I've added a new series to my art documentary page, newest at the bottom of the page, as usual.  

So here's a question?  Do you paint because it's easy or hard?  Would it be as much fun if it had no challenges?  For me, it is the challenge that makes me pick up a brush.  Can I do that?  Will it work?  For instance, I began a painting that included tin cans.  Could I do it?  Would it be artful?  At the time...no.  I threw it away.  I tried again a year later.  No.  I burned it.  I tried again a year later.  Success!  Was it as I had first pictured?  No.  It was better.  There were years of experience between the first and the last painting.  So I say with authority that I paint because it is challenging.  Easy is just another word for boring.  Back to my brushes.  

"My stories run up and bite me in the leg - I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite." - Ray Bradbury

I started a new painting and that is always an exciting time for me.  I have it all planned out in my head, well, mostly anyway.  I have my palette reconstituted and it is bright and beautiful and I can hardly wait to dip my brush...but first I clean off the mixing area.  It's not logical and it's a terrible waste of paint.  I'm not changing my palette after all, just starting a new painting.  I suppose that's the explanation as well.  It's a beginning.  The last painting is done.  I want to be totally in the moment with this painting.  So I wipe the "slate" clean and begin.  It feels good.  I can't recommend it; but it is what I do.  Back to my brushes.  

"Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don't need to escape from."  - Seth Godin

If you haven't seen it already, here is the cover of Splash 19:  Illusion of Light.  You can preorder your copy now at North Light Books.  I am delighted to have a painting included in this issue.  It is always an honor to have your work chosen and along with you, I too look forward to sitting down with a cold drink and gaping, awestruck at all the paintings I wish I had done.  Splash always inspires me.  

I've been working hard and am trying to wrap up my latest painting, but it is slow going as usual.  I am happy to share that we have finally had a weekend without rain!  And we slipped right into summer and skipped spring.  It was hot today!  But who cares, that bright shiny thing was out and made me squint when I walked outside.  What a treat.  What else have I finished...oh yeah, books.  Two months - fifteen books.  Christopher Moore where have you been all my life?  Amor Towles, Jeremy Robinson and Matt Goldman - what can I say except thank you.  I was truly entertained.  And if you are looking for some encouragement art wise - Danielle Krysa might help.  When do I have time you ask?  What time is it?  Goodness, I'd best get some sleep before the sun comes up.  Back to my brushes.  

"I find television very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."  - Groucho Marx

It's been awhile since I posted, but I have been busy with a multitude of projects that have kept me away from my desk and the opportunity to post.  It is late, or early depending on your viewpoint, but I did want to take the time to share the news that one of my paintings will be included in SPLASH 20:  Creative Compositions!, North Light Books’ hardbound showcase of the best in contemporary watercolors.   I want to thank the entire team at F+W Media, and send my hearty congratulations to all the 123 artists whose work was selected.  The release date will be some time around July of 2019 and will be available for preorder through North Light Books around that time.  Back to my brushes.

​"Don't watch the clock.  Do what it does.  Keep going."  - Sam Levenson

I finally, finally, had the opportunity to finish watching a documentary I have literally held on to for months in order to finish it.  Embarrassing that it took this long, because it is so well done.  But, that is the way of things.  I hope you have the opportunity to watch it.   As usual you can find it at the bottom of my Art Documentaries page.  I am still drawing, but hopefully will be able to start painting soon.  Back to my brushes.  

"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art."  - Constantin Stanislavski

I am working on a commissioned piece and will be back to my own direction as soon as possible.   Back to my brushes.  

"It was what I was born for - to look, to listen, to lose myself inside this soft world - to instruct myself over and over."  - Mary Oliver

I have been thinking about my newest series for years.  It wouldn't gel.  It was top-heavy.  I wasn't convinced that it would convey my thoughts.  But finally, finally my inner ramblings will bear fruit.  I see my way clear and I am relieved that my musings have reconciled.  Back to my brushes.  

"Go at it boldly, and you'll find unexpected forces closing round you and coming to your aid."  - Basil King

A family member has passed.  She was quite sentimental and sweet, mixed sharply with wit and humor.  You will be well remembered.  Rest in peace Janet.  

 "Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look at the stars"  - Henry Van Dyke. 

I have had a couple of weeks with few commitments and I have put my brushes down for the duration of this unexpected break.  Instead I am catching up on daily life efforts that I have let go for too long.  At the end of each day, the experience has given me a feeling of great accomplishment and peace of mind.  I look forward to another week of the same.  Here's to starting the year at peace with my surroundings.  Back to my brushes soon.  

​"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."  William Arthur Ward