The Aboriginal Influence

Twenty-four years ago, last May, I graduated from Mississippi State with a BFA in Graphic Design and other emphases in Photography and Painting – meaning I had twelve plus hours in both areas. The jobs I had after graduating were in pre-press. As for my fine art, I did a lot of experimenting with the techniques I had learned in school. Many of them were rooted in “happy accidents.” Generating unexpected imagery was more exciting to me than planning one out and then simply executing it. My blogs mind places and slingin paint cover the majority of the artwork I created between 1984 and 2000. The dot art was not a high priority. It has something that I’ve come back to at different times.

By 1993 I did some substitute teaching at my old school. My former high school art teacher had me substitute for him. Another art teacher had swapped with him in order to teach high school. She had become interested in the art created by Aboriginals and she had her students painting with enamel paint pens on canvas. Also, she was working on her own painting using the same method. It was at this point I had a chance to view a book of Aboriginal Art.

Suddenly I was excited about trying the method myself. Around this time I became interested in art that had a primitive expressive edge. In attempting dot painting, I was determined to do something that was more connected to New Orleans, since it is where was born and have lived all my life – except when I was in Starkville, MS for collge. It happened that an art association was having a Mardi-Gras-themed art show. So that became my opportunity to try out the dots. My dots became sequins. Below I have posted one of three I painted. It is called "Five Masks in Blue."

acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

Post-Impressionism

This was a project from my Painting I class at Mississippi State. All the projects for the course were painted in oils. I painted this one in the spring of 1984. We were instructed to use dots of pure color and place complementary colors adjacent to each other. We were using the Seurat Post-Impressionistic approach.

I had enjoyed playing with Impressionism in high school art classes. When this project came along I was thrilled.

I used an old photo of my grandfather and his cousin picnicking on the levee for my composition. I had to imagine color for this shot. At the time I did not have color levee photos to aid me.

The painting project that immediately followed this one consisted of collaged imagery. We were asked to be more personal in subject matter and to choose how we would render the piece. I mention the project because I had painterly water like Monet. You can see the painting "Cat Slide Water" on my blog, mind places.

oil on canvas, 28" x 36"

A Painting for My School

My high school headmaster requested a do a painting to hang at school. That is how this painting came to be. It hung in the school library. The painting was returned to me sometime before Katrina. Fortunately I had it at my house, which did not flood.


acrylic on canvas pad, 16" x 20"

Water's Edge

Next I painted this landscape. I wrestled with bringing trees forward and backward in space. My high school art teacher advised me on placing reflections of the sky in
the water.

When I finally finished this piece, I gave it to my mother. She had it framed and hung it among a collection of Impressionist styled paintings in her living room. Several of the paintings she had in her house had an impact of use of color and brushstrokes.


acrylic on canvas pad, 12" x 16"

Dabs of Paint

Between my junior and senior year, I traveled with five other students and my French teacher to France. The last five days of our five-week trip were spent in Paris. Naturally I enjoyed seeing the Impressionist paintings at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume. The museum is now dedicated to photography. Also while in Paris I also saw some Vasarely paintings. His works are in the abstract geometric direction – usually with circles.


Previously I had painted more in the Monet tradition, but now I was headed in the Seurat direction. By now my brushstrokes were more like dot dabs of paint. Although I loved Vasareley’s work, his influence on my work didn’t come until much later.


Here is an acrylic painting I did during this period. I continued to play with warm and cool colors. The great thing about acrylic was that I could cover up the areas I didn't like.

acrylic on canvas pad, 12" x 16"

Farmhouse in a Valley

Not long after my first Impressionist painting, I had a request from someone in my school's front office to paint another Impressionist painting. This time I worked from a color photograph. Again, with the help of my high school art teacher, I explored dabbing bright colors in egg tempera. My second effort was even more exciting for me.

egg tempera on paper

Shaped by Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

It was spring of my high school sophomore year and I completed my first impressionist painting in egg tempera. The piece hung in the front hall of the school. Next thing I know the drama teacher told me she had to have it. I let her. Around that time she became an administrator. Soon the piece was framed and was proudly displayed in her office.

My source material was a black and white photograph of a big oak tree and shadows cast on the grass underneath and a nearby stream. So, I had to invent colors for my image. My high school art teacher advised me along the way.

