Pelican Dance – 2012
A pink pelican seems to dance atop the turquoise-green water, while in town those in charge have installed a line that begs to be crossed, yet no one does.
Such is life in this well-behaved coastal town.
A Line to be Crossed — 2012
Floating Over the Green – 2012
The shapes and colors of natural things have always been an inspiration. Sometimes it is useful to return to that source to regain perspective on our modern world.
Hibiscus Flare – 2012
A Modern Fireplug - 2012
Next to a modern glass office building on a busy street was a small patch of weeds about the size of an executive’s desk. In the center stood a shiny brass fire hydrant. It looked almost like it had been put there on display, as though this were some sort of zoo.
Urban details like this often provide visual clutter rather than interest. But this fireplug in the weeds became the inspiration for two very different reflections on an urban landscape.
In the Weeds - 2012
Lattice - 2012
A courtyard can be a magical place — outdoors, but enclosed and private, even in the center of the city. In many ways, the more urban the surroundings, the more magical that bit of private space and greenery seems. These images from a small courtyard here in Sarasota celebrate some of those feelings.
Someone's at the Gate - 2012
Orchid Mind -- 2012
The Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, Florida has a world-renowned collection of epiphytes, including many species of the orchids and bromeliads that inspired these images.
There were yellows, reds and greens in abundance on this warm spring day in March, and the dramatic showy inflorescecne of the bromeliads complemented the more delicate and complicated statements by the orchids. As the days pass and seasons change, different plants burst into bloom, so a visit to the Garden always holds something new.
Inflorescence -- 2012
Two Feet Down - 2012
A journey into abstraction is an experiment in using color, value and texture to reach for meaning beyond the literal.
Some art can be enjoyed for the pure pleasure of the color and form. At other times a work can also draw the viewer into the process of finding their own meaning. While both responses are valid, is one more lasting than the other?
Light Dancer - 2012
Fenced - 2012
Looking down the grassy slope, the wooden fence and shaded road beyond were a reminder of how fences can bring a sense of safety, but also restrict freedom of movement — and perhaps even thought.
As counterpoint there was a simple bench made of new wood sitting high on the hill overlooking some ponds from a circle of white stones and shells. The bench seemed to reach to the sky in the breeze. That connection with the sky and the expansive view of the horizon recognized no boundaries.
Cross Winds - 2012
[Note: The "celery fields" is a local park created out of an old landfill and a series of county flood control ponds. The covered landfill creates an artificial hill overlooking the ponds that are home to many birds.]
Door with Barred Window - 2012
The little building had a single door with a turquoise frame and a narrow barred window. A few of those details provide tension and context for a reflection on this small piece of the urban landscape.
In contrast, “Hooked”, below, is purely a landscape of the mind, with no detail left to link it to reality. That level of abstraction is disturbing to some, but does it make the sense of being hooked any less real?
Hooked - 2012
Cauldron - 2012
When the image above first began to take shape, it seemed as though the weight of the air was pressing down, creating a pocket of intense heat. But that vision transformed itself and soon the calming blues were bubbling up out of that spot as if out of a cauldron heated by the earth itself, bringing light and a peaceful clarity. Letting the work speak for a while was important in knowing where to take it.
The same was true of the Golden Path, below. There really was a path of golden grasses snaking gently through some lowland held by the county for flood control. The s-curve with the blue water in the background called, but it took some time to hear.
A Golden Path - 2012
Golden Touch - 2012
Cloudscapes from the Heartland are two more examples from a series of abstracts begun about a month ago. Originally meant to be evocative studies in color, texture and motion, some have become suggestive of landscapes and other scenes. Both of these images began as landscape photographs — one of Sarasota Bay in Florida, and the other of a wind generator in the flat lands of Iowa.
Compared to images with an unambiguous subject, abstract images can be more difficult for many people (perhaps most people) to appreciate and understand. One goal may be to find a middle ground where allusion to a subject adds substance and depth that complements the simpler pleasures of line and color.
Funnel - 2012
(Three of this series of abstracts were among more than 300 pieces submitted to a juried show at Art Center Sarasota. All three were accepted, and one received an honorable mention from the jurors.)
