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On a Sunday around St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day, the Annual Irish-Italian Parade takes place in Metairie. This was the first time I had attended this particular parade. I decided to base my design on a flower that I was handed during the parade. The tradition is that you exchange a kiss with the marcher in order to receive the flower. The same tradition follows for some Mardi Gras marching groups too.






acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Several of the marchers wore black tuxedos with white shirts. Some had red ties and beads and some had green ties and beads. I threw in all the colors in my design: black, white, red and green. I used dots to help define the flower. Some folks have told me that this looks like a Christmas painting.

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Following Hurricane Katrina, an artist organization I belong to, called ARTinA (art in Algiers), scheduled several of its artist members to make presentations. Flamework glass artist, Debbie Dufrene, demonstrated lamping to the artists gathered. She makes a variety of glass beads. She passed around samples of her work as she demonstrated the process.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Given the look of the beads, I wanted to create a painting that captured a similar spirit. So using bright colors, I divided up the square surface. I then created a circle, made up of dots., on top of each background. See a bowl of Debbie Dufrene’s beads below.

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Around the beginning of the 2007 the iPhone debuted. Not that I own one at this time, but I thought it a fitting subject for making artwork. The canvases I use are not particularly iPhone shaped, so I let the square shape dictate the painting.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

From the outset I decided to have fun mimicking colorful buttons that are used on the iPhone. But for the context of my painting I avoided logos or icons on my buttons. Instead I rendered them with a slight 3-D look. Anyway this is my interpretation using dots.

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In the spring of 2007, I attended a Le Petit Art Guild meeting. Kitty Parakh was the artist who made a presentation. She talked about Abstract Expressionism. She showed samples of her work and talked about her process. The talk she gave was the inspiration for this piece.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

The pattern I made was based on a watercolor painting she showed us. The colors I chose came from a grouping of her works that I have seen. Click on the link above to visit her site.

A Few More New Ones

This week I’m in a painting mood. So, here are the next three works in this series. There are a few more of these painting currently in progress. I will post them shortly. Once I make it to the end of this batch, I will switch to a different series.

Not long ago I managed to locate some more 6” x 6” canvases. Having sold 20 out of 24 in that size, I plan to create another grouping. The 24 paintings I refer to were the first small dot paintings I made. Most of them were driven by my love of patterns and colors, but not necessarily stories. Lately I’ve felt a little too hemmed in by having a story with a piece. These pieces will be a diversion from my current work while I revisit my earlier process.

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acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

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acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

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acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

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The same night I attended ArtSpeak, at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, I viewed an exhibit called “The Eclectic Eye: Selections from the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation.” It happens that the show includes a large eyeball sculpture. Well that’s the initial inspiration for this painting. Another reason I created the painting was the because of the eye surgeries I had: one in December 2006 and another one in January 2007. In the previous batch I painted green dots representing laser light for a piece. Also My Discover Magazine had articles on eyes: one about the complexity of eye color and another about the eye as the window of the soul.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

In making this piece I did an interpretation of the eyeball I saw. The dots always make me simplify my images. From people’s reactions I can tell the paintings commands attention.

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For a number of years now the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans has been hosting artist discussion panels called “ArtSpeak.” The three artists that make up a panel are each allowed 20 minutes to make a presentation. Some artists talk about a specific series while others talk about different groupings of work. A moderator introduces each artist and keeps the time. After the three artists have talked, the moderator initially poses discussion questions and then opens up the panel to questions from the audience.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

In the spring of 2007 I attended one panel in particular that inspired me to paint this work. One of the artists used dots plotted on charts in her art imagery. Another artist used bright colors in his art imagery. This painting is generated from what I saw that night: the dot plots and the bright colors.