notan, part one 9.10.2020

Earlier this year I bought a book titled Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design. Notan, a Japanese term, involves the concept of dark and light; black and white; positive and negative. It's a small book of 80 pages, but it's jam packed with great information. As a life-long student, I was pretty excited to discover …

Colorado art redux, 2018 6.28.2018

I just returned from my annual vacation in Denver, Colorado. The main reason I go is to visit both of my daughters. But there are plenty of great art museums to visit while I'm there, too. This time I toured the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art, which has been closed on my two previous …

finished paintings 4.19.2018

In my most recent post about painting, I promised an update when all the paintings were completed. I finished them a few weeks ago, but it's taken me this long to sign each one and take photos and decide on titles. They're small, I know, but they're still good enough to hang on a wall. …

painting update 3.1.2018

My vow to paint more this year is holding true. Earlier this year, I wrote about wanting to paint more in this post. I seem to be able to sit down with my paints once a week, and I don't think that's quite enough. But once a week is a start! Here's where I'm at …

painting again 1.18.2018

Last year, I hardly picked up a paintbrush. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I had ceramics taking over my brain;)  This year I vow to put the paintbrush into action again! Ceramics will have to make a little room for painting, because I want to practice both. It's often a bit daunting for me to …

abstraction 2.9.2017

In my post from last week, I wrote that I'm attracted to off-kilter ceramics, and abstract or non-representational art in general.  Some might call it wabi-sabi (imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete) or other descriptors might be unrefined, confusing or childlike. Maybe I'm using all these labels to better describe how some might view abstract art. Or …

colorado art redux, round III 10.13.2016

Here's my final installment of the art I saw in Denver last month. Here I am standing outside the Clyfford Still Museum. I didn't know much about Still, and the museum displays not only his artwork, but Still's archives of his letters, sketchbooks, personal items, and more. Apparently Still, an abstract expressionist, "has been credited …

colorado art redux, round II 9.29.2016

My eldest daughter Elly took me to a super cool art gallery in downtown Denver called The Dikeou Collection. There's no signage for the space, which is on the 5th floor of an old, nondescript office building. According to Wikipedia, "Much of the work in the Dikeou Collection, no matter what medium, aims to reflect …

colorado art redux, round I 9.22.2016

I'd planned to write one blog post about the art I saw in Colorado earlier this month, but it's just too much for one post. For me, anyway. I like posts that are short and to the point. So I'll write a few separate posts about the art, which is a teeny fraction of all …