Stone Age 001:

This idea originated from watching a television documentary on early British History.

The use of stone construction in Briton goes back 10,000 years BCE.

The canvas was subdivided in a standard fashion. Greyish mortor with bits of light colour (does not show up) keeps the rectangular shaped stones into separate identities.

The top two stones have smoother hand worked surfaces compaired the bottom three stones. The painting symbolizes the human ability to influence and shape the primordial material into protective structures.

Primordial Age 001:

The composition in terms of nested shape proportions and colours was pre-planned. A small sketch was made and paint colours arranged.

The idea was to focus my mind on fluid molten material and using my sketch for reference quickly execute the design with little conscious thought interference.

The painting was executed within fifteen minutes. In one hand an automizer filled with water was used to keep the paint moist but not runny. The design was executed in sections. Paint was applied from the tube and spread with a round brush. I prefer a round brush because it is a multi-directional tool that also responds well to scrubbing.

There are some changes I would make but that is for the next time. I would like to incorporate some type of metal. Yes I recognize the sexual metaphor.

Ideas 002

Rain Shapes

The main design edges of Ideas 001 have been removed to simplify the vertical eye flow making int less complex. Compare this design with 001 to identify the difference.

Flat Scape 001:

Red Square Hole on Flatland

The Albers influence can be easly seen in this composition. It was created as a colour mixing exercise for my students.

It uses a simple composition in terms of subdividing the support - colour mixing is applied for skill development in constructing and identifying hue, value, chroma and quality attributes.

The result is a small composition that applies colour field painting theory with soft and sharp edge design.

Flat Scape 002:

Blue Sun on Flatland

The General format and size remains the same for this series.

The central area of the composition will vary in graphic content to provide some variety between paintings. This allows for the colour mixing exercises to be composed as a series.

Note: flatlanders must walk around the sun.

Flat Scape 003:

Violet Tile Game with Fixed Squares

Flat Scape 004:

Square Ying Yang for Flatland Thinkers

Flat Scape 005:

Earth Quake on Flat Land

Flat Scape 006:

From Flat to Form

I designed this to illustrate how flat coloured shapes can be assembled to represent three dimensional form. My recommendation is that the student reproduce this work in actual size. Note the subtle blueish and greenish colours used for the ground shapes.

The constant philosophical debate in painting is between the illusion of form and the representation of form. I prefer to remain in the representation mode which lets the viewer easely recognize that the painting is a construct and not an illusion.

Flat Scape 007:

Yellow Face Flatfish:

Created as an exercise in colour mixing .

Flat Scape 007:

A Change of Pace:

Needed a break from all that geometry. This was designed as an exercise to illustrate how flat shapes and bright clear colours can be applied to create an uplifting mood to an otherwise shabby uninteresting forest and lake.

I used this as an example for my class.

Flat Scape 008:

Big Lips Flatfish

This was designed as a colour mixing exercise example for my class.

Flat Scape 009:

Cataract Wall One

My left eye is legaly blind and my right eye has developing cataracts.

Cataracts cause your visual field to become mottled with soft grey clouds (the grey in the painting does not show up as grey in the reproduction).

I used a coloured stone pattern and light greyed some of the stones to create holes. Over time the visual field begins to disintegrate in a mottled fashion thus creating an interesting pattern.

Eventually I will get the condition fixed but meanwhile there appears to be some interesting compositional painting ideas in it.

Flat Scape 010

C D E F G

The dots create and stress a consistant surface texture like plane fabric. The dots, all of the same colour enter into a simultanious contrast reaction with the dirrerent colour toned rectangles.

The coloured rectangles rectangles add another layer of formalized flat surface pattern.

The varying tone colours of the rectangles also add limited plastic spacial recession.

Below the blue arch The colour toned alphabetic characters add focal points which resolve into formal geometric figures.

Flat Scape 011

Flowers

Another exercise in flat shapes and tone control. The flowers are in the warm range and the ground is in the cool range.

In daylight the border glows blue. In the evening by table lamp light the blue border is hard to see. The painting goes to sleep in the evening.

The pattern in the leaf centers match the blue border. The flowers were thought of as exploding fire-works. The spot composition adds to this quality.

As a painting the flowers were in no danger of falling over so I didn't need to put them into a vase or on a table to raise them up.

Flat Scape 012

Isometric Space

Have come full circle. My tean years interest turned to celtic knot patterns which I transposed into oil painings.

Now my interest has turned to isometric designs transposed into acrylic paintings.

My childhood enjoyment of looking at the wold through prisms, facination with everything that glittered and love of the flat local colour used in illuminated manuscripts appears to have merged.

The design and materials have been selected to create changes in the average viewer's perceptual system as the painting is approached or receives a passing glance over a variety of lighting conditions. The painting awakens in morning light and rests in evening light. These effects cannot be easly reproduced.

