but I am pleased. Petey's rascally nature is unstoppable.  If only you could hear his constant chatter!

Stretch It Out

This has been the most difficult canvas I have ever tried to create.  This crow "configuration" is part of a larger piece slowly coming together out of little bits of this and that right here in the studio. There is so much figuring out and so much to learn; to discover ~ I really cannot wait to start painting on it.  The thought process of creating "in the round" is really out of the box thinking for me.  I felt this was appropriate for this particular piece~ the only solution really.  Taking risks is part of the creative experience.  It's compulsive.  It is a good life lesson as well.  Growing up, I was extremely lucky to have as thorough an art education as I did an academic one. I learned the basics of visual arts at the same time I learned basic math, science, and language.  This formative education led to the fluency and confidence in creating I have today.  My crow painting above may not work in the end, but the experience of creating it will certainly push me to try again and again until it does.  That is a lesson all young people need to know whether the catalyst is art, music, writing, science, etc...

When completed, my painting  will be put along side many other unique pieces in a silent auction, in early May, to raise money for children's art education in the local Bedford County, VA area.
More details forthcoming.  If you are curious to see more of what I am plotting, simply call  me for an appointment.  All sorts of things are brewing...