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Trade Secrets

Sometimes my paintings take a day, or several hours, to put down the basic premise. After that it is rare that I don't go back weeks, months or a year later and change them in some way. The working and re-working that I do is a combination of using my own style and experimentation of techniques I've come up with to create that certain look my paintings have. I take it as a compliment that many sighted people can recognize my work without seeing my signature.  These are my trade secrets. I add things to the paint that most people don't. The finished product speaks for itself.

About a year into painting I started signing my finished paintings with a Sharpie marker on the front right or left hand corner.  This is now the indicator of a finished painting.  My art has to reach a certain criterion, in my opinion, before I will show it and no one sees a painting before its time.

On the Subject of Art

Art is all around us from the time we wake in the morning until we sleep at night and even then we are engaged in the art of sleeping. I personally despise the categorizing of art. Any creative effort is art. It is the intent that matters, not the category it falls in that should determine artistic value. The function of the human body and its intricate capabilities are artistic when we use them with intent. Everything we do involving a creative aspect is art. I live art, breathe art- eat,sleep and dream art.  

I have always had an interest in art and been more creative than most of the people around me. If we were to draw shapes like spheres or tubes, I took them and moved them around rather than drawing them as they lay on the table in front of me. My mind placed them in different positions and I produced different compositions from the others in the class.

This is still what happens today, when I am in "art mode." Despite not seeing well, my mind takes over and I put paint to the canvas and the process starts from there. To me creativity is the ability to manipulate time and space to capture its essence on canvas.

Only one in ten paintings I do achieves this quality and that one attracts people. A good analogy is the songwriter that hits the mark with a number one hit song. A lot of people identify with it for different reasons, but not necessarily for the same reason the song was written.

A Poem

Intention and illusion

Are two quite different things

Combined upon a canvas.

Art is what it brings

To convey or evoke emotion.

With every stroke or splash

I try to use all colors,

Even if they clash

To finish what was intended,

But never came to be.

The illusion then takes over,

Because I cannot see through

My techniques and errors.

This is how I've learned to paint:

No schools, rules or boundaries:

The definition of create.

Illusions

I've always been interested in art and creating. As far back as I can recall, it gave me a sense of accomplishment. I felt the praise I received when I colored correctly and stayed inside the lines. I felt disappointment when I was told I could do better.

With the loss of my eyesight,  those restraints are long gone. No more are there color boundaries or perfect lines forming the perimeters and angles of what is meant to be. Now the colors and their variances are lights and darks.  Contrast is what matters. No longer do straight lines border an outline of what is created, but rather composition and variegated qualities tell the story.

My works are illusions. I can't recreate a photograph except what I can interpret in my mind's eye.  The feeling, spirit and soul are the tools I use now.  Every painting has a profound meaning to me and has to achieve this in the finished product or it is subject to re-working. I love feedback and constructive criticism. Everyone has an opinion, likes and dislikes.  They can hate one of my paintings, or like it, or love it, or parts of it, but they cannot change the finished product.  That is a given.

Man in the Moon

I don't know why it is, but I'm constantly being attracted to moonscapes.  I think it has something to do with the muted light, being able to see contrast, and the serenity of the pieces themselves.  They have been extremely popular, whether they're in a gallery, an art show, or online.  I think one of the main things that has attracted me to these paintings is the nighttime wildlife.  I can picture an owl hooting outside a barn, or a coyote pup running under the moonlight.  The magnetic draw of the moon casts an eerie, mystic quality over a landscape.  This is what I attempt to capture on canvas.  The phrase "once in a blue moon," "moonlight serenade," and "moonstruck" always come to mind when trying to capture the moon's essence.  I could get lost in the creation of moonscapes for hours on end.  It seems like the process is never ending, and I have to force myself to stop without over painting the canvas.  Are there any references to the moon that brings out a feeling in you?

Inspiration?

Inspiration is an odd thing to communicate to another person.  What inspires me is something odd, indifferent, weird, or that has a varied sense of realism.  Monet grew gardens, then painted them.  I love painting gardens, whether or not they have been grown on my property or I've seen them in passing on a trip to the grocery store.  Shapes and contrast pretty much guide what draws my eye to a particular area.  This could be anything from a landscape to a still life.

 Many times for inspiration, I will go through old art magazines and look at different ways that people have portrayed animals, plants, or a varied landscape.  The composition is what means the most to me, so then I take my techniques and talents, and make the piece my own.  Many times just off the top of my head, I will let an emotion take over and create the work.  As I've said before, what I intend to do and the final piece are usually two different things.  Another thing that really guides the things that inspire me is poetry.  If I can visualize it in my mind, I can interpret it and then put it onto canvas.  When creating from the mind's eye, I am able to change and direct the paint to what I'm trying to accomplish.  This is why I favor oils. 


