Recent Work #4

The Fountain of Youth ...

16" x 12" Watercolor, Gouache, Prismacolor pencil on Arches 2017

Is to be found among the waving Sawgrasses growing on the beaches of the eastern coast of the southern USA.  Poor, desperate Ponce de Leon only had to press onward a few more miles north to become his child self again.

Fast forward to 2017 and you'll find an amusement park of the same name a few miles south.  Of course.

Recent Work #3

The Brothers-in-Law, Fly Fishing

16" x 12" Prismacolor pencil and Dr.Ph.Martin's watercolor inks on Arches 2017

My Father's famous line, "I'm like a Lemming, I always return to the sea."
That's him on the right and my Mother's oldest brother on the left.
Happy times.

Recent Work #1

Love Song

12" x 16" Prismacolor pencil + Dr. Ph. Martins watercolor inks

 on Arches, 2017

An extremely popular blues rock band on the SOFLA circuit, they fell in love.  Only recently, they got married. This is my wedding gift to them, my daughter the law student is doing the framing.  
You may ask"Why frogs?" One of these lovely rockers is my younger sister who collected toy frogs as a child which she called Blizzies, thus the Blizadelic Unity and thus, frogs.

Divine Grace

Mr. and Mrs. Mac, woodpile, South Africa

   I was so moved by the tragedy that occurred last spring in Susanna's garden, I had to paint the tale's very happy ending Su sent to me a short time later.  This is Divine Grace at work.

You'll have to read the whole post and comments to understand what happened.

Su's words: "...Out of that tragedy, something rather profound emerged.
One of the eekers, McGyver who is a master escapist (names are important) was released from the cage the day before as he was bullying the others.
Hence his freedom and escape from torture. Iona clearly got you have more chance of surviving if you have freedom of movement.

Anyway Mac lived in the stickpile in the garden, with the rabbit and the chicken but was alone. A friend came to visit with the most beautiful lady, black and spikey - name Mrs Mac and they are chirruping in delight in the autumn sunlight. ..."

Refuge ... for now

16" x 12" watercolor + gouache on Arches

Update:  The words "... for now" in the title refers to this pictured area on the California coast, Pigeon Point, and is subject to multiple landslides, increasing sea temperatures and one day may well not be there anymore.   See it while you can.  For now, it is a precious refuge for all beings, especially sea life populations.

Playground Habitat

24" x 14" watercolor on Arches, 4/14

Roots in Eden

    12" x16" watercolor + gouache on Arches, 2013

 

 

It is very practical to do your laundry on the back step with two large water tubs next to mango trees and hang the clothes in the Barbados sun.  Total cost: a single bar of blue soap.  Later on, with all the money you saved, you can go out dancing at the DJ Disco up the sand road.

Soldier's Mountain

18" x 12" watercolor on Arches © 140lb cold pressed July 2013

The Farm, Arizona:

I fell in love with one of the horses and came to find he joined the farm by traveling from the other side of this mountain, leaving behind a situation of neglect akin to abandonment.  His owner was eventually located and gave him freely to the farm forever where he is happy to be at peace with the retired Pot Belly Pigs, free range chickens, a lovely female of his own species, four dogs, five cats, three chipmunks and the Watusi herd who visit every evening to catch up on the latest farm doings.

I was stunned. What a story!

Imagine this beautiful guy soldiering on in triple digit temperatures, over the cliffs and peaks with all the dangers the southwest desert environment presents?  To see him now in his current location, you'd see him well fed and well watered, hanging out with his girlfriend, kicking up the dirt in joy and surrounded by love, constant attention, shade from the elements and lots of space to play. The layout of the farm is simply one huge yard with the humans' dwelling in the center, so you will often wake up in the morning with Soldier looking in your window.

NE Workshop

NE Workshop as seen from kitchen window

I keep coming across works that were never displayed here, living in my portfolio unseen.  Now is as good a time as any to share them.  (Either that or they were left out of the recent gallery revision, another likely possibility.)  This one is California, Fall 04.  You can tell its Fall by the pattern of leafless Oak branches.  It always caught my eye while washing dishes.  Art is everywhere.


18" x 24" watercolor inks on Arches

Sodabox at High Noon

18" x 24" watercolor on Arches

This one's for William Carlos Williams 


so much depends 

upon 

a red wheel barrow 

glazed with rainwater 

beside the white 

chickens.

The Valley of the Shadow

Watercolor on Arches
12" x 16"
2012

graces & granite

graces & granite  watercolor on Arches  16"x12"

My friend took the photo, I had rights because it was my camera.  It said I am the image of old California, still here.  It also said, Paint me.  I liked it that the image verbalized itself so well, and I agreed completely.  Granite's name was changed when it blew away in the dust and became a place equally as humble.  Tomorrow I start on a third, the red barn, and the crow flies quickly to False Spring as well.  The height of my trip is seeing something to paint that meets an interior criteria, speaking and showing all of its special details that point undeniably to what we lost in the rush of the NWO.  So be cheered this place still exists.  It is amazing how people lived and the funky variety of ways of life before everything became illegal and mandatory.

Bee Flowers with Glacial Erratics: a family portrait

12" x 16" watercolor on Arches

There is a place that inspires imagination and then anything else that was on the schedule evaporates like dew on a summer morning.  What is a schedule anyway but a map for the longer days, to be a good map it should be elastic so you will revisit it another day and another, knowing something inspiring will take you high ... and higher still.

The Lambs Make Their Way through Mist and Fog

12" x 16" watercolor on Arches block

The wonderful friends of my other blog know this photo from frequent mentions of Oaks and sheep which so deeply stirs the collective unconscious memory of the one mind's concept of Livity, it fell onto the paintbrushes resting in my hand.

As a side note, they are also the recent escapees, reformed now that they discovered in addition to fog and yellow fungus on bark, our dogs are Sheepdog-Border Collies disguised as unruly family pets.

This is a gift for Jah little yout, Zion, Jamaican American, age 4 months, his first art.