"Somewhere near here."

This painting is currently hanging in the new Davis County Courthouse building (I think that's what they call it.)  Might possibly become a part of the permanent collection...lets keep our fingers crossed!

How to "Train" your painting.

How to ""Train" your painting.

Much like a popular movie that my kids watch (I haven't actually seen it yet) when we endeavor create new things, or change them to suit our will; frequently WE end up undergoing the greater change. This is true with my most recent venture into the world of trains.

I've been doing a series of train paintings recently. I find that they are a most interesting subject that often gets overlooked for the artistic qualities they possess; the dark and light differences, the shadows, reflections, structure, dynamic lines, hard and soft edges. All these work together to make an object, in a setting, that begs more attention. The beauty of the subject revolves around the possibility to express it in extremely abstract terms, or in a very literal voice. Much like figure painting it makes things interesting, and the possibilities of artistic manipulation and expression endless.

I find structure interesting, especially structures that deal with natural settings, trains make the perfect candidate. I have a feeling that structures will make a larger presence in my landscape paintings in the future.

Here's a recent study that just got sent to Mountain Trails Gallery in Jackson, Wy. I've got a larger one at the Springville Museum of Art's annual show "The Spring Salon" that I'd like to show, but I don't have pics yet...I will have to post that soon.

Consistency is the death of great art.

The Yellow Horse

The Yellow Horse

One of my newer pieces that is slated to be exhibited in International Contemproary Masters of  Fine Art at Greenhouse Gallery.  I'm happy to have been selected, I think this will be the fourth year I've done the show, it never disapoints.  There are always a number of very fine works of art. 

This piece is centered around an idea of balancing the man-made with the natural elements.  It seems that the longer the human race survives, the more important it has become that this idea develops into something real and sustainable.

This piece comes from a photograph that I took recently.  Strangely I did not venture out with the purpose of painting a train, but for some reason this is the only really great image I brought home with me.  Sometimes one doesn't know what the day's adventures will bring, I suppose what's more important is that we recognize the special moments when they cross our path, capture them and enjoy them.