ENOUGH!

I have been using wood scraps and fabric scraps left over from other paintings to make small paintings like this one. I liken them to little jewels. This one has a section of one of my favorite t-shirts from a fishing competition that my old father-in-law gave me. If you look over my shoulder, you’ll see the head of a swordfish. It also has scraps from a quilt that my wife made for a family member. My left-hand goes through the quilt section. It is a self-portrait of sorts. I end up painting myself sometimes because I am an easy subject. I am always there, and I am not the least bit offended by how I end up being rendered. Often, I will stare at unfinished work until a strong creative direction comes. In this case, I did see myself breaking up a conflict. I took a few selfies until I had an image that was close to what I imagined. Rather than try to make the portrait with flesh-tone colors, I used very unnatural colors that give it an other-worldly quality. This makes for a sort of sci-fi feeling; like I’m trying to separate the world of the viewer from another dimension. That is my feeling when I look at it.