ho

Before Hurricane Rita came along, I had contemplated returning home. On the Monday before the storm was supposed to reach Louisiana, a woman at Triple A informed me that roads into New Orleans were already closed. Since I had to stay put, I planned a day trip into Nashville to catch some art exhibits. Wednesday of that week, I drove three-and-a-half hours into Nashville. Besides taking in some museums I traveled to Cheekwood Art & Gardens.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

There are several gardens at Cheekwood. I strolled from one to the next following a map of the grounds. I particularly liked the Japanese garden. It was there that I passed through a green bamboo shelter that is the inspiration for this painting, “ho.” This was the painting that helped me decide what I wanted to do with the rest of the dot paintings in this group.

Between the first two paintings and this one, I had concentrated on the colors and patterns I used rather than attaching a specific place or event to a painting. So this is where I found the general groove for these works. Sure there have been other shifts and experiments since this painting, but I found my footing with this painting.