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I love senseless chaotic meaningless color and organic scribbling.
My work is disorganized, lacks direction, is not cohesive, is all over the place.
Is impressionistic, after all, I live in Bucks County.
Is traditional, because that's what sells,
is landscape, because people like paintings of places they have been.
But for me, it is much more fun to paint the painting first
then decide what it is.
It is senseless chaotic meaningless color and organic scribbling
or is it?
That's why I love
abstract expressionism.

At the end of the Blue Hill Peninsula along the coast of Maine, lies the island of Deer Isle. And at the tip of this island, is the artist's paradise, Stonington, named for its granite quarries. Our first trip to Maine, with 8 and 4 year old sons in tow, we crossed the Sedgwick Bridge and traveled out the long, breathtaking and very bumpy Deer Isle Road, across the low stone S curve bridge to Deer Isle. At the end of the spruce forest lined Island, we found Stonington, a New England fishing village where it seemed time had stood still for decades. The mist hung in the air along Main Street, and everywhere the beauty of the tiny, unspoiled village astounded and inspired. This old seaport on Penobscot Bay was home to pink granite boulders, houses stacked on hillsides overlooking the busy, working harbor filled with lobster boats and fishermen, and the breathtaking windjammers. While sitting in a waterside cafe and sipping hot chocolate, an amazing three masted windjammer sailed into view. The ship became the subject of this painting, Stonington Harbor.

Explaining the Painting: "Passage"

“Passage” originally titled “Time Passage” is an abstract painting about just that; the passage of time, in life, and in our world. See if you see these images in the painting:

Cradle: A cradle made of branches is a symbol of the beginning of a human life.
Seedling: The green seedling is also a symbol of the beginning of a life form.
Ocean wave: The waves of the ocean rise and fall with the cycles of the moon and are a symbol of the passage of time, and our passage through this world.
Angels: The angels hover over the cradle, protecting the soul through out life and beyond.
Window: The window is an opening to all possibilities in life and to life and worlds beyond those known to us.

What else do you see in the painting?

Process: This began as a full sheet (22x30”) watercolor poured painting. The paper was attached to a board and placed on the floor. Watercolor and acrylic ink was poured on damp paper until an image emerged which suggested to the artist, the passage of time. Plastic wrap was placed in wet paint and left to dry, and then peeled away. Acrylic and watercolor were last painted in with a brush to finish the painting.

Provenance: This piece was first shown at the Doylestown Art League Juried Show at the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown, PA.
It was then accepted into the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society Show held in Warren, PA.
It has remained in the collection of the artist since that time.

What are your feelings when viewing this painting? What personal interpretation might you have for what you see in “Passage”?