Water on the brain

I am happy to announce that my painting "That Day" will be included in an exhibit Water/Color curated by Marcie Cooperman. The subject of the exhibit is water; the tool is color. The paintings chosen for this show use color to accomplish the artist’s goal.

When I am painting I seek to communicate to the observer who will someday encounter this work. I want to draw the viewer in to a shared experience. I often use references to the external world, drawing upon a shared visual language. I am not trying to create a representation of the real world. I employ suggestions of familiar sensations to lift the viewer out of their daily life, to experience fleeting memories with wonder and surprise. When I am creating a painting that has references to water I try to bring the total sensual experience into the work. When standing by water in nature, you see colors reflected from of the sky and clouds and the landscape that surrounds the water as you look at the water. The particles in water can absorb, scatter and reflect light.You may also see colors and images from what travels in or lays beneath the surface of the water. The air itself is full of ocean spray or the sweet smells of lake water. When you look at the water you see the movement of the air reflected in the motion or stillness of the surface. To bring the memories of these sensations I use color not only as local color but as light and atmosphere and a tool to define the composition.

That Day Oil on Canvas 49 x 62"

In the diptych “That Day” The left panel brings to mind swirling water from a large body of water. Here we find the blues commonly associated with water as well as the reflections of green and yellow that suggest the location of the body of water. The movement in the water is captured not only by the large gestural movements but by the splashes of red which break up and define the adjacent blues. The motion of the foreground quiets in the cool aqua stillness found at the top of the panel. The right hand panel contrasts the movement and life of the water with the fauna of land. Here, the movement has a quality of surge and of growth not found in the surface of the water panel.

Finding My Way Oil on Canvas 36 x 36"

Even though the picture plane of Finding my Way is filled with swirls and dashes, an over all sense of calm permeates. Van Gogh said there is no blue without yellow, and here you see even in the whorls of blue and aqua the yellows and reds which define a splashing motion. The lighter blues which read as turbulence, carry the eye back to the yellow glow and to the deep blues and dark crimson which sit back. The deeper saturated colors evoke a stillness and combine with the glow of the yellow to stand in contrast to the rush and tumble of the foreground.

Spring Thaw Oil on Canvas 41 x 31"

Spring Thaw is a painting that was resolved after I took walk during the change in season from winter to spring, and I walked by and studied a little stream breaking through ice. I wanted to communicate that feeling that fills the air during the first warm days of spring when the very air seems to come alive, so the entire canvas is filled with intense color. The pale yellowish greens we associate with early spring contribute to sense of new growth. Again I use reds and yellows to punctuate and give shape to the water flow. The coolness of the lighter blues and lavenders give way to the energy and force of the water that sparkles with jewel like colors flowing to the bottom of the picture plane.

Water / Color at Studio Montclair Galleries at Academy Square First Floor of the Academy Square Building 33 Plymouth Street, Montclair, NJ 07042 May 20 - August 14, 2015 Opening Reception May 22 7:00 to 9:00 PM