ia

In November of 2006, I attended an ARTinA meeting at the Mt. Olivet Episcopal Church in Algiers Point. Fellow artist Glinda Schafer briefly demonstrated the use of pastel before turning loose the artists gathered. She furnished all the supplies and the still life objects. Below I’ve included the photos from that night, the pastel I made and the final dot painting I completed. The imagery in this dot painting is based on that evening and the piece I made that night.







In rendering this work I abstracted the shapes of the objects and overlapped colors. I played visual games with this piece. It is sort of in the cubist tradition, except I finished it with dots.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

ha

When I returned to the New Orleans area, I found out that my doctor’s office moved from Memorial (located in an area that had serious flooding) to Touro Infirmary. The hope was to move back to Memorial once it opened again. But then his office moved to Ochsner Medical Center. Each time I’ve gone for tests or appointments, I’ve walked through a space with a skylight overhead.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

The image for this painting is based on view of the skylight above. The colors I chose were from the parking reminders located on each floor. Each level has a different pastel color.

"a" Series Part II

Here are the first three dot painitngs from the second half of the “a” Series. I’m not sure what I’ll use for the sub name at this time. These paintings cover January through March of 2007. I’ve noticed as I work on these a couple of ideas from 2006 snuck in. They are the exception. I’m slowly making progress on the rest. The ones I resolve the quickest
will be next.

aa

acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

ab

acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

ac

acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

ga

In the fall of 2006, I saw the play "The Underpants” at Tulane University. It is a farce written by Carl Sternheim in 1910. The plot concerns a German bureaucrat’s wife who has the embarrassment of her underpants falling to her ankles as she waves during the course of a parade. She and her husband have a room they have advertised for rent. From that point on events become complicated.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

First of all I am a sucker for farces. This image naturally comes from the underpants used in the play. They were a satin pink with pink ribbons. I merely simplified the underpants into an abstract representation with dots.

fa

Let’s start with the film I saw that provoked this painting. In the film “Pulse” the heroes track down a man who has enclosed himself in a room with red tape covering the windows. He is protecting himself from the dead. The film made an impression on me. I watched the 2001 original Japanese version of
the film and later the 2006 American version. The more
recent film had the advantage of the technology that has come along since.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

But I had more reasons for doing this painting. When hurricanes are impending locals put tape on their windows to minimize damage that can occur during a storm. In the films the world is turned upside down by people suddenly killing themselves. Streets and buildings, once teaming with people, are quiet. Again, I thought about some parts of town that were turned upside-down and the absence of people.

ea

Nardo’s was an Italian restaurant located at the corner of Laurel and Webster in Uptown New Orleans. In September of 2006, I met family there to celebrate the birthdays of two of my aunts. I posted some picture of the restaurant on my blog pic journal.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

A planter at the entrance led me to make this painting. I liked the decorative elements on it. The challenge was creating them in dots. So here is my interpretation of the planter.

"a" Series Second Batch!

Here’s a peek at what’s coming. I recently finished the second coat of paint on the 2nd batch of “a” Series paintings. As of right now I’m not sure about the full title. Designs are more or less nailed down. However, things do change along the road to completion. There are plenty of bright ones in this group.


26 - 5" x 5" s, acrylic and color pencil on canvas

da

For the last three years, on Christmas Day, I’ve gone with my family to La Côte Brasserie at the Renaissance Arts Hotel in the Arts District in New Orleans. What’s unique about this hotel is that the lobby and restaurant are all littered with art. There are even two skylight areas on the second floor with sculptures. The first year we ate there, I didn’t think to bring my camera. The last two years I remembered.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

What particularly grabbed my eye was the carpet with its spiral design. For this painting, I took the carpet colors and added a dot spiral on top. This is one of my favorite pieces from this batch of dot art.