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"

Sketch Process Part Deux

In round two I thought I had things figured out, but then I went to paint. My painting went a different direction. It’s been a while since I created the “Alpha Series.” So, I guess I’m relearning what I did first. Then I I’ll work out where I go next.

Sketch Process

Here’s round one of sketches for the “Beta Series.” After drawing them, however, I’m not sure I want to use them. The mandala design has started to bore me. So most likely I will be aiming for something different. For the moment I'm just not sure I how I will accomplish a change.

ze

The idea for my final piece, in this batch, came from the light on my external hard drive. When I turn off the ceiling light, the blue light haunts my computer room. When I first purchased the drive, its blue light distracted me. It has taken some for me to get used to it.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

Again I began with a diamond shape on my canvas. I painted it blue surrounded by a darker blue. I then played with variations of light and dark blue to create the beams of light emanating from the center of my design. And thus, I conclude the “e” Reaction Series.

ye

In recent years, while visiting some people’s homes, I’ve noticed a lot of interiors decorated with earth tone colors – especially in some abstract artwork. My palette usually consists of pastel colors. Thus I figured I ought to give the earth tones colors a whirl. My previous painting “ve” was a trial run for this one.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

The first issue I ran into was communicating painterly expression using dots. The large abstract paintings that inspired me had very loose brush marks on them. I achieved a loose pattern by applying the dots irregularly. Also I thought about what colors go forward and backward in space. The finished image looks like some ancient symbol.

xe

On one of my visits to the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans I viewed an exhibit featuring the work of artist Mario Petrirena. The show consisted of collages and assemblages. I enjoyed the show enough to buy a catalog. In the back of my head I’ve known I wanted to do a piece having seen his work. The question became how to make my painting just
a painting.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

To begin I painted my canvas a muted red and pastel of the same color. Next, I mimicked circle cutouts by dabbing dotted lines. Then I mulled over what to add while flipping through the catalog. That’s when I saw an assemblage involving a hand. Placing my own hand over the canvas, I created an outline with dots. From there I filled in the positive and negative areas created. To finish I looked at an ornate design, before creating one of my own.

we

Many of you will remember the scene in the “Matrix” in which Morpheus offers Neo a choice between the “blue pill” and the “red pill.” Well, that is what makes my story of coincidence amusing. A few years ago I picked up two medications prescribed by my doctor. Later that night when I went to take my pills, I discovered one was blue and the other one was red. In contrast to the film, I was not asked to choose between the two.


acrylic on canvas, 5" x 5"

From that moment I knew I wanted to make a painting based on the two pills. After some thought, I decided to divide my canvas down the middle with blue and red. I knew I wanted to use the shape of the two pills on top, but I was undecided about the lighting. Finally I decided to make the edge around the shapes the brightest. Now that I’ve finished I’ve noticed how much the shapes look like the number “ten.” However, that was not my intention.

ve

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.