Street Art

I have an evolving fascination with streets and street artists (more on that later). I just discovered this Canadian artist, Peter Gibson (roadsworth.com) who literally makes art on streets. 

Very clever. 

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a documentary about a world-class sushi chef. 

Jiro is a renowned sushi chef. To eat at his sushi bar in a Tokyo subway station, reservations are made months in advance. The average dinner costs $375 and lasts 15 minutes. The beauty of Jiro's work comes from his relentless attention to detail through repetition and loving focus. He embodies Leonardo da Vinci's words that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." 

Great example of the beauty and power of discipline, hard work, and passion. 

Finding myself in Lost in Translation

In all forms of art, I appreciate sparse storytelling that allows me to fill in the blanks. 

I recently caught the last half of Lost in Translation and found it refreshing for it's sparseness. There is so much noise and activity in life. For me, the things unsaid - the quiet - offer a much needed respite. 

Swimming Pool by Leandro Erlich

Something like this would have made a great addition to my show, Lap Swimming this past summer;-)

This installation offers a unique shift of perspective. Swimming Pool, by Leandro Erlich is in the permanent collection of t the 21st Century Museum of Modern Art in Japan.

Asheville Cinema Festival - Hayao Miyazaki

Yesterday I received an invitation to make a painting that makes a reference to cinema or filmmaking to be used as an award for the Asheville Cinema Festival. I jumped on the opportunity to use Hayao Miyazaki's films as a starting point. His movies are deeply satisfying because they are at the same time simple and complex. They appeal to me on all levels - visually, emotionally, spiritually. 

Here are a couple of images from one of my favorites, Ponyo. This will allow me to stick to the current theme that's influencing my work - water.

Catching Up - Lap Swimming

 48 x 60, The Power of H2O, acrylic on canvas

 Drip Dry, 60 x 60, acrylic on canvas

 The Plunge, 60 x 60, acrylic on canvas

From Suntan Oil to SPF 50, 60 x 60, acrylic on canvas

Benched, 60 x 60, acrylic on canvas

Some images from my recent show, Lap Swimming. 

If there’s an activity I’ve spent more time doing than painting, it’s swimming laps. Throughout the course of my life, I’ve swum countless laps. As a child, my summer days were spent at the neighborhood pool beginning with an early morning swim team practice followed by a day of playing in the water.  As an adult, I swam in college and every phase of my life thereafter.  Now, I swim laps for fitness and am a coach for a US Swimming Youth team.

I’ve swum and coached in pools around the country.  I’m drawn to the lines, grids, and patterns of pools designed for competition. My paintings usually begin with a grid that I’ve drawn using a ruler and pencil. The grids set the stage for patterns of colors. I often wonder if my connection to lines, grids and patterns in my paintings is linked to my time spent in and around pools. When I look at swimming pools, I see the grid and the opportunity for patterns of color.

Lately, I’ve been swimming in the morning as the sun rises, hitting the windows and water in the pool in a beautiful way. The results are dancing lines of light on the bottom of the pool. This adds a dimension of beauty and wonder to my morning exercise.

This exhibition was an opportunity for me to marry my two passions: painting and swimming pools. 

 Time To Turn, 48 x 48, acrylic on wood

 At the Wall, 36 x 36, acrylic on canvas

 Lap Swimming, 36 x 36, acrylic on wood

 Deep End, 36 x 36, acrylic on wood

 Morning Workout, 36 x 36, acrylic on wood

 Two Fifties, 12 x 12, acrylic on wood

One twenty-five, 12 x 12, acrylic on wood

Catching Up - two years since last entry

Let's get caught up, shall we?

My last blog entry was in 2010! A lot has happened since then and I regret not keeping record of it in this blog. I've been feeling the tug of this blog - and the discipline of spending time every week tracking the movement of my life. I'm not going to make any broad pronouncement now about how I intend to blog at least once a week. But, that is what I intend. We'll see. 

The above are some images of paintings completed during my blogging hiatus.  Bright, big and fun. 

I have spent much energy over the past two years curating a show titled Waking Up With Van Gogh. You can go to the website and check it out.... WUWVG  

After that show opened, I threw myself into painting a solo exhibit titled, Lap Swimming. Both of those shows came down in July, 2012. Since then, I've been putting the pieces of my own artistic life and business back together again. I'm excited about the possibilities. We'll discuss those more as I resume the habit of blogging.