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Human Being

23″ x 17″ pastel flashe and plaster on paper

I’ve been working on a portrait and it’s been really tough to capture a satisfactory likeness.

Since I don’t have anything new to posts I thought I’d post another piece from a long time ago, although the last one I posted drove my page views way down.

This one is one of the last I did in this expressionistic style. I was experimenting with texture and applied plaster to the paper then painted and pasteled over it. The plaster cracked and flaked showing layers underneath.

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6″ x 8″ oil on canvas

Examination rooms have always been a bit intimidating. For an introvert like myself, the idea of being examined is enough to make me uneasy. The addition of more and more technological devices seems to heighten the sense of isolation and coldness that I’ve always experienced in them. As a young person I was pretty optimistic about what the results of a physical examination would be but eventually one is bound to get some bad news in one of these places. As I get older and, having had the experience of hearing something I didn’t want to hear, I find that I’m more uneasy in exam rooms.

Maybe I’ll do a real painting of this sometime.

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5″ x 7″ ink in sketchbook

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Hanging around the hospital with my friend the sketchbook.

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5″ x 3 1/2″ ink in sketchbook

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6″ x 8″ oil on gessoed paper

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Object Of Desire

30″ x 42″ pastel and Flashe’

It’s been difficult to get much painting done lately so I’m posting this one from my angst addled youth.

This was done in the 1980s using pastel and a vinyl based paint called flashe on paper. I liked working this way but I hated framing and storing the work. I still have a few of these and they get dusty and moldy unless they’re under glass.

The imagery I was creating was pretty er .. strong and I was always surprised when one sold. They’re very personal and I’m fond of them partly because they reflect what I was going through at the time but I’m not sure I’d want to live with them.

I went out with a friend for the first plein air painting trip of the year. I was disappointed to see that after avoiding plein air painting all winter, I still suck at it.

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I haven’t touched a brush for 2 weeks. The only drawing I’ve done has been in Dr’s offices as my wife has been undergoing tests to determine the extent of a recurrence of breast cancer. It’s been nine years since her original diagnosis. I’m very relieved to say that the cancer seems to be limited to the original site and has not spread to her bones or organs. We got the good news yesterday which was our 27th wedding anniversary and had a wonderful celebration last night. She will, obviously have to undergo treatment but her prognosis is very good and she has non-invasive treatment options. I was, frankly, expecting a much worse outcome.

Les and her cat.

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In an effort to add a little meaning to these rather academic studies I’ve been doing, I’m putting this one forth as a metaphor for the state of our political system in the US. It doesn’t matter which side of the spectrum you favor, I think you can find an interpretation that works for you. I, personally, had a specific character and vice-character in mind but one could see it as the House and Senate, (note the lobbyists). Or perhaps the Democrats and Republicans. My opinion is that it’s not hard to see rot wherever you look.

It’s a pretty weak metaphor if you have to say it’s one, and I’m only identifying it this way because I’ve been discussing this with a friend but it’s an effort.

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One might think that cloud studies would be easy to do in Oregon but the fact is that Spring and Fall are when we have the best clouds. In Summer the sky is pretty much cloudless and in Winter it’s just a single endless cloud with no discernible form. I stared this plen air and it was awful but I couldn’t leave it alone. I like it better now.

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6″ x 8″ oil on paper 6″ x 8″ oil on canvas

Two more pear and plucot paintings. one painted direct and the other is one of the earlier value studies glazed with color. My camera doesn’t seem to want to register turquoise. The colors are way off in these especially the backgrounds which are turquoise in both paintings. I messed with them quite a bit in Photoshop trying to get the color right but it just made them look weird so I’ve posted them without any of the color adjustments.