Painting - Oil
Nature inspires. The light transforms. Paint on canvas reveals the inner spirit. Art.
I have been artistic since early childhood, but it was not until I retired from the practice of law that I began to follow my artistic muse on a full time basis. Since then, I have steeped myself in the study of art in classes and workshops and in painting in oil, both plein air and in the studio. Painting is my passion, a reflection of my heart and soul.
I paint outdoors, "en plein air," at least once or twice a week, and I paint in my home studio on an almost daily basis. Painting outdoors is very important in observing and capturing the effect of natural light upon the landscape. Because the light and weather conditions change quickly, a plein air painting is usually done within two to three hours. For that reason, plein air pieces tend to be smaller, usually no more than 11 x 14 and often reflect a looseness and freshness. Plein air pieces can be complete and lovely paintings in and of themselves and/or they can be used as references for larger studio work. The challenge in creating a larger studio painting from a smaller plein air reference is to keep the freshness and spontaneity of the smaller piece while creating a larger more complete piece that can stand on its own as a work of art.
Photographs have limited potential as references for paintings, and I use them only for limited purposes. They can be helpful in recalling the details of a scene observed first hand, and they are useful when painting subjects that can't be still, such as animals and children or when painting portraits of people no longer living, such as ancestors or historic figures.
In all of my paintings, I try to capture the essence of the subject, that is, what attracted me to the subject in the first place, which is often, but not always, more about the play of light on the abstract form than the subject itself.
