matched set

This is a pair of collage paintings that I did for my brother and his wife for Christmas gifts in 2001. They hang in the dining room of their home, so I guess you could say this is private collection stuff.

I wish that I could say the concept was original. I've done similar things with my jars. But this was inspired by a piece I saw at Michaels. None of those motifs would have worked for my brother. And the colors were all wrong. So I amended. The first step was to look at the things that they had in their home. I took the palette and large leaf from the rug design in the living room which is open to the dining room. Second step was to figure out what went with it so as to not totally rip off the rug artist or the print artist.

This set was a blast to paint. Apparently the stars were aligned and the Muses were right in my wheelhouse because this was the easiest set I have ever done. I had just the right tools, just the right colors and my brushes were just the right kind of crappy to leave intriguing brushstrokes right where they needed to be. Should I admit to such serendipity?

Yes. Part of being an artist and understanding how your chosen medium works is having the vision and wisdom to know when to let the material paint itself instead of struggling to impose your own hand on the medium. Serendipity is an artists friend; but it is also the egoists enemy. And you can always tell if it was the soul or the ego that painted a piece... even if it is in a series. If it is stilted and leaves you flat or cold the chances are great that the artist's ego got in the way.