Going to Small

So, how did I end up painting such small paintings? Well, it all started with a gallery located in Algiers Point called Lallybroch Gallery. The artist organization ARTinA (Art in Algiers), which I belong to, was invited to have a show at the gallery. Because the gallery was small, the artists were asked to bring small artwork for the show.

When I went to the art supply store, I zeroed in on canvases that were 6” x 6” in size. Similar to the eight pieces I created, I painted dots over a triangle pattern. The paintings below are the first four I painted. In May of 2002 I saw the film “Enigma” which concerns a group of British young people who cracked the Nazi code during World War II. Seeing the film inspired me further in the direction begun with the first eight paintings. I was simply intrigued with patterns as a visual expression, not as a hidden message. Then I had to find titles for these paintings. I settled on the names of the letters from the Greek Alphabet. They often turn up in our pop culture and I thought they would be appropriate for my new paintings. Thus I named the four: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.

The reception was in early July of 2002. In New Orleans that is a hot and humid time of year. Unfortunately for everyone who attended the opening, the gallery was hot. As I wandered around, my fellow artists and my family were excited about these small pieces. They told me I should do more of them.

When the show came down, none of the works had sold. That didn’t discourage me from painting more canvases that size. Besides the ARTinA Festival was coming up in October and I figured small pieces would be an ideal item to sell . . .

Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, 6" x 6"'s, acrylic on canvas