 |
| Remains of Monday, Collage |
 |
| Origins, Mixed Media |
Most creative people are frequently asked “where do you get your
ideas?” When fellow artists and even non-
artist friends ask this question, the immediate response is “everywhere.” This may sound trite but it's so true. One day as I opened my mailbox and found it
full of junk mail and not much else, I started thinking about just how much “trash”
ordinary people collect in just one day – plastic wrappers, paper bags, images
from magazines, emails that we don’t need to keep, used crossword puzzles,
movie tickets, used dryer sheets, and on and on. This idea floated around for several days and
then the concept for Remains of the Day was born, a collage series with
whatever I had collected for each day in a week.
 |
| Cecil, Oil |
Eating out is a treasure trove for
the portraits I love to paint – not the stiff formal ones but “character”
studies –unusual people whose faces speak of an interesting history or
lifestyle. Watching the news often
incites a desire to rave about injustice or how we now have “news as
entertainment” rather than just the facts.
Being outside and finding the shadows left imprinted on the driveway by leaves
after it rains inspired an abstract series based on shadows.
 |
| St. James Island Marsh, Pastel |
When the muse seems to have left me, I often
listen to music or read poetry and these never fail to conjure up images that
just might be my next favorite painting.
Literally anything can provide inspiration if we are open to the endless
possibilities that are right in front of our eyes or floating around inside our
heads at 3:00 in the morning.