It is the essence of a style that demands the silent inner integrity of a monk constantly challenged to choose the easy way . There is no tool kit of arty tricks behind which to hide - every lapse of focus shows.

Flat Scape 014

Flatland Government

Two ruling councils. The yes! council (dark squares at top). The no! council (dark squares at bottom)

No council decision can be made with out a majority council vote (all social and activity is controlled by council decisions) the population is frozen in place.

There was agreement that three scientists (middle three dark squares) would resolve the impasse by finding a way to enter the three dimensional world where contradictory decisions could coexist.

Flat Scape 015

Two Red Pears and one lemon

Painted this with too much space at the top: the format should have been closer to that of a square. The top edge tension was increased by painging a border along the top.

Yes anametic charastistics were used in this subject composition and design.

My focus is still on flat colour shapes.

Flat Scape 016

Red Horn:

This is to me a watershed painting. It looks simple but I struggled with the shapes and colours for days.

The objective was to create a simple composition that would bring colour to drab areas of a home and yet not be of gallery dimensions.

It simplifies my study of flat colour shapes and evolved into a painting that funcionsas as a quiet coloured light to be experienced in passing but not to be contemplated.

Flat Scape 017

Self Portrait with Lilacs

This is painted on two separate canvases each 18 by 14 inches.

The dark vertical line represents the separation of the two parts - it is a little wide in this illustration.

It continues the simple ideas. The rectangular shapes of each section have been mirrored and rotated causing the eye to move diagionally between the section parts as on a checker board.

It may be of interest to know that my left eye is legaly blind and my right eye has soft grey clouds of cataracts.

Flat Scape 018

Lilacs

The surface of a blank canvas has a unity all its own. During the painting process our surface marks disturb the original unity. Our struggle with shapes and colours continue to disturb the original unity until we establish a new unity.

In this new unity I seek a quiet arrangement based upon the principles of notan.

There is a quality to this work that reminds me of magic realism only without the realism.

It would normally fall into the catch all catagory of abstract expressionism it seems to define itself as magical abstraction.

Flat Scape 019

O'Canada

This started out as an exercise in applying opaque colour to create a transparent design.

I had this maple leaf cutout hanging around the studio so I decided to make the circle a bit more interesting by adding the maple leaf to the problem.

The circle had acquired some interest by adding the leaf but the square didn't so I added three blue structural lines around the outside of the square.

Flat Scape 020

Dance of the Lilacs

Inspired from looking at my lilac bush as a geometrical notan type subdivision of the pictorial format with three colour tones.

The linear structural movement was based upon my childhood playing with pick-up-sticks. Coloured bits were based upon ceramic tiles.

I wanted to combine movement, structure, colour and calmness.

Flat Scape 020

Two Thoughts

Philosophical art.

Illustrates how the human mind can coexist with two separate thoughts.

The lower box points downwards and the upper box points in the upward direction.

The upper box merges more with the background than the lower box - symbolizing how the human brain can be programmed to give more importance to one contradictory thought than another - yet the subordinated thought always remains as a darkness.

Flat Scape 021

2006 June No. 3

Red Disk Arrival

Albers Kandinsky and Klee are still churning round in my head. Have just added Itten to the mix.

Have recently begun studying imposed town planning and organic town growth throughout the ages. Don't want my linier layer to become mechanical

All this may boil down to the reality that I have become more conscious of living during a time when multi-dimensions of space time configurations are being discussed.

2006 Farm House

This painting has been composed using flat colour shapes. The objective is to maximise the use bright happy colours to lift the spirits of the viewer.

Most viewers refer to it as a fun painting.

2006 Water Falls

Another painting in which I play with flat colour and allow the lines and shapes to provide the illusion of rounded forms..

2006 Fall Forest

Another painting in which I play with flat colour shapes. This was painted for my students as an exercise.

2006 Op Art

Using Vasarely as a source to produce a series of colour mixing and flat painting exercises for my students resulted in this first composition.

2006 Test Module 1

Testing various cell shapes and colours

2006 Test Module 2

Testing various cell shapes and colours

2006 Flower Girl

Hadn't played with a portrait in quite a while so I jumped in.

Line is used in place of shading . All shapes are flat filled.

2006 Sun Flower

The leaves are flat painted but the shape gives the impression of rounded form.

Mural: sample: module:

Vasarely's influence has evolved into a modified system which matches my own temperment. It has been written that inexperienced artists copy and experienced artistists steal to the point where the ideas become their own - in some cases better than the originator of the ideas.

This system will be applied to a four foot by eight foot mural.

Medieval Ship

Have been planning a medieval series for a number of years.

This became a fun project.

Full Bloom

Had to finish this up as it had been hanging around the studio for a while.

Medieval Hanging

Another in this series that I keep thinking about.