Copper Galore - With Patina!

This painting is from a series called 'Begin Again' and it represents one of my favorite types of paintings to create. It has TEXTURE, It is EARTHY and in this case METALLIC I once made a joke to someone looking at my art that my paintings look like something that was just dug up out of the ground. I could tell by the way they laughed suddenly that they were thinking the same thing.

This piece also has TEXT. I like to play with text in paintings, but avoid using English in America usually, because I feel once you put a word or phrase on a painting, you 'pigeon hole' it, by giving it a meaning of some kind, rather than leaving it open to interpretation for the viewer.
So, I use text few Americans or English speaking people would be able to interpret, such as Japanese.
Now, I don't know how to read Japanese (I won't pretend to, since I would be quickly busted by anyone who does, looking at my paintings) I just do a sort of alphabet practice - using an alphabet called Hiragana (the most recent and simple Japanese alphabet) What it represents to me is text as a beauty element - the use of brush strokes. Also, it speaks to the viewer on a 'symbolic' level. You know it means something, but you see it just as an embellishment.

Metallics are often used in these types of paintings to add an 'ancient' feel to it, as it is easy to make the metallic element look old, rusty or covered with patina.

Another favorite is to use text from a manuscript called the Voynich Manuscript, which has yet to be interpreted. I love the mystery of it. By including excerpts from it in my painting, it plants little 'surprises' for the viewer in the future, if the manuscript is ever interpreted :)

AQUATIC FIRE A Triptych with FIRE and WATER 6 Feet Wide

This is a 3 panel (triptych) painting on canvases that measure 24" x 30", the total finished piece
measures 72" (6 Feet Wide) and 30" tall. (2.5 Feet Tall)
I call this piece AQUA FIRE Because it was meant to be a twist on the FIRE theme that I've used so often in my pieces. Cool tones in the center, with raised texture that is accented with white give the feel of a crashing wave from between bright fiery colors, but on closer inspection, this piece makes you feel as though you are in a tropical fish tank amongst the coral.

DRAMATIC Fiery TEXTURED Diptych - 4 Feet Wide

Dramatic, Fiery Texture on 2 Stretched Canvases, measuring 24" x 24", for a total of 24" x 48" (4 feet wide) for the finished piece.

CONTEMPORARY 'Floral' TEXURED Triptych - 3' x 2'

TEXTURED Acrylic on Three 12" x 24" Gallery Wrapped Canvases. The elements are just raised texture for an ABSTRACT Floral appearance.

A Pictorial of My Various Styles from over the Last 8 Years....

NATURAL Very TEXTURED Large Acrylic Painting

This painting was created for a 3 artist show that was focused on the photography of Phillip Lacinak. Phil took his photographs while on assignment in Africa with Jack Hanna's Wild Kingdom.
The photos of African wild life, people and surroundings inspired me to create a few additional pieces for the show that would tie my artwork in with the photography.
This piece is very Natural and Earthy and VERY TEXTURED. The textured areas are almost an inch off the canvas. Three of the elemental rings are accented with Gold Metallic.
The bottom of the painting is accented with coated straw and the 'snake' element on top of the straw is Red Och-re in color.