Summer Colors

 It happens - subcontiously - as the weather gets warmer, the colors in my paintings change, too. Even the grey tones are different from winter to summer.

summer and winter shadows

 In this little example I have mixed cadmium red and ultramarine blue to make a wintery shadow. For a summery atmosphere, we have chrome orange and cobalt blue. There are, of course, many different combinations of complementary colors used to make various neutral tones, but these greys (that are not simply watered down blacks) do lend their particular atmosphere to a painting. 

Lost in Thoughts of Summer

I can almost see Puck peeking out from behind the tree.
Listen here to Mendelssohn, Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0gHTNJVFtA

Something Old, Something New

 Yes, it has been a very long time since I have written - but I have certainly not been inactive. Without delving into specifics, let it simply be said that the past several years have certainly been challenging and never boring! Painting and music are still my mainstays; some things never change.

During those long days of seclusion dictated by the corona virus, I have, as many of us have, sorted  through  stacks of unfinished and not-quite-discarded papers. Some paintings just miss the mark - some experiments don't turn out as expected or wanted -  like these watercolor poppies from 2012.

Poppy Mania

It being in my nature to not discard expensive watercolor paper until it is totally destroyed, I unearthed these poppies and proceeded to transform them. Each one of the smaller pieces takes on a life of its own and, after a couple days (yes, so much time) of looking at them, I decided to use the strong colors as a  background for printing.

Voilá!  Tropical Music

The musical accompaniment for this trio? - Brahms, of course! https://www.youtube.com/watchv=OB7Lm4FlhEM
This is an old recording, but still one of my favorites.