Category: 3 – Drip Paintings
Jackson Pollock is one of my primary artistic influences and I find his characteristic drip style the perfect vehicle for quick, spontaneous paintings driven by emotion. These pieces were some of my earliest abstract paintings, and marked a deeper dive for me into spontaneous art where I learned how to relinquish control and abandon expectations.
Aviary (2015)
House paint on canvas
24 x 36 inches
Sold in March 2015 to a private collector in Kansas.
Brigid (2015)
House paint on canvas
24 x 30 inches
Finished on the Cross-Quarter Day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, a day marked by the ancient Celts with the festival Imbolc, which was considered the beginning of spring and was a celebration of the goddess Brigid.
Sold in February 2015 to a private collector in Kansas:
Osage, Can You See? (2015)
House paint on canvas
30 x 24 inches
This piece was a commissioned trade with Hank Will, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Mother Earth News, and a craftsman of beautiful handmade knives. I asked him a while back if he’d make me a mushroom-hunting knife and he produced the amazing looking knife at left. The handle includes brass, denim, locust burl, bison leather, and pear wood, and the brush is horsehair.
For payment, he requested a painting instead of money, so I made him the piece above. Hank runs a small farm in rural Osage County, Kansas, and I tried to capture the essence of his farmstead by using colors that I’ve seen in rural Kansas. Considering that Hank’s knives are beautiful works of art that are meant to be used, I thought it was appropriate to paint him one of my “utilitarian medium” pieces where I use acrylic latex house paint instead of artist-quality paints. Like Hank, I believe it’s possible to make beautiful art from materials primarily designed to be functional.
Practicing Eternity (2015)
House paint on canvas
36 x 36 inches
Seeing into darkness is clarity.
Knowing how to yield is strength.
Use your own light
and return to the source of light.
This is called practicing eternity.
– Tao Te Ching, 52 (Mitchell, 1988)
This piece has evolved into “Temporary Vehicle” (2018)
The Subtle Perception of the Way Things Are (2015)
House paint on canvas /
30 x 40 inches
If you want to shrink something,
you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
you must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception
of the way things are.
– Tao Te Ching, 36 (Mitchell, 1988)
On display in our home:
Born Into This (2014)
House paint on canvas
36 x 24 inches
Some Kind of Animal (2014)
House paint on canvas
48 x 36 inches
UPDATE (June 2020): This piece is now for sale. Beautify your home or office with an affordable piece of original art. $400
On display in our home:
Sidpa (2014)
House paint and ink on paper
24 x 30 inches
Sixth in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
Chikhai (2014)
Ink, house paint, and gesso on plywood
48 x 24 inches
Fourth in a series of works titled “Six Bardos,” inspired by the transitional stages in life, death, and rebirth outlined in Tibetan Buddhism.
Christian Williams 