A farm scene, an animal by the side of the road, a cute pet, a single flower with a monarch butterfly landing on it, just a blue sky reflecting in a pond of water or a speeding boat going across a lake inspires me in all different ways.  To you, these are visual images.  To me, I pick up on sounds, touch, and the written word that describes the way these things play out in everyday life.  A description goes a long way in helping me create my art.  I could paint 24/7 without running out of ideas.  You can pull inspiration from anywhere.  Have you ever even thought about what inspires you?

Technology Today

"Seasons"  30"x40" Oil on Canvas (currently for sale)

When I started painting full time back in 2006, I could never have imagined where I am today.  A lot of this is due to modern technology and the connections you can make anywhere in the world.  I've had people from Norway and Italy view my Facebook page.  I could have never imagined that this would ever happen in my lifetime, let alone being a visually impaired artist and getting out into the world via social media.  It amazes me that my images can be seen around the world and sent for submission to galleries, facilities and art shows with the click of a button.  Someone in my position, not being able to drive, looks at this as a definite blessing.

 I love being at art shows in person, but in my situation, travel, transportation and costs are always a factor.  A good part of social media has helped me to eliminate those burdens and function as well as any other sighted artist can.  Not only am I able to share my art on sites like Facebook, but I've reconnected with many people from my past, such as High School friends, and new friends that enjoy my art.  In conjunction with the social media sites, I can also direct people to BlindGuyStudios.com, and have them view art in progress, pieces that are completed, and works that are for sale and in print form.  Yay technology!  I'm constantly looking forward to the future and what this holds for me in pursing my dreams and goals as an artist. 

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Thanks so much for reading!

Floral Frenzy: The Story Behind the Piece

Every painting has somewhat of a story connected to it.  The creation of the piece is very much driven by a memory, an emotion, a link to that image from myself.  I painted Floral Frenzy in approximately 2006.  It was very interesting to me that it started with colors, and the more they blended, the more muted they became.  At the same time, it began to take on a whole new characteristic of it's own.  The petals represented a flower blowing in the warm summer breeze, and trying to entice butterflies or bees to land on them.  It's amazing at the activity you see by watching one flower in the course of an afternoon.  The canvas on this painting was a 30 x 40, and the characteristic of the flower was 3/4 of the canvas.  Even though not brightly colorful, the painting still took on an inherent beauty of its own. 

"Floral Wind"

 



Several times, I had inquiries about this painting at several shows, but never had anyone purchase it until the UW Eye Clinic in Madison was doing a boardroom remodel and decided this would be one of six total purchased for the project.  It is an honor and a privilege to have my paintings associated with this facility.  To me, it's ironic how things come full circle, as UW eye clinic was one of the places since 1985, I had testing done before becoming legally blind. 

To this day, I'm not really sure what variety the flower this is, nor the name of the bush that they grew on.  However, it's things like this that catch my interest and inspires me to put them on canvas.  A moment in time captured forever, and a memory that will not fade. 

You too can have a piece of this memory, as this piece will soon be available on BlindGuyStudios.com as an 8x10 print.  It'll be hand-signed by me, and ready for matting and framing to present in your home. 

Past Reflections

It always amazes me at how fast time passes.  This is the start of 2014, and I remember clear as a bell, still writing "1976."   It's at this time of year, I reflect back on the year and past years, and am amazed at how far I've come. 

This painting is entitled "My Secret Spot." It initially was in memory of my Grandfather, who took me fishing  to many different lakes when I was younger.  It's funny now how after five years of my own father's passing, how much this painting reminds me of him.  It's a vivid memory, taking a boat to a small lake behind his house, going out on a summer's evening and casting the shoreline.  It would take us about two hours to row once around the lake.  It was a time of connection and talking about the days or week's events.  It's hard to capture a feeling on canvas, so this is more or less a frozen part of time that in my mind, connects both  the memory of my father and grandfather in one serene setting.

 In all my paintings, I usually have such a personal connection to them in different ways.  This painting took about three months to complete, because I would continually go back and rework the background and water areas, trying continually to remember what it was like when I was in the boat.  The water splashing against the shore, the occasional fish jumping, and the soft summer breeze blowing in the trees.  Then, out of nowhere, fish on!  And the excitement would start until we got it to the boat and on our stringer.  It's a moment frozen in time, and a memory I'll have forever.  Now I have the memory on canvas.