Rough Water

Rough Water
16X20
Pastel on Ampersand Pastelbord
I found this type of continuous field composition very difficult to organize into some structure. Which I guess is the point...why would I need to "organize" continual movement? My desire to classify everything into some visual order is a concept very hard for me to push aside when painting. And yet, I probably breathe the easiest, when seeing a subject too grand to classify: millions of leaves and dappled light in the forest, endless water in a seascape, thousands of wildflowers. In the presence of grandeur, the eyes rest and the spirit is quiet.

Open Water

Before moving to Virginia, I lived in southern California. Somehow, living near the beach, the water begins to draw you in. There, I discovered "open water" swimming. When surrounded by motion, the ocean feels alive, every drop moving with some unified purpose.
My intention at this early stage...simply to capture the perpetual movement of the water. My next challenge, organizing the movement.