After covering the whole 48” x 48” canvas with a soft pale yellow, I drew lines in shades from dark red to orange, in horizontal rows: Next, I painted in some of the oval shapes in white, red, orange and yellow for a random effect. Each time I let the canvas dry completely before starting the next phase. This time I selected colors from a very dark green to a light emerald green. I drew a row of up-and-down lines horizontally across the canvas with each color, and then began again. In the next step, I mixed four grays from a very dark gray to a pale gray. I began by painting in some section ..read more

My first step in this new painting was to give the 40" x 36" stretched canvas two coats of Titanium white acrylic mixed with a gloss medium.  After it dried thoroughly, I painted sections of it with Mars black: Step 1 In my next painting session, I mixed some shades of pale orange, yellow, light green and aqua.  With a brush, I painted over sections, applying the paint in a very loose, expressionist manner.  I also added some cadmium red light, diluted with water and gloss medium.  Then I used a palette knife to make two slashes of Titanium white. Step 2 When I worked on ..read more

This new painting evolved over many steps with the application of layers of acrylic paint.  I first worked on a background which consisted of blending a number of colors very loosely with a wet brush: Signs and Signals, Step 1 The next two steps involved drawing lines of color across the canvas--first with one orientation, then turning the canvas 90 degrees and drawing more lines.    Signs and Signals, Step 2 and 3 In the next stages of the process, I began filling in some of the shapes that were created by the intersecting lines.  I used a pale beige, very pale yellow, d ..read more

As I worked on a new 30" x 30" abstract painting over several days, I took photos of it along the way.  It was not a painting that came easily, and I'm still not sure if it's "finished."  I will let it sit for a while before I sign it.  Here's the process step by step: Step 1 I began by painting the whole canvas in a light lemon yellow, which comes across with a tint of green in this photograph.  I was working loosely, brushing on some cadmium red deep, green gold, and a pale green here and there, blending them in. Step 2 I added a lot more color here:  cadmium red l ..read more

The technology of ink-jet printing has improved so much over the years that high quality fine art prints on canvas or paper are now available at very reasonable prices.  Many artists, including me, have made reproductions of their work available in this medium.  It means more people can enjoy our art even if they can't afford an original. Tenderness:  Fine Art Print on Canvas from Fine Art America   Of course there is only one original, and a print--no matter how good the quality--cannot match it.  Anyone who loves an artist's work and can afford it, should buy the or ..read more

I had always thought the shape that made the most sense for abstract paintings was a square, since it didn't suggest any particular subject matter.  In fact, most of my paintings are square.  But when the director of a gallery asked me to paint what he called "slice" paintings on narrow, 10" x 48" canvases, I gave it a shot. Lush Life One I found myself making patterned images that could be carried over from one slice to the next.  That would allow a collector to hang two or more next to each other, creating a diptych or triptych, for example.  This one is called Pecking O ..read more

Over the years I've painted many commissions, and most of them have turned out successfully.  Often someone will like a painting that's already been sold, or want one in a different size or colors, and so forth.  I make it clear there will not be any duplicates because my abstract painting style is improvisational.  There is no way I can duplicate any of it.  What I can do is paint in a similar style and colors. Here is an original painting called Open Focus: Open Focus And here is the commissioned painting made in a similar style and colors: Commissioned Painting Still ..read more

Over the years I have hung or helped to hang many art exhibits in galleries and other spaces.  The shows I hung were usually of my own art, but last week I helped a good friend hang her abstract acrylic paintings in a downtown coffee shop in Ithaca, NY, called The Shop. I prefer showing in galleries where the owner or curator selects, arranges, and hangs the art, but throughout an artist's career, especially when starting out, we take what opportunities come our way.  My friend Linda Jaekel is restarting her career after a hiatus, so she was happy to have this opportunity at the coff ..read more

Making contemporary paintings on paper instead of on stretched canvas takes some getting used to, since the texture of the surfaces is different.  The advantage of working on paper is that it is less expensive than canvas, but the final result then needs to be framed before it can be hung. When I paint on canvas, I use gallery-wrapped canvases that are one and a half inches thick.  I paint the image around the sides of the canvas so that they can be hung without being framed.  Thus, I have no framing problem. Paintings on paper are another story.  While I have made my own m ..read more

Recently I've been interested in the patterns made with overlapping lines that can be filled in with color to draw the eye across a canvas.  I usually begin by painting a solid background color and letting it dry before beginning to draw the lines.  In "Concatenation," I painted the whole canvas yellow.  Then I drew lines in white, gray and black.  I was conscious, while filling in spaces with white, gray and black paint, of the patterns and connections being made between shapes.  There are various paths set up, depending on whether you follow the white, the gray, or t ..read more