Good Weather Coming?

Oil on Panel
8.5 x 10.5

Spring is finally here. Flowers are coming up, trees are blooming, I'm getting itchy to go and paint out in the fresh air. My pochade box is all ready to go. Did I mention it's really cold, raining and snow is expected this afternoon and tonight? Well I've got basketball to watch today anyway.

If anybody else finds themselves stuck indoors today I just finished a book that may be of interest, The Forgery of Venus by Michael Gruber. It's one of those rot your brain fiction books, but it's pretty good. I saw a lot of me in it which is really rather disturbing considering the main character has a tenuous hold on reality. Basically it's about a truly talented artist (that's not the part that reminds me of me) that finds himself cranking out advertising junk when he is approached to take part in a clinical study on creativity. In the process he has a bit of a break with reality and becomes Velasquez where he forges a piece similar to the Rokeby Venus, or did he just imagine it?. It gets into questions of perceived realities and asks some pretty good questions about the art world and art itself. Anyway, I liked it.

River Access

Oil on canvas
18 x 36

This is an older piece that I have never been able to photograph adequately. Well, this is about as good as it's going to get. The problem now is that I think I've improved a bit in the interim, and I really think I could do this better. I like the spot and the overall feel so maybe I that's a good reason to do it again.

A couple things came together in the last few weeks, and I thought they might be of interest. First I was asked to provide an artist's statement by two different places. Personally, I've never cared much for artist's statements simply because I've always felt that if the artist has to explain what he or she is doing it isn't being done very well. Perhaps I'm just a simple soul or just not evolved enough. So what am I trying to do with these things? The answer seems simple enough. I'm trying to take the viewer to a place in time and space where a feeling, emotion or thought will be evoked. To touch the viewer in some way; I always thought that was the object of art. I could be wrong about that. Again, I'm just a simple soul.

The second thing was a post on the Gurney Journey about filling in. link Strangely enough "filling in" refers to just what I am aiming to do, allow the viewer to enter a painting, and wander around and feel something. I had no idea there was an actual term for this. It was pointed out that this can lead to sentimentality. Yeah, I suppose so, but as long as the sentiment is real and not taken to the point of sappiness is that really such a bad thing?

So to come full circle and mention this particular painting, (it's not that bad after all, is it?) I'm hoping you'll want to get in a boat and see what's around the bend. Maybe see what's on the far shore or pick up a fishing pole and try your luck. How'd I do?