Sunset Haze

10" x 10" oil on panel

What can I say? I enjoy looking up at the skies for inspiration.  Their subtle and not-so-subtle shapes and colors, in their vast endless space, seem to offer a key to simplify life in this complex world. Sometimes I love looking at skies more than I like looking at (this) world.  Gazing up helps me clear my head: there are no intersections, no interruptions, and no clutter.

Mushroom & Sweet Pepper

8"x 8" oil on panel

I love how the portobello mushrooms look this year as subjects for still life painting. Their unusual shapes and subtle colors offer opportunities to play with paint; in this case, the muted "flesh" of the mushroom reflected the blue-green backdrop. The pepper gave me a chance to play with cool and warm reds to create form, and contrast the neutral tones of the mushroom. This organic mushroom and sweet pepper came from Fiddleheads Food Co-op in New London.  

"Dalmation Two"

8"h x 6"w Oil on Panel

This painting is the companion-piece to "Dalmation One" and depicts the same dog in a different pose.  Again I used blue tones to represent the black spots; this time a slightly less abstract and more "painterly" style seemed appropriate, and the colors are more muted than in the first.  I almost never plan those sorts of things in advance, but let the painting itself guide me towards the "look" it wants.

Boston Terrier

5" x 5" oil on panel 

This beautiful little Boston Terrier was definitely looking forward to it's treat. I had fun working with the shapes of paint and creating energy with the brush strokes, colors and the forms created by the dog's pose. 

Portabella Mushroom Family

Oil on Pan
8"x 8"
SOLD

I could not resist creating a still life oil painting of a beautiful organic portabella mushroom I bought last week from the Fiddleheads Foods Co-op in New London, CT.  This one had little mushrooms growing at its base; it made me think of a family or of a "hobbit home"of mushrooms.  The beautiful white stem provided me with an opportunity to depict for the reflected red and blue-green colors of the background. 

Swirling Times

8" x 8" encaustic on panel

I feel that the world climate patterns and economic times are like a whirlwind and sometimes my state of being joins the winds of time.  With no planning, I just started this painting with my heat gun, torch and brush.   My guess is that my subconscious brain was swirling in an ocean of thoughts and feelings. 

Blue Dog

15" x 13" Monotype Print

Sometimes I like to let go and just paint quickly on the printing plate. I use a variety of materials for my plates - usually acrylic or copper - with Akua brand water based intaglio inks. Akua's intaglio inks are nontoxic and thicker than regular inks; I enjoy using them to create monotype prints. On the other hand, the material I use for the plate usually doesn't matter to the process for me.

This Great Dane symbolizes spring energy to me on two levels.  There is the obvious visual energy of the dog's pose and movement; but also the speed at which I created the print.

Marina Door/New London

8" x 8"

Doors are very interesting to me; they seem to reappear as focal points in my paintings. Closed they offer interesting possibilities and questions as to what is behind them and where do they lead to? Also, the closed door becomes a canvas for light and cast shadows to create interesting patterns.

MORE MAGNET PAINTINGS

These are recent 4" x 2" oil paintings on board created as magnets. There are two strong magnets epoxied to the back of these painting of seascapes. Fun pieces for the file cabinet, refrigerator etc. , art can be hung anywhere and everywhere.

Titles: Top to Bottom

Tanker at Dusk - SOLD

Sky and Water

On the Way Home - SOLD

Bluff Point Sunset

One Dog Night

6" x 6" oil on board

With painting, I often emphasize the contrast of textures and blocks of color by utilizing a palette knife. I feel the knife becomes a pencil or chisel in my hand and I enjoy the physical pushing and pulling of paint, scraping away and adding. It's a different feeling than when I paint with a brush.

I noticed this regal dog standing guard over the goats and his turf at a local goat farm. The one ear up and one down reminded me of a German Shepherd I once owned and loved.

UPDATED: if you wish to purchase this painting go to my ebay auctions:

http://myworld.ebay.com/jholderartworks/

My FVAC Juried Show Entries

Last month I entered two paintings into the 2008 Opened Juried Show at the Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon,  CT.  The show is called Interpretations and Inspirations, juried by Philip Janes.    These two canvases were accepted into the show. 

Animal skulls lend themselves to much interpretation and reflections of color.  I see the skull not just related to death but a structure that life emanates from.  Of course, the childhood fascination for digging up things in the backyard or woods that your parents find weird or dirty ("Don't you dare bring that thing into the house!") - and the ability to hold onto that fascination into adulthood - is a very useful tool for an artist!  

Check out the Farmington Valley Arts Center website:

www.fvac.net/

6 x 6 inches, oil on panel

As with the previous painting, this is an image of bison skull I sculpted, rather than an actual skull.  (Which, in turn, was copied after an genuine skull, which still hangs on my wall.)  This is also another palette knife painting, and the physicality of painting this reminded me of how it felt to lay down pieces of clay to create the original sculpture.

Wolf Mystery

6x6", oil on panel

Wolves have always felt like kin to me.  No, this is not a painting from a live wolf; I painted this image from one of my sculptures.  I turned the studio lights down low, just enough to see my paints, and lit the wolf head from the side.  When the painting began,  I had no idea how it was ever going to turn out.  In fact, I embarked on the process expecting it not to work because the room was so dark!  Now and then I turned the lights on to see what was happening.  I was surprised to see the image of the wolfhead appearing before me on my painting panel, in a way that seemed magical to me.

Mortar and Pestle

This was painted the same week I painted "Cup a Day" in the previous post.  I chose a similar color palette but a much different textured effect, using a palette knife rather than a brush.  It's an old technique, but for me there is still something new and even exciting about using the knife rather than a brush.  Working with impasto is like literally sculpting in paint for me; I love thick textures, which only the knife can really shape to my satisfaction. 

A Cup A Day

6 x 6" oil painting on panel

Originally I was attempting a more "representational" image, but the result was lifeless.  So I decided to take a risk and literally wipe it out.  In the process of finding the lights, I was able to complete the painting.