Transition through change

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” Anaïs Nin

Changes are external events. They happen continuously. Transition is our internal response as we adapt to those changes. “Transition” symbolizes our passage through change – from one state to another. A time of growth, renewal, celebration, arrival. There are transitions in progress all around and within us every day.

Creation of this piece progressed quickly through the sketching phase. Refining the gesture was all done before the skin was applied. The armature as a complex wire structure is basically a line drawing in space. It can be manipulated endlessly until the gesture feels right. The real challenge was how to preserve translucency of one half of the figure while making the remaining half opaque.

Sargent, Homer, Moran: A unique series of watercolor classes

Each 3-hour class will focus on one of these master watercolor painters

Three artists that most influenced my watercolor style are John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Moran. They were masters of the water-based painting when watercolor was first being accepted as a legitimate media. Each has a unique style. All three incorporated some similarities.

In November, I will be leading a series of classes at Oregon Society of Artists. Each class will focus on the works and techniques of one of these artists. Sessions will begin with by exploring examples and a discussion of the specific techniques. I will then demonstrate those techniques by quickly copying one painting. Finally, I will lead step-by-step instruction as we copy another of that artists works. The goal is not to create an exact copy, but to understand how each artist used specific techniques to create distinctive watercolor paintings. This method of observation and imitation has been extremely informative and useful in developing my own style and techniques.

Space is limited. Membership not necessary to participate. Please register early.

Note: Part of my research has included communication with several museums to learn more about the materials and papers these artists used. In September, I will be traveling to Yellowstone, one of Moran’s favorite locations. The plan is to paint as many of the sites he painted using his pigments and paper.

Changing Strategy for Changing Times

In my former life as a creative director, my role was to inspire my teams, push them to generate more unique ideas, continually refresh their perspective and generally never imitate their previous successes. In that role, I constantly studied how the creative process works, the triggers that moved people beyond ordinary to truly exceptional ideas. It was both fascinating and fun.

This year started off with a bang. January is usually an indicator for the rest of the year. I was extremely optimistic. Then came the flood of executive disorders destroying our vision of democracy. I was angry, uninspired, unmotivated and generally out of good ideas. This never happens to me.

Nearly two months of projects started and left unfinished was enough. I shared my frustration with my studio neighbor Dianne Jean Erickson. She is incredibly creative and always inspiring. Dianne offered several books for visual stimulation. It helped

I keep a stack of small abstract watercolor and acrylic studies tucked away. Last week, I cleared about 8’ of wall space, tacked a 3’x3’ sheet of paper to the wall and started painting. Five days and four paintings later, I am out of my rut. It feels great to push a large brush around and be consumed by the evolving image. I haven’t abandoned masks or sculptures. There are still several of those in the works. But, this creative diversion will alter how I view 3-dimensional work in the future.

I titled this one “When I Saw the Wolf”. After an hour of exploring shapes and values, I saw the profile of a wolf. Once seen, I couldn’t ignore it. From there, it was a process of making it not too obvious, but still ominous. See the video evolution from first marks to finished painting.

"Unspoken" chosen for Gallery Without Walls, Lake Oswego, Oregon

For the past year, “Unspoken” has been on exhibit in Lafayette, Colorado as part of their Art on the Streets program. I will retrieve the sculpture in April and bring it back to Oregon.

In July, it will become part of the Gallery Without Walls program in Lake Oswego. It will be mounted on the southeast side of 1st and Avenue A and will remain there through 2027. I am delighted to be participating in this excellent program which includes a number of sculptors whose work I admire. I am also flattered with the prime location the committee chose for my piece.

The video below shows the evolution of the concept from sketches through the 18” maquette titled Mind Meld, to the final 6’ steel, foam and fiberglass sculpture. When I created the original piece, I had not intended to enlarge it. For years, I had considered scaling one of my pieces. Encouragement came frequently from former employer, Marty Eichinger who, from our very first meeting, insisted I work bigger. When a pile of high density urethane foam scraps were offered to me, it was time to go large.

I am still holding enough foam to create another large piece. Many of my small sculptures will scale to a larger format.