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On another visit to the Newcomb Art Gallery at Tulane University I viewed a show consisting of 125 works on paper that came from local collections in New Orleans. A the time I drew a few simple sketches from what I saw. Since three years have gone by, my memory of the show is a bit fuzzy. I'm dependent on the drawings I made.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

After selecting the designs I wanted to combine, I made dots on a background of beiges and ivories. The result reminds me of looking at markings of ancient cultures and wondering what was intended. I didn't worry about the original intent of the designs. My concern was finding unusual works from the show.

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Adjacent to Zea Rotisserie Grill, 1655 Hickory in Harahan, is a Bird Sanctuary. One evening I decided to explore the area after eating at the restaurant. Sometimes I’m not sure how my photos will turn out, but this shoot resulted in some pleasantly serene photos. I was very pleased when I viewed them at home.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Naturally I wanted to make a dot piece based on my visit to the sanctuary. Long ago I knew I wanted the background to be pink and green. When it came to the dots, I decided to mimic the stone path. I began with outlines of the stone shapes and then filled them in with pink dots.

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Long before I met the pastel artist, Eli Sproles, I was impressed with his use of color in his figure paintings. I’ve seen him demonstrate his technique several times rendering portraits. One time I was the model for a portrait. Since I’m very passionate about color in my work, I wanted to create a dot painting in spirit of his palette.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

First I began with a brown background in several shades. On top of that I added bright colored dots with transitions between them. I decided from the outset to keep my painting abstract. Because the size of the dots was so small it took a number of hours to render this piece.

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Years ago Newcomb Art School set out to create a distinct New Orleans style of artwork. Some of the works are in the Art Nouveau tradition. The school is located on the campus of Tulane University. Adjacent to the art school is the Newcomb Art Gallery. At one time, one of the rooms in the gallery featured examples of Newcomb pottery.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

One type of Newcomb pottery includes images of backlit oak trees painted in different shades of blue. After looking at some example photos of works, I mixed similar blues to paint my dots. Again I worked using a diamond format. Here is the finished painting.

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Because of the parking situation downtown, I usually visit several places that are near one another. On one of my trips I went to the The Ogden Museum of Southern Art. On the fourth floor a single gallery is dedicated to artist Will Henry Stevens. At one time he lived in the area and taught. He worked in realism and abstraction. What impressed me most was his use of color.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

In keeping with the diamond format in this batch of my dot artworks, I figured I’d make the top corner into a mountain. I love the color he used in his mountain landscapes. A brochure I purchased helped me choose my palette. I then played with color transitions.

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A few years ago my family took me to Riche, the former restaurant at Harrah’s Hotel. I took a number of photos of the décor. For a while I’ve been trying to decide how I wanted to remember that night with a dot painting. After we finished dinner we decided to explore the back part of the restaurant.
It was there that we found a band with its lead singer in front of a small stage with curtains. The image reminded me of something out of “Twin Peaks.” There were reds and browns with dim lighting.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Once I settled on the photo, I had to figure out a way to simplify a design. I zeroed in on the curtains and the singer’s dress. So that’s where this painting began. Somewhere along the way, I ended up with something like an owl. But I guess that fits too as long as I am on a “Twin Peaks” tangent.
Well, that was my process.

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A few years ago an Australian Aboriginal artist, who goes by the screen name marvynmc, friended me on a social networking site. His interest in my work was particularly flattering to me since Aboriginal art has been an inspiration for my work. Aboriginal artwork is not limited to dots however. It also includes lines.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Marvynmc’s works depict stories that are told by his people. He includes a brief description with each piece explaining his symbolism. When I first saw his work I noticed a pinwheel type pattern he used that was similar to one I used in some of my paintings. After browsing through his posted works, I decided to create a dot painting to honor him.

I zeroed in on his depiction of water holes, which he uses as a grid background in his avatar image. Water holes show up in several of his works. Since my current series includes a diamond shape instead of a pinwheel, I adapted my design accordingly.

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A few years ago I attended an opening reception for an exhibit featuring works by portrait artist Jean-Joseph Vaudechamp (1790 - 1864). It was held at the Williams Research Center located on Chartres in the French Quarter. I wanted to find a way to remember that evening with a dot painting. Over a period of time I ruled out trying to mimic a portrait.

Eventually I reviewed the photos I took that night. After mulling over them, I finally honed in one that included a hallway with a large image of an eagle in gold at the other end. After some more deliberation, I decided to simplify my painting to a gold circle on an orange background.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"