Abstraction
Abstraction #2
oil/canvas
22" x 28"
$400.00
oil/canvas
22" x 28"
$400.00
This was painted as an homage to my friend Terry St John, a Bay Area painter whom I knew in the 1960s in Monroe, LA. Since we both had studied art in the Bay Area we shared common interests and influences: painterliness, spontaneity, expressiveness, plein air painting.
We also admired the art of the great Bay Area figurative painters who were our teachers: Diebenkorn, Bischoff, and Park. While both of us painted figures and landscapes throughout our careers, we also both made abstract paintings ( though you can’t always tell if a painting is figurative or abstract).
My painting Abstraction # 2 is based on a sketch for a landscape where I looked down a road towed a mountain. Space is compressed and colors and shapes are given changed emphasis from their original appearance.
We also admired the art of the great Bay Area figurative painters who were our teachers: Diebenkorn, Bischoff, and Park. While both of us painted figures and landscapes throughout our careers, we also both made abstract paintings ( though you can’t always tell if a painting is figurative or abstract).
My painting Abstraction # 2 is based on a sketch for a landscape where I looked down a road towed a mountain. Space is compressed and colors and shapes are given changed emphasis from their original appearance.
Trail by the Back Bay
oil/canvas
12" x 15"
$400.00
oil/canvas
12" x 15"
$400.00
This richly painted a la prima landscape shows
an unpaved path through the woods that surround Newport Beach’s Back Bay. The broad brushstrokes and bright colors reflect my exuberant response to a fresh natural scene, one largely unspoiled by fire or flood,
or a great deal of development.
I lived two blocks away and took frequent
walks here in the 1990s. When I returned a decade later I was sad to see that paths had been paved, trees cut down, the woods were becoming a park. Frame in a light colored wood.
an unpaved path through the woods that surround Newport Beach’s Back Bay. The broad brushstrokes and bright colors reflect my exuberant response to a fresh natural scene, one largely unspoiled by fire or flood,
or a great deal of development.
I lived two blocks away and took frequent
walks here in the 1990s. When I returned a decade later I was sad to see that paths had been paved, trees cut down, the woods were becoming a park. Frame in a light colored wood.
Abstraction #1
oil/canvas
22" x 28"
$400.00
oil/canvas
22" x 28"
$400.00
No reduction of objects or compression of space is employed here; rather, I used
layers of semi-transparent shapes and
broken lines to give a floating feeling to the
lower two-thirds of the painting; by contrast the strong black shape of the upper portion helps to anchor the composition. This darkness , broken by flickering yellow flashes, seems to soar above the rest like a night sky over an incandescent earth. Framed in a black colored wood.
layers of semi-transparent shapes and
broken lines to give a floating feeling to the
lower two-thirds of the painting; by contrast the strong black shape of the upper portion helps to anchor the composition. This darkness , broken by flickering yellow flashes, seems to soar above the rest like a night sky over an incandescent earth. Framed in a black colored wood.
The Swimmer
oil/canvas
25" x 28"
$400.00
oil/canvas
25" x 28"
$400.00
The figure of the swimmer, shown here doing the crawl , is indicated by an elbow and a face, looking skyward. Emerging from the shadowed side of the pool the swimmer is highlighted by a black zigzag stripe which ripples below him.
Is the stripe reflected from a painted line
which marks a lane on the bottom of the pool?
More importantly does the harsh contrast of color and its acid tone along with the snake-like shape of the stripe suggest something perilous is about to occur?Beautifully framed and matted in white, covered with glass.
Is the stripe reflected from a painted line
which marks a lane on the bottom of the pool?
More importantly does the harsh contrast of color and its acid tone along with the snake-like shape of the stripe suggest something perilous is about to occur?Beautifully framed and matted in white, covered with glass.
Abstract Landscape #4
oil/canvas
12" x 15"
$400.00
oil/canvas
12" x 15"
$400.00
This is a companion to “Trail by the Back Bay”.
Another unpaved trail by Newport Beach’s Back Bay but with more visible sky
and fewer trees. The composition is traditional.
The diagonal trail is surrounded by receding planes of foliage on both sides, while a red line marks the composition’s center and at the same time points to a shift in the direction of the path. The slightly tilting dark blue shape above the trail represents a hillside with three trees and continues the emphasis on the center. This trail and the park it leads to is close to the bay. During the time I lived nearby, the park was turned into a housing development.
Framed in a light colored wood.
Another unpaved trail by Newport Beach’s Back Bay but with more visible sky
and fewer trees. The composition is traditional.
The diagonal trail is surrounded by receding planes of foliage on both sides, while a red line marks the composition’s center and at the same time points to a shift in the direction of the path. The slightly tilting dark blue shape above the trail represents a hillside with three trees and continues the emphasis on the center. This trail and the park it leads to is close to the bay. During the time I lived nearby, the park was turned into a housing development.
