I'm pleased to share

I'm pleased to share that my painting Remnants of Enchantment has been awarded the Celia Clark Memorial Award at Watercolor USA 2026.  My thanks to the judges, Spiva Center for the Arts, the Watercolor Honor Society, the Springfield Art Museum and all those that make this exhibition possible.  

I'll spend a moment sharing some insights about this work. If you saw my article in the spring issue of Watercolor Artist, or saw the painting Ekman's Enchantment in Kenosha or an earlier blog post, you might recognize the composition. Yes, the proof of concept for this painting was Ekman's Enchantment. And after seeing this I believe you will understand why I needed a POC. I think this painting is enjoyable on its own, but its inspiration might surprise you because really it is about... fluid mechanics. Although after reading the narrative at WUSA, you will understand the ghostly quality of the water and its movement and how this childhood experience hit my every nerve. (I'll add the narrative after the exhibition opens at some point). I've stated in the documentary section of my blog some time ago about how, as a child, I would copy my uncle's chemistry book formulas for fun because I thought they were lyrical and beautiful. (Yeah, my cousins weren't too happy about that at the time.) I admit those experiences have stayed with me. So when I want to put formulas to paper now, this is how I do it. I feel it is a form easily experienced and understood; and in this particular painting it encompasses the cold calculations of fluid mechanics and the warm, ghostly presence of kindred spirits all in a single frame.  

Again, the brutal pain to my arm left me in no way capable of lifting a brush for the following four months after completing it, which is the same experience I had with Twenty Thousand Stones.  I will have to paint something else for a while and continue this series another time. Or not. Back to my brushes.  

"Be water, my friend." - Bruce Lee