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.

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?

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.