The last Rumi painting for now

I dedicate this last Rumi piece to my friends Julie and Maggi.

It may be hard to read the text:

Who ever you see engaged in search, become her friend and cast your head in front of her, for choosing to be a neighbor of seekers you become one youself.

Some new pieces finally!

I still don't have my computer set up but I'm able to post a couple of things.

First is a blue piece called Venus. I started with just the blocks and the white dots but felt like it needed something else. That's where some red and more white came in. Acrylic on canvas.



The next one is tres simple. I started to change it but then realized I liked it as is. No name yet. Acyrlic on canvas.

NYC Photos

NYC has been wonderful. What a great city. Here are a few photos.






This is on the NYU campus. I love the steps.











These 2 are from a Bleecker Street cafe at night.

Where art takes you

I nearly never know what my painting is going to ultimately look like when I start. I'll begin with some lines or colors or a vague idea and see where it takes me. This started as a planned mixed media collage piece. As I began to work with it I found I liked the colors and the relationships so much that I didn't want to cover them or spoil the basic simplicity of the piece. So it remains as you see it for now.

It's called Seven. Mixed media, acyrlics, metallic paper on cheap canvas.

Chatham County Sky

I was at Liz n Scott's last Saturday for dinner after the Saxapahaw music. We sat out on their patio and I was amazed at the moon, clouds and sky. This is my first try at reflecting what I saw. Can't say I like it much unfortunately.

The photo was taken with a flash and is not a particularly good rendition. I'll post a better version tomorrow.

Summer music

Besides the Weaver Street on Thursday night and Shakori Hills Friday night outdoor shows, the little town of Saxapahaw west of Carrboro/Chapel in Alamance County also has a farmer's market and music every Saturday during the summer. Beautiful setting, great people and a relaxed attitude. A local winery is always there selling their wares. I bought a blueberry custard in pastry from a friend and it was wonderful!

This last Saturday I brought my newly purchased pen and ink and drew while the band played. Sunday I added acrylics and more ink and this is what turned out. Not quite finished but it's close.

Manifesto

No, not a manifesto on art, the creative process or some other high brow mumbo-jumbo; it's the name of the piece.

I started playing with pen and ink lately and put together this piece. It's worrisome. I liked it immediately and that is always a bad sign. In a couple of weeks I'll probably hate it and delete the post.

Mixed media, collage, pen and ink, acyrlics on paper.

Painting from the inside out

"Painting from the Inside Out" is best described as a philosophy of art developed by Stuart Cubley and Michelle Cassou. Amazon has their books. My friend Maggi teaches classes based on their ideas. I don't know if there are any scheduled now (the August class is booked) but if you live in the Triangle area keep checking back on her website or email from there for info.

From "Life, Paint and Passion" by Cubley and Cassou:

To paint is to pass through the doorway from the known to the unknown. Let yourself be lost, wander in new lands, dare to be your unusual self. Painting is a killer of concepts, projections and prejudices. It will break the masks of learned behaviour and reveal the inexplicable.

The idea is to let the inner self go and accept what it decides to do without interpretation or judgement. It is very freeing. I took Maggi's one-day class and the result is below. Not one of my better paintings ;-) but as I look at it there is something I feel needs exploring. And some day I will....

Oh and that's me in the top left corner with all the blood draining out. Very pleasant.

The interrelationship of music and art: Jaffar

Shakori Hills in Chatham County, NC, just south of Chapel Hill has a wonderful Friday night music series during the summer. They pass a hat to pay the band. Maggi and I went to see Jaffar, a Middle Eastern jazz, funk band. They are tremendous, please visit their website where you can hear their magic. I was enchanted. I sat and listened with my eyes closed. For a a while I would listen to the bass, then the oud, a time with the drums and then to the sax, etc. Each one gave me a different vision. One was a wavy line, another a series of ovals, another bright exploding stars.

I decided I would go home and "paint" Jaffar. I imagined the painting as a long, long painting reflecting a full song. I haven't gotten there yet. This is the result of a less ambitious attempt. It's one of my first pieces.

Watercolor pencils on paper.

Lines and Red Very Small

A small peice of just lines and some red. Simple and, I hope, calming and attractive.

Acyrlics on paper. The pen is just to give you a size perspective.

Conundrum

I've found that my thoughts, opinions, and value placed on pieces changes over time. Some I like immediately. Others I'll like then I'll change them and ! what did I do? Others go through periods of ambivalence -- like, intense dislike, neutral, see some value again, repeat and rinse.

This is one of the latter. I first thought it was going to be wonderful, then I lost my way and finally ended up with this. Something less and more than I originally thought. It's like all of my woodworking and furniture making. I hate it at first and it takes me months to come to terms with whether it has value or not. I have not come to terms with this one.

Acrylic on cheap canvas with string.

POSTSCRIPT OCTOBER 11: This is an updated version but I'm still not sure about it.

What next??

I was learning about "resist" techniques where a treatment (wax, glue, special expensive stuff) doesn't allow the paint to absorb onto the surface. Here is one of my first attempts.

This one used white Crayola crayon and wax as the resist medium.

"#" Acrylic on paper.

I hate wasting paint

I was on vacation painting and nothing was working. Bleh! I had some left over Mars Black paint and I just started doodling with a very small brush. A couple of hours later this is what I had. I'm not sure what it is. If you have any ideas on what I should do next (including nothing) let me know. Maybe I should rotate it? I don't know what side is up