The artist produces for the
liberation of his soul.
It is his nature  to create as it is the nature of water
to run down the hill.
W.  Somerset Maugham

Art is the production of objects for consumption, to be used and discarded while
waiting for a new world in which man will have succeeded in freeing himself of
everything, even of his own consciousness.
~ Eugenio Montale

I started sketching many ideas in color with texture and fragmentation of lines all the way back in Art School.  I find it interesting how art is just sitting under the surface waiting to be released from a sketch to a completed painting. 

Yesterday I was asked to please start painting some realism vs. the abstract paintings I am currently working on... I answered that I needed to follow my heart in my paintings.  I could paint a lansdscape, the sky and the stars... yet... What flows within at this time... are the many colors and sculptural layers in combination with the mixed media paints.  This is what I have to paint and keep exploring.

Lately it seems that I have been exploring color and lines with texture.  There has been a focus on the combination of different media along with layers of colors.  Color and more color is where I am at these days in my artwork.   It is fun to play with the textures and colors. 

The simplicity of sketching in black and white.  It can be a simple drawing in pencil, charcoal or even pen and ink.  The eye is drawn to the positive and negative spaces on the drawing surface.  I find the need to get back to this kind of drawing in exploring my current concepts in art.

I started looking through my old sketchbooks... Memories... Very good memories of going to Art School.  There was a sense of freedom in exploring art to its fullest.  This freedom should never be abandoned.  The joy of being an artist.

Working on two watercolor mixed media paintings.  One on heavy watercolor paper and the other on watercolor canvas.   Both paintings have a very different look. The watercolor canvas painting is simpler yet implementing a new technique.  Texture is still a big part of both paintings. 

Why be an artist?  It can't be helped.  There is something larger than life that takes over the artist enabling the work of art to take place.  The art  pours out of the deepest part of the psyche and soul.  The artist is a visionary in the serenity of the studio capturing the snapshots of life. 

Step back and smell the roses.  Youth is gone before you know it.  Creating art keeps the soul young.  It is a moment in which everything stops and only creativity takes place.  There is a sense of oneness with the painting and the creator steps out of the picture.  It keeps the heart young with a zest for life.