This is the only photograph I have of my painting. It was taken with a Polaroid camera.
I had to clean up the image a little to give a cleaner photograph.

egg tempera on paper

An Early Dot Drawing

On October 7, 2005, I arrived back in Metairie after my evacuation to Memphis. My family had contractors tear out moldy walls in the basement of the home where I grew up. Some of my art was stored there. I was informed that I needed to go grab the art that did not get soaked during the flood. The portfolios I retrieved have been sitting in my art storage room at home. I knew from past browsing that the majority of my kid art perished.

Four years ago, I decided to see what actually survived. This is a drawing made before I started Kindergarten. When I used to visit my father’s sister, I’d draw and she would hang my art on one wall of her kitchen. It was the “great art wall,” if you will. Of course my sister and brother had art on the art wall too. They never pursued art, but they created some nice work too.

My family says that the trail of dots is supposed to be ants. As for the “H-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h” – my guess it means “H-h-h-h-h-h-e-l-l-l-l-l-l-p!” Anyway I thought I’d post an early example of my “dot art.” I altered the temperature of the picture so the drawing is easier to see. Needless to say the paper has turned brown, the rubber cement is showing through and there are obvious tears that were scotch-taped.

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Riccobono's Peppermill Restaurant is a local restaurant that I frequented before Hurricane Katrina. Upon my return to the New Orleans area, I drove around with my list places. I marked off what was open. When I rode by the Peppermill, I noticed kitchen equipment outside in front. After some time the restaurant re-opened. The inside had been redone. Besides some dark greens and reds and browns, there were some murals on the walls across from the front entrance. They depicted columns and archways with Italian cypress along a hillside.




acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

The murals and décor inspired this painting. The background is made up of colors from the curtains, chairs and walls. I then painted Italian cypress with a light blue background I saw in the mural. Originally I had an archway framing everything. However, it became problematic. So, I eliminated it. This is the last piece in this batch.

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Back in April I wrote about a friend who visited me and brought me a metal lizard with brightly colored dots on it. Well, the day she came, she wore a blouse that was a pastel derivation of red-orange – I guess that’s how I’d best describe the color. In the course of correspondence she had talked about a blanket she made her grandson. It had bubbles and rubber ducks
on it.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Thus you have the visual ingredients for this painting: the background color, bubbles and ducks. I figured combining these elements would be a fun way to remember her visit. Working on the composition took some thought. This was a fun piece to paint.

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As I stated in my last post I explored Blogger’s Top Ten List when I first started using Blogger. I quickly found a blog called Google Video of the Day (later GoogleTube Video of the Day). Each day at least one new video was posted. Readers were also encouraged to submit videos they found and site creator Michael Martine would credit videos suggested. Then in March of 2006 I was asked to participate as a team blogger on the site. This lasted until May when Michael decided to return to a solo act.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

This painting concerns the feel of the site during that period. I used the colors and a few of the Internet smiley graphics that appeared at the time. Later on the re-designed since that time. Unlike my other dot paintings this one is a lot more specific in appearance. But then again, someone out there might make an individual interpretation I don’t expect. It’s happened before.

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When I first started blogging back in October of 2005, I looked at a number of blogs including the ones on the Blogger’s Top Ten List. It was at that time I first encountered Google Video and became excited about the videos that were uploaded. Soon I was creating blogs to highlight videos I found. For these blogs I used a design called “Moto” which came in three versions: green, gray and pink. When I pruned back my number of blogs, I deleted them. They became more work than fun.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

This painting has to do with my enthusiasm for video online when I started blogging. While working with my own design, I combined the colors from the “Moto” designs. In making this painting I am highlighting a shift that occurred in my online experiences.

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One of the last days I spent in Chicago, I made a day trip to the Ukrainian Village. One of the places I visited was the Ukrainian National Museum. A woman took me on a tour of the museum and explained some of the history of the Ukrainians who settled in Chicago. At the conclusion of the tour, I bought some wooden Easter eggs that were decorated with roosters.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

The stylized brush strokes used on the eggs provoked me to do an interpretation using dots. I simplified the plumage on my rooster image and came up with my own background color. This one ended up being one of my favorites of this group of dot paintings. Many people have told me how much they like this painting.

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My painting is derived from renovations made to a local club after Katrina. As a child I spent a lot summers there swimming. The place has lots of memories for me.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

For this painting I used the greens I saw, but I didn’t worry about picking up any specific design. This is kind of a sequel to the red and yellow rug piece, which I consider of breakthrough work. There are certain pieces that surprise in good way.