Acrylic and oil pastel on canvas
28 x 22 inches
An automatic drawing that revealed itself as a self-portrait with hindsight.
Tag: responsive art
Wind Shadows (2017)
Gesso on canvas
24 x 30 inches
Responsive painting inspired by a live performance of Wind Shadows, a composition for trombone and closely tuned oscillators composed by Alvin Lucier; performed at Cider Gallery in Lawrence, KS on April 25, 2017 by Brett Keating.
This piece was the first of seven spontaneously-produced paintings as I listened to Brett perform six separate electro-acoustic music compositions for trombone, euphonium and live electronics.
Here’s a recording of the same piece performed by James Fulkerson (trombone) and Alvin Lucier (oscillator):
The Way (2016)
House paint on plywood board
24 x 48 inches
I followed the grain and allowed the wood to dictate the composition of this painting as an exercise in wu-wei.
1,102 (2015)
House paint and oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches
Inspired by a photograph I took of the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, O’ahu, Hawaii in June, 2014. More than 2.3 quarts of oil percolate to the surface from the battleship every day, serving as a reminder to those who visit that the site is still very active. While it’s obviously not good for the aquatic environment, I find the periodic oil blooms on the surface to be a poignant unintentional feature of the memorial; almost as if the spirits of the 1,102 people that lost their life there are acknowledging the millions of people who pay their respects each year.
Vigil (2015)
Oil and oil pastel on canvas
24 x 28 inches
This piece is an automatic drawing that I randomly colored with oil paint. As the composition of the colored shapes became clearer, I began to see candles and people, which brought to mind an assembly of remembrance.
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)
Underwater Jazz Party (2014)
Oil and ink on unprimed canvas
24 x 30 inches
On display in our home:
Harmonies (2014)
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches
Responsive painting while listening to John Cage’s “44 Harmonies from Apartment House 1776.”
Nearly Lucid (2014)
Acrylic and oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches
Inspired by a lucid dream experience, this piece is an oil painting spontaneously scored with a palette knife to produce the shapes colored with acrylic paint.
Leo (2014)
Oil on canvas
24 x 30 inches
Inspired by the John Coltrane composition of the same name:
Christian Williams 