Calendar Dot Art!

The Jefferson Art Guild (JAG) 30 Month Calendar is out. Thirty of the guild's artists have work featured in it. My dot painting, "Veinte," appears above December 2016 - which is a year away now.

Striped Circles 6

graphite on paper, 8.5" x 11"

Poydras Home Art Show on Halloween

This year the Poydras Home Art Show and Sale took place on Halloween. The sky was overcast and the rain was light. Like last year, the show was only up for one day. My three new paintings hung inside in the big room. All three paintings appeared together on one board. On the following Monday I picked up my paintings.

X

This very day marks the 10th anniversary of my dot art blog. It's a milestone as well as a somber moment for me. I'm reminded of my evacuation from and my return to the New Orleans area.

Last year I pursued an "X' design in three large dot paintings. This year I created three more large paintings using an "X." I also have a couple of batches, of smaller unfinished dot paintings, that are rooted in an "X" design.

As the Katrina anniversary came around, local newspapers published numerous photos of the aftermath from ten years ago. A common sight around the city was a giant "X' spray painted on the front of homes. The top quadrant marked the date a house was searched. The right quadrant included a code for what hazards lay inside. The left quadrant had the initials of the search squad. And the bottom quadrant had a body count.

For a few years now I planned to use the "X" as design structure in my dot paintings. But then this year I thought of another reason to include an "X." "X" can also be the Roman Numeral for "ten."

In last year's anniversary post, I mentioned being in an artistic rut. Well, I'm still in one, in spite of my seeking inspiration from trips to galleries and art museums in the area. I just have to work through this phase.

Veintisiete

To complete my trio of new paintings, I used a yellow background. An "X" pattern is part of the background. I played with contrasting values and colors, but had a rougher time doing so.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Veintiséis

Next up, among my trio of new paintings, is this violet shaded painting. Again I maintained my "X" patterned background. As before, I played with contrasting values and colors.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Veinticinco

Here's the first of three new paintings in my "Numeros" series. I used more pinks and magentas for my "X" patterned background. Like the previous three paintings, I played with contrasting values and colors.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Phase II, Third of Three

Finally I painted the second coat of acrylic on this one. I again used variations of purple to violet. This one is also ready for dots.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Phase II, Second of Three

Next I added a second coat of acrylic to this pinkish painting. I worked with reds to magentas. Now it is ready for dots!


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Phase II, First of Three

The second coat of acrylic has been added to this canvas. The dots will be added next. I have the other two to do too.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Phase I, Third of Three

For my third painting I used a range of blues to violets. Once again I used an "X" design. And so I've completed the first coat of acrylic paint.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Phase I, Second of Three

My second canvas included a range of pinks and magentas. Again I repeated an "X" design pattern. And so I finished the first coat of acrylic.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Phase I, First of Three

October is a couple of months away. So it is time for me begin my next three dot paintings for the Poydras Home Art Show. Today I painted the first layer of acrylic paint on three canvases. Below is the first of the three. Again, this year, I will paint using an "X" design format. Now is the time to work on these paintings.


acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20"

Alpha Omega

In completing the last image in the "Alpha Series" I chose a blue background and repeated a design used at the midpoint. Only this time I went with non-earth tone colors. I believe it makes a good ending to this group of paintings.



acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Psi

Once again I painted dots over a purple background. Sure, I changed up the design a bit to keep things interesting. There's an inner glow that I like in this painting.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Chi

My next composition was a return to a pattern I used in Alpha Sigma, However, I changed the shapes to fortune cookie-like outlines on whim. I then added dark colored dots inside the outlines and pastel colored dots to the background. The color combination gives a subtle effect.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Phi

When I made this painting, I was anxious to explore a new process for pattern making. Therefore, I tried alternating where the pattern appeared on parts of the painting. I consider this a breakthrough piece since my direction out of my
design rut. "Star Wars I" was playing on cable that night.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Upsilon

This dot painting began with variations of pink. Then on top of pink I painted green dots as I made a transition around the color wheel. I maintained a square in the middle with circular shapes at the corners. I shifted dots inward to red and outward to
blue.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Tau

Returning to a purple background, I decided to switch up my transition colors. Beginning with red objects, created by dots, I shifted color from orange as I progressed to green and yellow-green. Beyond that I let my dot process take its course.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Sigma

Recently I went to see the Japanese animé film “Ponyo” which was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was after seeing the movie that I painted my new dot painting. I decided to make my shapes dark and then use pastels on the space around my shapes. My guess is some will tell me the shapes are paisleys.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Rho

