"Capitol Building, Raleigh" and "City Market, Raleigh", both 24x24" acrylics on canvas, are part of a larger architectural project I started a while ago.  I chose 6 recognizable buildings from the downtown Raleigh area.  I started these pieces in an unusual way, creating a very textured background, then cutting in the sky around the silhouette of each building and its surrounding trees (see below, the Capitol is on the left, City Market on the right).  

These two were the first two I completed.  The next four have gone in a somewhat different direction stylistically so they'll be their own series.  

"By the Way" is 30x40", acrylic on canvas.  Unlike my last few projects, the creative process for this painting was completely unplanned and instinctive.  When I mix liquid acrylics, I often end up with excess paint and it seems such a waste to just let it dry out.  A couple of months ago I grabbed a blank canvas and laid it to the side in my studio and every time I had surplus paint, I'd brush it out randomly on the canvas.  Folks would stop by my studio to see what I was working on and walk over to this and say but what's this?  We like this!  This piece developed on its own off in the perimeter of my thoughts while I focused on other things.  The result is loose, atmospheric, emotional... almost the opposite of the concurrent works.  When I was ready last week to tilt it upright on my easel, there was very little to do for it to feel complete and whole as a painting.  I blurred my eyes to focus (or unfocus) only on color, surface, and balance.  I do that often to check for broad-stroke compositional issues.  With a piece like this, it's hard to know when it's complete... but I do know when it feels right, when it feels good.  Happy Tuesday!

We installed the completed mural panels today.  Each one measures 5x5' and they cover a lengthy stretch of wall leading to a collaboration and design space.  I had much help with painting from my coworker, Bill Rodgers, since the flat and clean nature of the images required multiple layers of paint.  This was a really fun project, quite a departure from my usual assignments!  I love doing faces but it's rarely applicable in a corporate environment.  I have a few other works/series in progress in the studio to which I will now turn my attention.  Happy Friday!  

And now for something totally different... a coworker and I have been tasked with creating a mural for a very long wall that integrates images of five specific inventors  (Leonardo, Ada Lovelace, Sir Isaac Newton, Madam Curie, and Galileo).  They wanted something hard-edged and graphic, mostly black and white.  I've also used a set of five colors I was given that relate to other aspects of the project.  I created these images in Photoshop.  The next step will be to paint them on five large separate panels, probably about 5x5' each, which will be mounted to the wall.  To be continued!

"Windward, 2016" is 32x48", acrylic on layered 1/2" gaterboard.  This piece is significant for me.  I was recently in a design meeting with one of our interior designers and she flooded my brain with new trending concepts, the blending of art and architecture, the exploration of new materials and moving toward installation art or interactive works, particularly in a technology environment.  It made me realize I've been in a creative rut.  Yes, I believe there will always be a place for traditional painting and I will continue to push myself in that work.  However, it's been a long time since I tried something totally and completely new and it's exciting.

I was working on this abstract, just a clean sweeping graphic image.  Then it occurred to me I wanted to break out of the two-dimensional plane, if even just a little bit.  I decided to add a layer of strips to the surface and run the image over them.  The strips intentionally do not relate to the content; they are not tapered or curved.  I wanted something different to integrate into the surface.  The result is a stimulating sense of movement.  I really like this approach and will continue finding ways to employ it, perhaps with varying materials or at a grand scale.  I have about ten ideas cooking right now that involve pulling away from the flat surface and/or playing with nontraditional media and substrates.

I had a couple of different folks tell me this piece felt nautical to them so when I was looking for a title, I researched sailing terms.  I quickly found the term, "windward," and when I read the definition, I knew it was perfect not only for the piece but for what I am experiencing right now as an artist: to move with the wind or in the direction the wind is blowing.

"Awash, 2016" is acrylic on canvas, 24x39.5".  This canvas was custom built for another project and then didn't end up being used.  We had also primed the canvas in a rich raw sienna tone for the other project so I had a lot of warmth to lead my content.  The piece started out as an abstract but then I had the need to paint this particular scene right now so this is where I took it.  Something unusual happened with this one because of the way the paint was going on to the primer.  Typically the water in the acrylic doesn't allow for a lot of soft blending unless you add a medium.  In this case, the paint was going on sort of like oil, very buttery to the point that I was able to do a lot of blending with my finger.  In fact, I'd say a quarter of this painting was done with my fingers instead of a brush.  Happy Wednesday!

"Santa Maria del Fiore, 2016" is 48x60", acrylic on canvas.  This was a specific assignment for an individual for whom this cathedral and the story of its construction has significant metaphorical meaning.  I enjoyed working on it at a personal level as well because I lived and studied in Florence for a semester in college.  The history behind this building is remarkable and well worth a little research.  This particular painting is not perfectly architecturally accurate.  I wanted to focus on shape and light-play more than detail.  There was no projecting or grid-work or sketching.  I used a large flat brush from beginning to end to force myself to stay loose with the brushwork.  The palette is rich but limited to the warm sienna and umber tones that prevail in Tuscany and the slate blues of the late afternoon sky.  This is only the second painting to come out of my studio this year, although I have several in progress.  It feels good to complete something!  Happy Cinco de Mayo!