Cars as art

Its time for a new season of Formula One racing to begin; this weekend in Australia! Exciting!
I painted "Fire in the Pits" from a time when seven time world champion Michael Schumacher dominated the field for Ferrari. The drama in the pits is always entertaining and all the red cars and uniforms remind me of ants. Michaels back driving for Mercedes but he's an old man now and its unlikely he'll overtake those twenty year olds. Or ????


I have been painting a series of old Porsche favorites lately. The classic cars seem as much an art form as anything humans set their hands and minds to. I guess, being mass produced, they cant claim absolute originality but these old guys were largely hand built and when I'm through with painting one they are pretty unique.

Carving a turn under the claybanks in a 356 Speedster


A venerable RS from '73

a little light reading

The primary inspiration for my art is the "good" I see in the world. The Fathers' touch is everywhere in the cosmos, my neighbour's face and in the dirt under the microscope. My paintings are influenced by my world view and probably a reaction against much of the past century of art history. While concurring with Stuart McAllister's statement that "much of the energy and effort of our artists and cultural architects has gone into debunking, dismantling, or deconstructing all that is good, beautiful, and respected, to be replaced with the shallow, the ugly, the ephemeral" how then should I work out my art? Creating romantic, disneyesque propoganda is not an option and is an intellectual and spiritual dead end. Thomas Kinkaid's portrayal of "a world without the Fall" is visual cotton candy that, regardless of his excellent workmanship, takes the viewer into a blind alley.
Too critical? coming from a marginal painter- perhaps but that is the nature of blogging.

In the attached detail of my painting "Joy Ride" we see a young woman reveling in the glory of the moment, rolling through vineyards, spring air breezing through her hair, couched in a lovely roadster. Contrary to the absurd cliche "it's all good", we see a deteriorating roadway, vines that require constant physical labour to maintain and a painting technique that suggests imperfections and possibly decay in the Porsche's bodywork. Even the passenger's identity is a bit questionable.

I see a world full of wonder with many opportunities for joy rides, but it is also a bit bent. Something is not quite right here, and how do we get back to it?

Next time, more pictures, less words. I promise.

In from the cold

Last October a friend offered me a seasonal position in her environmental consulting business and since the taxman was flogging me unmercifully and my stomach was growling I gratefully accepted. The experience was very appreciated but my painting regime has been decimated. Now the contract has ended and I'm up for air, back into doing what I'm compelled to and it feels great!
I will be blogging regularly again and also overhauling my website (I apologize for the mess that's been ) so hopefully it will be worth a viewing very soon.
This year's Penticton visitor's guide features my painting, "Beach Boys" on the front cover. This is entirely due to the efforts of Prema, owner of The Tumbleweed Gallery in Penticton. I really appreciate her support. Her gallery is bringing in new work all the time so if you are in the area take the time to check it out.
Back to the studio for me and I'll keep you updated on my work. Peace.
While I'm showing off covers, if you haven't seen my cover on Art Avenue here's what that looked like. Back to the studio for me and I'll keep you updated on my work. Peace.