All posts by artiststevel

Articles on travel

A Road Trip Mimics Life

In our lives we experience cycles from the excitement of youth seeking happiness to the wisdom of age searching for purpose, so how does this relate to a road trip? I feel like a vacation is a small snapshot of our lives and the emotions and feelings we get mimic, on a small scale, how life changes and develops over time.
When we are planning for the trip, there is the feeling of hope and excitement. As in youth, we tend to dream big and create this amazing fantasy where even a short period of time will make up for all the time we worked hard to afford the costs of the trip. We make plans, we add places to the vacation and activities that don’t necessarily coincide with the actual reality of time or the lack there of.
I feel like half the fun of traveling is the planning, learning about new places and making reservations is all part of the experience. I like the anticipation almost as much as the actual experience. As time passes in the planning process we start to realize the costs and the reality that we have probably allotted enough money for half the experiences and have arranged two weeks of adventures into a weeks worth of time.
So goes youth, we grow into our lives, the realities we redefine and the truth that we learn as we get closer to the actual life we have planned. This is why the teen years are so turbulent, it’s like planning to dive off a ten-foot diving board only to realize it is a cliff that is one hundred foot above treacherous rocks. This is the point in the vacation where you get out on the road and all the questions start to occur; did I forget anything? Did I bring enough cash? Have I planned too much? There is an excitement at this point but there is still that feeling of stress as the miles pass by and we get further and further away from our safe and stable lives.
When we arrive at our destination there is a mix of panic, the flat tire, running out of gas, the credit card that gets declined or the hotel that has misplaced our reservation, it always seems that in the midst of the road trip something goes wrong. We are at the mercy of the road, we feel our lack of planning and the truth of the vacation we have planned, we start to adjust the time we spend, what we are able to do and what we need to plan for another trip. This is life and the reality of the path we chose, both the peaks and the valleys. This time I would equate with our post graduation and the experience we have with building our careers and raising our families, it is as frightening and stressful as it is filled with passion and fulfillment.
With age, we realize the actual truth of the road trip; it’s reliving the points of time, the restaurants you’ve been to and the things you’ve seen. Suddenly the fears and insecurities of being out on the road turn into the confidence of miles driven. I experience a clarity of mind, routine loses its weight on what seems possible, even as the vacation ends you are planning the next place to go, to experience life, the great highs and the insecurities of the lows. The ride home is the wisdom of looking back on our lives and realizing what we have accomplished and perhaps what we might have changed if given the chance.
In the final miles, we long for the routine we worked so hard to get away from and miss the pets we left or the comfortable beds we’ve abandoned. It is a feeling of full circle and yet at the same time whether it be sadness and regret or fulfillment and passion we have made our trip what it was but unlike our lives we can go and do it all over again the next time we have a chance to road trip.

Articles on travel

Recent Paintings-blog post

A New Series

All I can say is the intention has been there to write more on this blog but the soul has just been lacking as of late. This series of paintings is a transitional series. My recent series and it was fast and furious and seemed to finish off the existing ideas that have been sitting around in states of incompleteness for many years. I was excited to start the next series and the momentum seemed to be continuing from previous and suddenly it happened-the dreaded block, not only the painting block but a recent writing block as well. The first painting, the balcony was from a restaurant in Cape San Blas Florida-it under painted very quickly and suddenly nothing-I feel like someone else started painting it and I’m just coming in after the fact afraid of ruining any progress the previous painter began.

During this series there has been what I would consider creative blindness, it is not being able to see what you are painting because you are too deep into the details, this allows for only short amounts of time to paint before you get too intense in the details and lose sight of the overall painting. I have had several afternoons struggling and I end up getting frustrated one moment only to have a breakthrough in the next sitting.

One exciting thing about this new series is that I’m not happy with just getting by with minimal details, I crave the accuracy and detail and at the same time allow the other less important elements to remain less detailed, I would call it a full circle between the lighter more relaxed progression of recent mixed with a more detailed and disciplined approach I think I have adapted from teaching a painting course.

Florida and upcoming series

This latest series is inspired by Florida, the next series quickly coming up afterwards will be night scenes, portraits and rich colors of spring. Here are the rest of the images that I am in the process of completing.

