November 2016
East Facing 28" x 40" $24,000 - SOLD •
Tuscan Sfumato 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
The Greeks defined Ecstasy (Ekstasis) as "to be or stand outside or beside oneself."
When I am painting most fluidly and naturally it is the confluence of control and abandon; it is the place where I am truly beside myself.
It is a hard place to get to, and a hard place to stay in.
Why does it feel so good?
Being "beside ones self" allows us momentarily to view ourselves objectively in relation to the whole - which allows for humility and opening.
As individuals, we are limited.
True connection means giving up some control and trusting in connecting to the universal.
When I can open, I receive.
When reception combines with personal vision, unlimited growth is possible.
Despite what contemporary wisdom says; it's not just about us.
Creation is collaboration.
A special thanks to my dear friend Ryan Johnson who turned me on to the book "Divine Madness" by Joseph Pieper and helped me look deeper.
China Paintings 2016
Old Boats, Heavy Air 18" x 24" $9,000 - SOLD •
River Living, Kaiping 18" x 24" $9,000 - SOLD •
Morning Light, Kaiping 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Fishing Village, Sunday Afternoon 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Dinner Preparations 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Fish Pond, Early Light 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Fishing Shacks, Wet Day 8" x 12" $3,400
Old Village, Old Woman 8" x 10" $3,200 - SOLD •
September 2016
Splintered Hemlock 28" x 40" $24,000
Madeline Island Relics 8" x 12" $3,400 — SOLD
Seasons release their grip reluctantly here in Minnesota, but then, I'm not great with change either. With age, the passing of summer has taken on greater significance for me; there is a wistfulness attached which I can only attribute to time of life and with that, an increasing amount of goodbyes and the accompanying changes that follow. At the same time, I find a profound and delicate beauty in such transitions. Splintered Hemlock and Madeline Island Relics are my nod to the poignance of change.
August 2016
Gold, Grain & Graffiti 28" x 40" $24,000 - SOLD •
Ojibwe Sunrise 28" x 40" $24,000
A while back, my friend Bob, a Native American shared with me this phrase, "Mitakuye' Oyasin" which he translated to "All things connected, all things one."
During successive days spent in silence along the Mississippi and in the forest on Lake Superior the phrase stayed with me.
I thought I was going after fleeting light effects on a large scale, but underneath it all I was really trying to make some order in a chaotic world and find a measure of balance and peace for myself.
Painting was my excuse.
All things connected - every shape, every color, every mark, every thought.
Nothing is separate.
Light and love connect everything.
May 2016
Spring in Vermillion 24" x 30" $14,000
Old Bordello, Superior Wisconsin 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
February 2016
Evening Light, Hemet 18 x 24" $9,000 - SOLD •
It was a pleasure to get out of the Minnesota winter to teach and paint.
A successful and enjoyable workshop was followed by eight days painting with my good friend John Cosby both on Catalina as well as the mainland. The following paintings were created with a great deal of laughing and intense work. A special thanks to John for the daily driving on brutally winding roads.
Since I will be taking a year off from the Catalina Island Conservancy show, all paintings are immediately available for purchase.
Ancient Sycamore 18" x 24" $9,000 - SOLD •
Chapel of St. Francis (1830) 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Island Soapstone 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Velvet Wind 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Sun and Rain 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Eucalyptus Above Shark Harbor
8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Fog Above the Channel 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
January 2016
Wisconsin Primaries 28" x 40" $24,000 - SOLD •
This January marks my seventeenth year painting this valley.
The locals know my red '87 Chrysler Fifth Avenue and wave as they go by. Within these three or four square miles I always find something to connect with. The folks are kind but not familiar which allows me to be present yet almost invisible at the same time.
Not a visitor but not a guest — a curious anonymity.
I feel like a ghost watching and recording, yet removed from the reality unfolding in front of me.
This magic space I believe allows me a private window — a privileged glimpse if I'm lucky, to a more internal, unguarded view.
Vuillard and Morandi found a universe in the most intimate spaces: humble, quiet subjects which became vehicles to access the soul.
20 years ago if someone had told me I'd find that on the corners of county roads N and Q in Wisconsin, I would have said they were crazy.
November 2015
Grit and Reflection 28" x 40" $22,000
New Sweden Paintings
I had a wonderful visit both teaching and painting this past July through the Farigh Ghaderi Studio. The students were wonderful. Plans are in the works for another workshop next June.
Thank you Farigh, Linda & Noah & family for the wonderful hospitality.
Old Town Stockholm 8" x 12" $3,400 - SOLD •
Windy Day, Stockholm 8" x 12" $3,400
Birka, Viking Island 8" x 12" $3,400
Northern Expanse 28" x 40" — $24,000
Any growth in my art has always been linked to personal growth.
It's a hard thing to speak of without sounding trite.
None of us goes through life unscathed and it's that way by design.
Evolution stems from new growth, and new growth from friction, wearing away what does not serve us. Every time I pass though a great period of challenge comes change, and with it small glimpses into the bigness of existence.
I feel expansive for a short while and in tune to the universal in the particular: its a magic fleeting glimpse into the grand connection.
Looking into infinite space was just what I needed.
Mohawk Valley Spring 24" x 30" — $15,000 - SOLD •
O.K., I know - I've been avoiding obvious beauty for a long time. At times even finding it trite and predictable, but this time it dumped my books and took my lunch money - I've been schooled.
The Mohawk Valley took my breath away: expansive, exquisite and boldly delicate all at once.
The vibe was distinctive and ancient.
The wind that moved through the valley carried with it the fragrances of spring and the whispered voices of it's rich past.
While painting this, a rainstorm caused me to retreat to the porch of a old farmhouse where I sat and watched the weather move through the valley. I closed my eyes and breathed it in deeply.
The smell of fresh wind, wet earth and buds unfolding simply finished me.
I highly recommend it.