A Sense of Relief and Further Experiments

 

Clear Sailing 30 x 22

I ended up naming this piece "Clear Sailing" as a response to its creation occurring while we waited to hear about Mike's biopsy after the removal of melanoma. The finishing touches were put on in gestures of relief shortly after hearing that the margins taken after the mole was removed were clear. This abstract had always reminded me of waterways and bridges. Also Mike has a great interest in sailing, so the name seemed to fit nicely. As for the orientation, I just chose my favorite. I've often heard that a necessary quality a good abstract is to be well balanced and look good from any orientation, so I guess this one has a thumbs up on that score.

This past week I took a subject I recently painted (see below) in a fairly realistic style and put a twist on it.

 

Chetco River 22 x 30

I wanted to continue my experimenting with collage and painting as I had done with "Sound Bites." I studied "Sound Bites" looking for what worked so well with that piece and tried to apply some of those aspects to a piece based on "Chetco River." I abandoned the local color and chose some failed paintings with similar attractive colors to use for collage pieces. I wanted the figures to be the focal point and tell a story, as the sailors did in "Sound Bites." The story is about stillness and waiting. Waiting for what you might ask--thus the title.

 

Questions Rising 22 x 18

And now that I look at the image, I'm off to the studio to lessen the colors of the 2 groups of smaller concentric circles to better blend into the painting.

I'd love your feedback. Is this collage piece a success?