October/November/December

2009

New Paintings - Seattle, WA

Summer seems a distant memory. The final few weeks before the official turn of autumn were filled with numerous details pertaining to my exhibition that opens on November 19th in Seattle at Catherine Person Gallery. The making of the work itself is invigorating, but the mundane tasks of making frames, measuring each work, photographing and documenting is enough to drive a creative mind crazy. However, I've found that being involved in even part of those non-creative aspects of getting work ready for exhibition keeps me rooted to the entire process. In a strange way, it gives me greater appreciation for each individual work of art. It's similar to what parents of a newborn baby may experience. They know all of the details of their new creation: the weight, the height, etc. By being involved with these "creatively insignificant" facets of the works development, I focus more on the uniqueness of each piece - more on the individual creative work and less about a "manufacturing" process.

The paintings that make up the bulk of the show in Seattle have energetic, abstract surfaces with colors that are vibrant and active. It is really a body of work that looks at the beautiful aspects of our existence. Woven in with the idea of beauty is the solemn truth that beauty is often revealed through sorrow and pain. Many of the paintings have melancholic undertones.

An example of one of the paintings is shown below. The piece is titled "Shimmering Blossoms Unveiled." It is acrylic on canvas and is 36" x 48".

Click here for an EXHIBITION PREVIEW of additional new paintings.

Winter Gallery Feature

Hold Tight. be true.

Someone asked me the other day if I make paintings based on what people want or if I just make what I want to.  Fair question.  I answered them honestly by saying that "what I really aim to do is to carefully sense the world around me and within me – then in the most truthful way possible, put a visual dimension to what I’ve experienced."  The reality is that we all share similar experiences, and we all deal with the mundane, tragedy and loneliness, but often in the midst of those times we also find glimmering moments of peace and beauty that make life worth living.

Even in the midst of our nations economic woes, I've worked to stay true to my creative vision. Art has been made throughout the centuries regardless of the extenuating circumstances, and for those of us that have that creative force in our blood, it's the most honest way of communicating

I'm making art that holds tight to my philosophy even in the lean times. Creating works of art is what I feel that I'm made to do, and these slow economic times have only reinforced that fact to me. The scale of projects have decreased slightly, but the number of total projects that I've been working on has increased – but aside from the those details, I know I'm doing the right thing because I sense it throughout my whole being. Sounds a little "wooo-hooo" I know, but aren't we all trying to find work that will leave us feeling fully engaged and satisfied? The paintings that I've recently completed were made with these thoughts in mind, and I hope that you receive encouragement and satisfaction from them.

Broel @ Entwine

This hand-colored lithograph went on the block at this year's Entwine Auction, and sold for $1,400.00, which was nearly double the fair market value.

Broel & FV

I'll be joining with Mark Anderson from Foundry Vineyards and Walla Walla Foundry for a couple of exciting art/wine events this autumn. We are pairing up with a couple great restaurants and chefs who will be creating seasonal and regional cuisine to compliment the experiences. Plan to join us for an event in your city.

"A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness, in fact he creates new appearances of things. "

– Ernst Ludwig Kirchner