Yellow-Orange is the background for my dot painting below. The dots are high key making the design rather subtle. Although I have difficulty viewing this painting from  across the room, I'm pleased with my pastel colors.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Pi

It had been a while since I painted a green one. So, that was my background color. Nexxt I made four circles as part of an “X.” Between the green and the circles I thought about aliens. I’m not limiting this work to say it is simply an alien. OK, now it’s your turn.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Omicron

And thus the purple background returns! I chose a flower design, of sorts, to make this pattern. I wouldn’t want to lock it in specifically, however. Viewers just might find something else in it. Anyway, I was tickled with my color transitions. My painting did become a bit complex.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Xi

In response to visits to some local homes, I decided to play with a combination of browns, reds and oranges in a dot painting. I knew I wanted an undulating curve pattern. However, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I finished. Luckily for me, being intuitive worked. This one excited me.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Nu

Again I chose a variation of red for my background. I then added bright green dots to form a cross with small points jutting out. Blending colors as I worked to the center and then the edges of the canvas, I developed contrasting gradations. The cross was just a shape to use this time around.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Mu

The round shapes I used in Alpha Iota encouraged me to paint more round shapes in this painting. Again, using a yellow background proved to be a tricky. I went with contrasting dark complementary colors in order to tame it. I included fewer round shapes this go-round.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Lambda

On top of a red background I started with a plus sign made up of yellow dots. From there, all I did was add more dots as I created a transition of colors on the color wheel. While working on the painting, I did not concern myself with strict straight rows or consistent dot sizes. I figured it was a more interesting to paint my dots.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Kappa

Beginning with a blue background I went a little darker with my dots. I used a lot of reds and oranges. I started with an “x” in the middle and added “y’s” at the four four ends of the “x.”


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Iota

Pink was the way I started this next painting. Circles of dots dominated my design. I feel calm when I look at the painting.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Theta

The dark green on this canvas intimidated me. So I did not add dots to it right away. Finally I gathered the courage to attack the dark green. As you can see, I managed to add some very bright colors to counteract the dark background.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Eta

Although I have been sticking to bright colors, I made one dot painting with a brown background. My challenge was to see what dot colors I could place on top of it to make it interesting. I have my color wheel that enables an artist to find complements of various colors that are light and dark. So I went to the other side of the wheel to make my choices.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Zeta

Yellow has been a difficult background color for me previously, but I liked how this one progressed. It had a similar beginning to Alpha Gamma, but then I added diagonals. I’m very happy the color blends created by the dots.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Epsilon

My process on the previous painting started at the center as I worked outward to the four corners. In this painting, my dot process began with the four corners as I worked towards the center of the piece. I played with an abstract floral shape to start. As for the middle, I’m not sure what it is. It is colorful, however.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Delta

This painting evolved very differently from the others. I had the design in my head, but the colors took me elsewhere. Again, I wanted the colors to pop. I just didn’t count on this one being quite so psychedelic. And no, I didn’t consume or smoke anything to influence my artwork. Bright colors come naturally.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Gamma

For my third painting I went green, so to speak. Then I added dots from the red side of the color wheel. I'm experimenting with the sizes of dots more. This one feels mellow to me.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Beta

The second dot painting in this series is a lot louder. I wanted to be sure the colors popped. This time I used a flower-like shape. When I finished the painting reminded of disco and the 70s.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Alpha

Between 2003 and 2009 I had trouble finding 6" x 6" canvases. This was first piece I painted in this series. There's not much of a story other than that I wanted to play with color juxtaposition.


acrylic on canvas, 6" x 6"

Alpha Series

Currently I am working through a severe period of creative drought. In the meantime I've decided to revisit some paintings I created in 2009. I will review each of them in my upcoming posts. Eventually I will complete the next batch of paintings. They are in progress, but they remain unfinished.

Striped Circles 5

graphite on paper, 8.5" x 11"

Striped Circles 4

graphite on paper, 8.5" x 11"

Striped Circles 3

Here is another experiment with gestural lines inside overlapping circles.


graphite on paper, 8.5" x 11"

Algiers Point Fine Art Gallery

Recently my dot art hung at Algiers Point Fine Art Gallery at 837 1/2 Opelousas Avenue in Algiers Point. Algiers Point is across the Mississippi River from the French Quarter. The display included works from the last nine years: 5" x 5"'s, 6" x 6"'s and 20" x 20"'s. The gallery's entrance faces a street corner.