Anything But Shallow...

A field of vision relates to the subject. To the situation. To one's passions. Only then, in my world, do optics come into play. Does that make sense?

Perhaps only in the evocative sense, which is good enough for me. It's a painting, not a prescription.

"Depth of Field", 36"x24" acrylics and inks on masonite, framed. Available for $690.

Trust But Verify

The Russian proverb Доверяй, но проверяй, ""doveryai, no proveryai"... or as Ronald Reagan said to Mikhail Gorbachev, "trust but verify."

Totally not what this painting is about, but then it is, when people personalize it. Do you trust? Do you verify?

What do these things mean in terms of love?

More questions than answers, as usual.

"Trust But Verify" 40"x16" acrylics on burlap canvas, available for $440.

Looking for a Warm Place... "Via Chicago"

Five weeks is an eternity. Three more weeks is a cold, black hole. Oh how I wish, sometimes, I was brain dead, or complete on the inside, or something else. Anything else.

That is the path, via Chicago, that leads to this new work. I hope it stirs something inside you.

"Via Chicago", 48"x24" acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas. Available for $1190.

My First Art and Music Video

Check out "Rivers Run Backwards," my first art and music video. This is a sampling of my paintings, set to a song I wrote and recorded with my band Subterra a few years back off of our Milkblood CD.

Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose

Freedom (in words, lines, and color):

Dulcet dischord patterns

Like waves of colored sound

Orgasmic, fantastic,

Rapture-bound

Blissful, bittersweet...

Like the people you meet,

They billow around you aimlessly

Like tomcats in heat

Free to do this, do that...

Do what? Why?

Why not is the question.

Ask not why.

Freedom is just another word

For nothing left to lose

"Freedom", 12"x9" liquid acrylics and pencil on watercolor paper. Unframed. Available for $140.

My First Ebay Listing: Reclining Nude

Please view my first ebay listing for a painting, "Reclining Nude"... and bid on it! You may get a bargain, as I am using this as a "test case" to learn how selling on ebay works.

The listing reads thus: This charming little nude painting was done from life in the alla prima style (completed with the first application of paint to the entire area, instead of being built up by layering), with bold impasto strokes and lyrical colors.

The frame is a deep walnut color, simple profile, 7/8" wide on the face and 1.5" deep. It is mounted, wired and ready to hang.

This is my first attempt at selling an oil painting on ebay, so you may get quite a bargain as a result of this first "sacrificial" offering for the sake of learning. The painting and frame are first quality, and although it is a small piece, it is one of my favorite that I have done in this genre. It would normally be priced at $290 in a gallery.

For information on the artist, go to http://howiedoyle.blogspot.com or http://www.howiedoyle.com.

This painting is on a masonite panel that was primed with gesso.

05/09/10 Update: SOLD - The painting sold for $41.00... an acceptable place to start.

Hush, a Poetic Interlude

Some paintings feel like music, others like energy. This one, as I painted it, felt like a poem.

The ground is a canvas board, with the canvas being heavily textured, in a loose weave almost like cheesecloth. I painted it with acrylic paints and inks, and the unusual surface allowed the pigments to migrate when they were applied in a loose, watery fashion.

The sleeping figure looks in harmony and balance with her surroundings. The light is diffuse and muted; the effect is one of meditative peace. The title, "Hush," is meant as a noun, rather than a verb. According to OneLook: "(poetic) tranquil silence."

"Hush", 20"x30" acrylics on canvas board. Available for $390.

Abstraction and the Human Figure

What I love about abstraction is that it tells the story that only visual art can tell. Abstraction creates the basis, in my mind, for the difference between that which is "art" and that which documents the appearance of a particular time and place. This applies equally well to photography as to sketching and painting.

The deliberate use of abstraction creates feeling. I may or may not be able to describe what I feel, but the point is moot because the feeling is represented in the work. Combine that with the most meaningful image that the human eye can register (that being another human form), and you have the basis for powerful art that does not lend itself well to deconstruction. This painting, "Splash", is a good example. It just "is". You either like it or you don't.

I like it.

"Splash", 20"x16" acrylics and charcoal on canvas. SOLD.