Leak

The one image that has been seared into my brain is the underwater video of the continuous oil leak. I’ve been mulling over how to depict it. Finally I decided it best not to be bound by the colors. I chose a yellow-orange background. Then I consulted my color wheel to determine a compliment. I began mixing blue and purple to make some blue violet shades. The result is an abstraction of the oil leak.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Coffer Dam

What is it? Well, it is the shape of an object called a “coffer dam.” When lowered over an oil leak, it is supposed to help contain the oil. The local newspaper showed a white painted coffer dam being used in dramatic night photos. So, I used bluish white dots contrasted by blue and purple dots over a yellow background. Yes, my painting vibrates visually.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Boom

Looking at newspaper photos of Louisiana marsh with lines of orange booms inspired this dot painting. My image is right at the edge where water meets land. I’ve indicated the orange boom with orange dots and the marsh grass with dark green dots. Blue water dots follow the curve of the boom.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Slick

Each day The Times-Picayune has provided a forecast maps for the oil spill’s reach off the coast of Louisiana. It details different bands of thickness in the Gulf of Mexico. The forecasts inspired my dot pattern in this painting.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Surface

The oil spill continues to fill my local newspaper with photos and graphics. An image of rusty orange oil floating on top of Gulf of Mexico water caught my attention. I chose a yellow-green background canvas I had painted already. The colors reminded me of the BP logo colors. First I added orange dots, for the areas of the spill, and then filled with blues and purples, for water. The painting is quite bright.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Explosion

Since I can’t get the Gulf of Mexico oil spill story out of my mind, I turned to color photos of the initial explosions. I concentrated on fiery colors on top of blue. Orange is a complementary color to blue. They vibrate when placed together. Anyway, that’s what led to the image below.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Spill

Here I go again. I’m painting another series of dot paintings. For the moment I’m not quite sure where I’m headed after making my first painting. But I do know I want to break out of what I did the last time – in The Alpha Series.
I felt a bit boxed in by my designs. So now, the journey begins.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"