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August 30th, 2011
Life’s transitions have an enormous impact on our need to express ourselves. The simple truth of experience forces us to learn, and hopefully to grow. It’s so important as an artist to free yourself to new influences, and allow your work to change with you. I have had an incredible couple of years, overflowing with personal and professional change. In this upcoming transition of summer to fall, I plan to review my work over the past couple of years to see where life “showed up.”
My...
May 28th, 2009
Up until recently, I painted whatever I wanted to paint, whenever I wanted to paint it. Inspiration for me has never been an issue. All I have to do is look outside my window at all the glory of nature and I am off and running.
I love the process of putting paint to canvas, and I feel a strong connection to each and every one of my paintings. I always sense that I have left a piece of my soul in every work, and that this is the essence of art’s ability to connect with viewers. ...
February 17th, 2009
Opposites Attract
Fusionart is the merging of opposites. We take our internal extremes and coax them into a single artistic purpose.
As an artist, one is charged with the responsibility of creating. The process is one of letting the power flow through you and not blocking the creativity. As we paint, the brush, the canvas and the spirit lead the way.
When your mind is in charge, you try to make something happen. Therein lies the difficulty; you are trying to...
The Universe is a Fusionartist
November 12th, 2008
The Universe is a Fusionartist. From the beginning of time, the Universe imbued the Earth with color. Every tree, every flower, every animal and rock has hue and shade to distinguish it. Can you imagine if the world had been created without color? It is as though the Universe realized that mankind would respond creatively to all the colors in nature.
When I look at a tree and see the movement of the leaves, I am always impressed with how many different colors of green appear. I envy...
September 15th, 2008
At the August Fusionart retreat, I had the most fun painting that I can ever remember. My old friend Mehrdad and I spent the day just playing. Free from structure and restrictions, we painted without trying to make anything happen. We were creating the process of creating. The work just flowed, and the fun and laughter abounded. Mehrdad and I talked so much that I was afraid Rassouli, our teacher, was going to through us out of the class.
When Rassouli paints, he gets into such...
August 27th, 2008
My fellow artist, Bonnie Landau, teaches a class called “Anyone Can Paint.” She invited me to attend a couple of weeks ago, and encouraged me to share my technique with her students.
Maybe Bonnie should call the class “Anyone Can Teach!” I wasn’t sure how to prepare for the class, and this got me to thinking about how I approach painting and how I have developed my process over time. Here’s what I figured out about myself:
Early in my career, I had a lot to...
August 5th, 2008
This painting is the collaboration of two old friends who were surprised to discover that they shared a passion for art. I have known Mehrdad Dabbagh for 18 years, but in a completely different context - the world of business. I really did not know Mehrdad’s spirit until I met him in one of Rassouli's classes three years ago. No one can describe the expression on his face when he first saw me in the art class. It was like seeing someone from another world that you never imagined you would...
July 29th, 2008
My fellow Fusionartist Diane Bulgatz painted this thought-provoking and serenely engaging work. It is called “The Quest”. I was looking at Diane’s painting this week and was struck by the fact that it captures my own recent journeys of the soul. My quest has been one of letting go.
This week my life has been a case study in letting go of the past. I had a garage sale and sold off numerous old, unwanted items. Why I had felt the need to keep them, I don’t know. The sale...
July 22nd, 2008
There are times when I just don't feel like painting. I don't know what to paint, and I lack the energy to commit creation to canvas. These times can last from a day to two months.
My mind starts to wonder if I have lost the desire or the talent to paint. My mentor, Rassouli, says that I am building up bewilderment. It feels like a teakettle. You don't sense much happening as it simmers along on the stove. Then all of a sudden things burst forth with a trumpet blare and a release of...
July 1st, 2008
The process of creating is not exact. Art occurs in its own time. When you create something, you begin to fall in love with it before it ever exists. The creative process; the thinking, the experimentation, the starting over – all these are part of the joy of artistic endeavor. Sometimes inspiration comes fast and sometimes it comes slow. The trick is to not impose your own expectations on the result.
As an artist, you are merely the vehicle for the creative process. What I...