Framed in a light colored wood.
Dessert Plants
oil/canvas
18" x 24"
$400.00
oil/canvas
18" x 24"
$400.00
This painting started with sketches and photos of plants found in the Joshua Tree Desert.
The glove-like shape which emerges from
the bottom edge of this painting represented for me the idea of a desert plant, a cactus. This image parallels the way in which photographers often isolate their subject by contrasting it with surrounding objects, in other words they frame it.
Two small blue shapes repeat the plant theme and provide a queue to spatial depth. Harsh
contrasts in tone separate the desert and its framing plants. i used to think I needed a completely resolved idea before I began a painting. The finished artwork, I thought, should reflect its inspiration. Now I often find something of interest as I am developing the painting - something which may run contrary to my original idea.
The glove-like shape which emerges from
the bottom edge of this painting represented for me the idea of a desert plant, a cactus. This image parallels the way in which photographers often isolate their subject by contrasting it with surrounding objects, in other words they frame it.
Two small blue shapes repeat the plant theme and provide a queue to spatial depth. Harsh
contrasts in tone separate the desert and its framing plants. i used to think I needed a completely resolved idea before I began a painting. The finished artwork, I thought, should reflect its inspiration. Now I often find something of interest as I am developing the painting - something which may run contrary to my original idea.
Abstract #2 - The Green Diamond
oil/canvas
36" x 30"
$600.00
oil/canvas
36" x 30"
$600.00
The Green Diamond was the most challenging with its smaller shapes and more complex blending of colors. The aim here was to produce a glowing effect with painterly areas held in place by dark bands of varied colors. The reproduction fails to show balance achieved by the upward, left to right movement of diagonal bands.
Framed in black colored wood.
Framed in black colored wood.
Sunset OC
oil/canvas
18" x 24"
$400.00
oil/canvas
18" x 24"
$400.00
Abstract #3
oil/canvas
36" x 30"
$600.00
oil/canvas
36" x 30"
$600.00
Exists as Free Geometry. Composed of what appear to be cages, or ladders, or stairs, they suggest the influence of Cubism, although no reference was intended. Mostly they were an adventure in making paintings with an ambiguous sense of depth. Warm and cool colors are combined to into patterns and adjusted to create balance. Movement is suggested by diagonals; transparency indicated by changes in value; in other words these are exercises in basic design.
Framed in black colored wood.
Framed in black colored wood.
For Terry
oil/canvas
26" x 28"
$400.00
oil/canvas
26" x 28"
$400.00
Odalisque
oil/canvas
13" x 13"
$400.00
oil/canvas
13" x 13"
$400.00
Frame in a light colored wood.
Abstract Landscape #3
oil/canvas
12" x 16"
$400.00
oil/canvas
12" x 16"
$400.00
Abstract #1 - The Pink Room
oil/canvas
36" x 30"
$600.00
oil/canvas
36" x 30"
$600.00
The Pink Room suggests an enclosed space terminated by the contrast of a dark blue shape with light pink shape. This contrast near the center of the composition starts a visual game of compare and contrast: the yellow triangle placed against the mid value orange shape is comparable in its shape to the dark blue triangle at the top; the upward direction of the pink shape contrasts the downward direction of the "ladder" at the lower right. The goal here is to attain harmony through careful adjustment of the elements of design.
Framed in black colored wood.
Framed in black colored wood.
Two Trees
oil/canvas
18" x 24"
$400.00
oil/canvas
18" x 24"
$400.00
Abstract Landscape #2
oil/canvas
16" x 12"
$400.00
oil/canvas
16" x 12"
$400.00
Abstract Landscape
oil/canvas
12" x 16"
$400.00
oil/canvas
12" x 16"
$400.00
Abstract Expressionist
oil/canvas
15" x 18"
$400.00
oil/canvas
15" x 18"
$400.00
Back Bay Landscape
oil/canvas
12" x 16"
$400.00
oil/canvas
12" x 16"
$400.00
Colorful
oil/canvas
16" x 20"
$400.00
oil/canvas
16" x 20"
$400.00
RYB
oil/canvas
16" x 20"
$400.00
oil/canvas
16" x 20"
$400.00
Large O with Yellow Seahorse
oil/canvas
14" x 16"
$400.00
oil/canvas
14" x 16"
$400.00
Frame in a light colored wood.
Sea Horse on the Stairs
oil/canvas
17" x 13"
$400.00
oil/canvas
17" x 13"
$400.00
Framed in a light colored wood.
Things in the Sea
oil/canvas
16" x 20"
$400.00
oil/canvas
16" x 20"
$400.00
