Dougga

25 years ago I was at The American Academy in Rome. 10 of us took a trip to Tunisia to visit the Roman ruins. It was in March so there were no other tourists. We rented two cars and saw lots of marvels. I took a photo of a stormy sky at sunset at the ruins of Dougga. In 2000 I was doing realism and using old photos. It was an artistic endeavor with hopes of a commercial reward. I had in mind an
Edward Hopper abstract realism. That I did achieve to my satisfaction; the commercial reward never materialized. Here is the original painting.

Dougga 30x40 acrylic 2000

Those 15 years of realist paintings I left behind.The above somehow ended up in Houston. I thought it was a valiant try but ultimately so what? Who wants a large painting of a Roman ruin? In the 18th and 19th century there was an interest, not today. I did a smaller version 20x24 for Suzanne, so the image still exists. I used the old picture as a under painting for this new Dougga.

Dougga early stage

final stage

I began "The Contortionist" in 1982, at the American Academy in Rome after trying a yoga class. 25 years later I started doing yoga and took to it, but  had to give it up in January because of my hip. I reworked the painting in 1987 at the end of my Bad Painting period.

Contortionist 60x60 1987

We discovered it rolled up. I torn it into strips and dotted them and re-mounted and re-stretched the image and now will to go back into it, probably not a good commercial choice, but it makes a statement about my condition.

Contortionist 48x48 first stage

Another image from the past: The Artist's Backyard #6 36x48 2001

Same realist period and the same results...so what? Green has always been a problematic color, so I tackled it head on. It does not bother me any more.

The Artist's backyard #6  36x48 acrylic/collage 2001-2012

 Here are some of my new collages using old photos provided by MM. These are fun and addictive .

Aruba #1 18x18

Aruba #2 18x18

Aruba #3 18x18

My Other Studio

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My other studio is at Tomball College.

July 2 2012

Indian Head

Untitled

Nice work if you can get it.

Process of Play

Here are images of what I played with today.
I had a nice day.

Thom Asked if I had any tall and narrow paintings. I said, "no, but I will. What size?"

He replied "60 x 10 collectors often have a space between windows for such a size." I stretched 2 such canvases and played.

Marrakech  60x10 acrylic collage 07-01-2012

Some new strips

The two strips on the left measured 60x10 also and looked very good.

Canyon  60x10 

This was  a surprise. The strips are not pasted yet. I use acrylic gel.

Here is the play/process for a 18x18 collage using an old photo of MM in Aruba.

Aruba #1 first stage

Aruba #1 second stage

Aruba #1 third stage

Aruba #1 fourth stage

Aruba #1 18x18 acrylic collage 07-01-2012 final stage

I started another: Aruba #2 18x18

Aruba #2 second stage. I stopped here today

Studio today July 1st 2012

I started this painting called Sirena at school. I think I finished it today,  but it needs to ferment for a while.

Sirena  24x30 acrylic 07-01-2012

This was a busy creative day. MM is in Paris and I must keep my hands busy. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop."

Dots, strips and a hat

 My paintings are now constructed from dotted strips. I am enchanted with them. Like a lover, I cannot get enough.

I began doing pointillist dots in 1968. They were part of the series of  Tree and Hill paintings: they were my reaction to East/West Coast Cool Art. I cannot remember why.

Trees and hills 48x48 1968

Dots have been part of my work ever since. The dotted strip painting titled "Quilt" from 1973, we uncovered last year re-started the process.

Quilt 1973

I began tearing up old culled pictures, and using them in collages and adding dots.  

History Lesson 60x96 2010

The next body of work was the torn, dotted, and reassembled mythological pictures from the 70’s and the 80’s.

I had them hanging like quilts in the studio. I put them in a frame/support  so they could be easily hung and they became trapped so I painted the frames to free the images.

I began dotting cast off strips. I started at school last fall. I hung them in class as I made them; my students gave them names. I hung them on my studio wall.

Numerous people commented on them. I wondered what to do with them. In March during my show at Thom Andriola's New Arts Gallery, I glued the first strip picture “Spring Strip” 48x36. I thought it was beautiful.

 I did another   called “Tribal Fugue” 60x72. I liked that one too. Doing one that size made it serious. 

I made  ‘Passegiata’ 48x60 or little walk in Italian. I made smaller collages from scraps…called “Scraps”

Scraps #8 24x18

Scraps #6 12x12

Romance 24x24

Russian Fugue 24x30

 MM gave me some old fabrics and I used them in other collages.I think these pictures are very pretty. 

Here is my studio with the new collages and some older work

Here are new pictures in process.

Today I painted a hat for MM to wear at Monet's garden in Giverny during her trip to Paris.

Give me something and I can make it work.