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When Smink in Dallas asked for some smaller paintings in the Nymphs series, I knew I was in for a challenge. It is not so simple to take a process that works well at one size and simply miniaturize it. For one thing, in this work the paint will continue flow and pool into the same size pool. It just behaves that way on the Yupo, and I can’t do much about it. For another thing, what has visual impact at one scale may not at another. The relationship between the paint flow pattern and the circles grid is critical. A couple of years ago I tried painting very small circles – half an inch diameter – in a grid but this somehow inhibited the flow of paint. Also, although we have all gotten very used to seeing small reproductions of paintings and imagining them to be larger, physical size really does matter in the way our bodies, our eyes and musculature, relate to what we see.
I decided to use a range of circle sizes and cut pieces out of large painted sheets, then combine them in almost a collage process. I have to say, although I love the four that eventually got finished, they did not come together as easily as the full-size Nymph paintings. Lots of struggle and decisions. But perhaps some new directions have emerged here.

Egeria - watercolor on Yupo - 40 x 50"
On October 17th an exhibit of my work will open at Smink in Dallas. Smink, an established importer of contemporary Italian furniture and design, has recently moved into a terrific space on Dragon Street, the art and design district, and will inaugurate their gallery space with this show! If you happen to be in Dallas, the reception will be from 5 to 8 p.m.
Hyale (Raindrop), my newest painting, will probably be hanging in the ZaneBennett Contemporary Art group show that opens on Friday here in Sant Fe. I certainly hope so. Six of the new watercolor paintings and six very small paintings were delivered to the gallery this week. I can’t wait to see which ones they choose to hang (there isn’t room for all of them). Also showing will be works by old friends: Madelin Coit, Helmut Lohr, Zachariah Reike, Joe Novak, and Jennifer Joseph. We all showed at EVO Gallery when it was still on Canyon Road, and still primarily supporting Santa Fe Artists. These are all artists of high caliber, and I’m proud and happy to be exhibiting work with them once more.
Of course, we have all evolved somewhat in the intervening years – the years that correspond to my illness – so the whole show will definitely be fresh and full of surprises. I’m stoked!
Also opening in the gallery that evening will be another group show, of local video artists’ work, and downstairs, a show by an artist, well-known in Europe, who I’ve never heard of and can’t remember his name. If the work is strong, I will remember his name forever.
River Spirit, painted last spring, is from a series of horizontal paintings. I was noticing how the flow of paint – the thin and thick of it – could suggest moving water. One of my concerns was to contain that visual movement within the boundaries of the painting, so that the image completes itself. It is a still point.
River Spirit watercolor on Yupo 23 x 54″

Aganippe #1, watercolor on Yupo, image size: 35x36 in.

Eupheme #1, watercolor on Yupo, image size: 35x37 in.