"Fall Blaze" is 36x36", acrylic on canvas.  Every year I try to channel my awe at the fall foliage in Raleigh, North Carolina, into a painting.  Since I've been experimenting with pouring lately, this is the shape my inspiration took this time.  I applied the colors yesterday morning, then starting carving out the resulting burgeoning form in the afternoon after the pour had settled and dried.  Even though the palette is autumn-inspired, the image itself is reminiscent of a lush petal of an iris or orchid.  I wanted to push the warm and brilliance of the color so I framed it in a soft, cool, muted green, similar to that of the restful pine trees that surround the flashy hardwoods.  Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"Essence of a Flower" is 18x24", watercolor on paper.  I produced this piece as a practice exercise while attending a recent workshop with artist Sterling Edwards.  The topic of the class was Big Brush Floral Paintings in Watercolor.  Watercolor is my least comfortable medium.  I am an admirer of Sterling's loose and effortless rendering of a wide range of subject matter, how he manages to have one foot in representation and the other in abstraction.  The result can be an intriguing suggestion of content that lures the viewer in.  These pieces are created swiftly.  There is no laboring.  It either works or it doesn't. 

First you lay in a wash, being sure to preserve the precious white of the paper.  With watercolor, your white comes from the paper.  Once you cover it, it's gone.  You must work quickly because with every second your paper is drying.  Once the wash is down and dry, you begin selectively defining, implying your subject by carving out negative shapes (spaces between) and adding in positive shapes.  A little goes a long way.  After I completed my initial wash, which was successful, I hit a wall of fear.  What if I started rendering my flowers and I put a shape where I didn't want it?  Or I went too far and lost what I wanted to leave unsaid?  But, I dove in.  There are things I can pick apart about this result but overall I like it.  It's loose and playful and most definitely some kind of flower but which kind is up to you. 

These "Butterfly Effect" pieces are 22x30" each, acrylic on paper.  The series was a spontaneous use of leftover pouring paint from another project.  I was about to wash the extra paint out of the cups and I decided instead to see what would happen if I poured them onto dry paper.  The first piece started as a pool of very wet paint.  I carefully began lifting and tilting the paper to send the paint rolling in different directions.  The control I had over the paint was minimal at best.  Then, as with any pouring piece, I simply had to wait until the next day and see.  The blues and violet were the initial layer.  After those dried, I wanted to preserve the clean simplicity of the design but add depth so I brought in the complimentary gold tone.  I was so intrigued by the resulting shapes, I wanted to emphasize those against the white.  I grabbed a black acrylic marker and started outlining the silhouette of the pouring, leaving a small gap, well, just because.  I love it when paintings happen and I have no idea they are coming or where they came from.  These were really fun and freeing.  As is often the case, the truly lively, fresh work sneaks up on me when I'm focusing on other things.