“Compositional Anarchy” A confession of a periodically willful painter.

It was like pitting a heavy weight champion against a fly -weight. Intentionally ignoring years of training and practice, I placed the strong, large, dominant form of the building squarely in the middle and passively modeled it. I then proceeded to use complementary colors attempting to direct the eye from the red kite in the blue sky to the figures on the grassy knoll. The diagonal across the entire lower portion of the composition did not help the ailing painting. There was little fight. The laws of composition were not to be overcome by mere trickery.

For artists: A great book: “Payne on Composition” can bought at DeRus gallery of Laguna Beach, CA.

The Never Ending Vacation

You know those vacations that are memorable and exciting at the time, but the rejuvenation from that vacation fades in a few weeks or sometimes even days? Many of my collectors have told me that they look at my work for a while most days whether it is in their office or home. One of my collectors described it this way. They get transported to another place free to energize their mind and soul. Why do people keep buying art when the economy is so challenging? It’s the never-ending vacation. I love being a part of that.

Collectors place their art in locations that provide solace, stimulation, peace, beauty, or a call to action. Placed by the breakfast table, an encouragement to start the day. Near the phone, a stimulation that provides energy. In the bedroom a solace and peacefulness promoting rest. The living room, it transports the imagination. The workplace needs all of the above. Long after the 3-day weekend’s effects are gone, art provides a need that we all have. We all can use a little art in our lives.