A Pilots View, Acrylic, 60" x 60", 2009

"Pilots View" is a painting that is inspired by a friend of mine who is a pilot. He flies to the middle east, Australia, and Hawaii frequently to deliver packages from America. I often wonder what the earth looks like from a "pilots view". If I were to imagine the sky from above, I would see little bubbles of light that flicker through the clouds to expose the earth below. I have embellished a little in this painting, as the view is skewed, as the pilots perspective is beyond the flying range somewhere in outer space.

A pilots life must be filled with adventure. Pilots must  have many good friends in different parts of the world.  Pilots are special people indeed!  Their lives are truly blessed with the gift of flight and the ability to wander the earth in search of themselves.

More Dubai...

This morning, fathers day--Sunday, I enjoyed listening to a program on NPR about a spiritual songwriter and singer, Mr. Joe Carter. I had the privilege of listening to spiritual singers in church this past winter by a group that came to the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, in Falls Church, Virginia. That music raised my spirits and moved me in ways I have never felt before. The vocal harmonies were sung with such intensity that I felt a trembling in my soul. I know now what the term spiritual revival means. Joe Carter talks about the music being handed down to him by a woman named Jesse Anthony, who came to him one day with a briefcase full of music. I would imagine such a treasure. The greatest gifts are handed down from our elders. Artists do this by handing down their processes to younger artists. This is the way we keep our traditions alive.

I have always wanted to sing the gospel. I really don't think I would ever give it the same justice as these incredible singers did that day in church. Some day I will have my chance and blast away with a full choir-ed regalia. It may just be other worldly, but I will do it.

Image Archaeologist™

Today I wrote a new artist statement to depict my current work. The writing lead me into changing the look of my whole blog and also changing the name. I am still "a painter who blogs but my new statement will explain why I changed my blog title.

My New Artist Statement
I describe my self as an Image Archaeologist™.
My images evolve out of the surface of the canvas by carving into the wet gesso with the butt of a paintbrush. I dig into the surface to carve out the image and then brush layers of paint over the dried gesso imprint to unveil the etched surface ground. The carving is uncovered by rubbing paint into the surface grooves. Multiple layers of paint are brushed lightly over the beveled edges unearthing the image. Each layer adds an illusion of depth and is brushed and wiped away as the image unfolds. The image is found within the surface ground thus making it “image archaeology. This is my approach to the process of painting.
Today's painting is called Two Ipods. Painted last week it seemed appropriate to post as the original "Ipod" painting was a part of the "Mid Atlantic Painting Exhibition" last January at Mary Washington University. Ipod is the first in my series of images I call "earth objects".

New Work, Old Work

There is a cycle in my studio efforts. New work becomes old work and old work becomes new. It is all intertwined and interrelated. These images are saying something to me. They are mirrors of the subterrain of my mind. I feel like I am unearthing these objects. The objects are manufactured from a place within and without. I am an archaeologist digging out an image from the surface of my mind and the surface of the canvas.

Inner Core, 13" x 13", Oil on Canvas

This week I am back to work on my "earth objects" series. This is the inner core of a a large tree pod collected during a walk in the woods last week. I plan on painting it from all angles and the middle seemed the natural place to begin. The natural design is of interest to me. The inner core- like the inner mind-is complex with many twists and turns. I ponder these thoughts today as I am painting.