"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." Vincent Van Gogh

Sunday, March 22, 2015

A Big and a Little and the Gallery of Small Works

Untitled / oil on linen panel / 18x24

Untitled / oil on linen panel / 12x12
I am really honored to be included in Rick Reinert's new Small Works Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. There are some really incredible artists represented there - I have to pinch myself when I see my name listed with theirs! Here is the link to the new website: Reinert Fine Art-The Small Works Gallery

Thursday, March 5, 2015

A Distinct Sense of Self or Ballerina #38 et al.


A Distinct Sense of Self / oil on linen panel / 12 x 12
 And trying my at hand a a few tiny pieces - a wee 5x7 nches! They are quite a challenge and require smaller brushes than I generally use.
A Potpourri of Possibilities / oil on canvas / 7x5

Hidden Variables / oil on canvas / 5x7

Sunday, March 1, 2015

A Haze of Possibilities and the Way a Horse Sees

A Haze of Possibilities / oil on linen panel / 16x20
Having painted this composition with a trio of horse and jockey combinations before without satisfaction, I determined to try it again.

I learned some quite interesting facts about equine vision this week. Horses do not see the same way humans do - they have only color receptors for the blue and green spectrum and cannot discriminate reds - apparently much the same as a person with red-green color blindness. The theory is that this may cause the horse to rely more on contrast to judge distance to and height of an obstacle when calculating take off. When a horse is approaching a jump he will see it in sharp focus, but will lose this focus around 3 meters away and may not be able to accurately judge distance to the jump. He will perceive the jump differently from his rider not only because of the difference in color perception but also because he has a much wider field of vision due to his eye placement. This adds to the importance of the connection between the horse and rider as they approach a jump.

Having long been fascinated by the interaction, partnerships  and cooperation that are established between man and beast as they interact together during moments of great intensity, it is part of my underlying drive to paint steeplechase as a way of expressing this relationship.