 

Articles on travel

When does the intangible become the masterpiece?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say and one person’s masterpiece is another’s pointless mess. In the past, I had lost my eye for what was art or of interest by second-guessing my initial reaction to a scene and questioning how I can sell instead of simply capturing what naturally appeals to the artist’s eye. No, I have not permanently sold out, just have learned how subtle and transient the artist eye can be and how quickly we can lose sight of why we started the process of seeing like an artist in the first place.
I have narrowed down how I shoot to four basic reasons. First and most simple is the snapshot-to capture the scene for posterity, no need for perfection even though perfection always tends to be the artists intention. Capture what you see and save a moment, no filters, no adjusting, just for fun and nothing more. The next reason is to document for the sake of a future painting, this image is just to capture objects and fragments of an overall scene for the sake of future rendering-I shoot many water and sky scenes for this purpose. The third reason is just for the pure beauty. This option is somewhat more of a challenge than it would seem and it’s harder to shoot for me when the beauty is overwhelming. In this case you are photographing something that so many weekend enthusiasts, cell phone snapping, selfie indulging novices as well as professionals will shoot in varying degrees of quality and perfection. Photo manipulation, color correction and post processing can make a good photo a great photo but the work has already been done for you by mother nature and all you can do is show the depth and beauty of the colors on a flat plane as well as your range of skills can afford you.
The fourth reason for shooting a photograph is the reason for this post, it’s the intangible shapes and textures that the artist would see but the skilled photographer might just pass by for the sake of shooting at the highest skill level the beauty of nature or whatever their particular interest would have them shoot. From an artist standpoint you would think this would be easy because it comes natural but the artist eye is often fleeting which brings us back to one mans’ art is another’s pointless mess. There was a time when I would shoot images of trees, or minimalist shapes and patterns in an effort to capture that artistic image that would amaze my viewer. I failed on so many levels, it’s your passion that drives the image, if you have no passion for a bunch of rocks or trees that create an interesting pattern you will capture that image perfectly and has to explain to your viewer why what you shot was so interesting and should be admired.
Here is the difference and the dilemma of shooting for the sense of art and shooting with passion. I don’t believe the photographer or artist should have to explain to the layman why the image they captured is a work of art, it should be understood even if the viewer isn’t quite sure why the image captures their attention or begs for a second look there is an intangible curiosity that keeps the viewer engaged. The interest and engagement depends first by the varying degrees of interest and passion shared by the viewer and the artist so many photos that might be amazing to the artist may lack the interest for the viewer that has no interest in the subject matter, this is where art is so subjective.
There is a level of art that I believe transcends that subjective notion of art and creativity
And goes beyond the interest. The viewer regardless of their interests or intention cannot help to be moved by the work, many masters have achieved this level of success. To me, there is this haunted feeling or a moment where you feel like you have interrupted something and you are an audience to something that draws emotion from somewhere you didn’t even realize you possessed. This is the artist at work and this is where I seek to achieve, it is the artists job to explain and show the reason why something moved them without ever having to explain why, this is the greatness that I strive for and it is a great achievement when a viewer is engaged when they don’t even realize why. To speak to a viewer an emotion or an intangible aspect with only an image is an incredible accomplishment and that which makes the pointless mess, the masterpiece.

Articles on travel

Future paintings of Daingerfield, Sunset and the beauty and solitude of nature.

This is a series of photographs from Lake Daingerfield. I like the low quality of the images from my phone, as they are more like painting sketches rather than actual photographs. All images were brought into Photoshop where I increased the contrast and saturation. The colors are not that far off reality actually because my phone was a bit washed out and with the saturation of colors I’ve almost achieved colors that are closer to the way it really was.
This is the beginning of a new series of paintings, I’m planning on creating ten very small paintings that I can create and finish in a short time, what I am trying to accomplish is the spontaneity of a fast painting but also that feeling of the dark evening, the silent moments as the sun descends and throws
shadows across the water.
I am amazed with the difference a short amount of time can make in relation to color and contrast. In the early hours just before sunset you have this pale light that keeps a bright sheen on the water, the blues of the sky are reflected but most of the color is burned out by the intensity of the last bit of afternoon sun. The contrast of the light and dark in the water makes the appearance of glittering diamonds in the edge of the water. High contrasting colors and values appear almost more like shapes and elements in an abstract painting.

As the angle of the sun changes the colors warm and the sky is infused with an intense blue, the blue in the water and the greens and golds of the depths of crystal clear water dance and reflect in multiple mirrors that throw light like halos on each movement of the water surface. To me, this is where the lake is its most peaceful, it’s the final breath of the day and the movements in the sounds in the forest start to stir as the evening shift take over, you can hear the sounds of owls from distant hollows and coyotes start gathering for the evening run.

The colors continue to darken, there is a flame that grows in the silhouette of the forest and its reflection in the lake is like the final burning embers of a campfire at the end of a night of a campfire, minus the burning eyes and aromatic smell of burnt wood. Contrasts are heightened as the final bit of light fades from the deep forest, and a star filled sky starts from a deep cerulean blue to an intense Prussian blue with stars that shimmer and appear and disappear as you stare into the depths of infinity.
Kayaking in a place like this makes one feel like you are the only one for miles. You turn to the forest and enjoy that stillness that cannot be duplicated unless you get out away from the city and stop for a moment to listen to nature at its best.
This is why I especially love kayaking on Lake Daingerfield and those final hours are my favorite hours, even though the cold wind and the icy extremities bring on discomfort, the peace you feel and the deep solitude is something that can only be experienced and barely described. These photos I hope capture that feeling, please let me know if you got any memories of camping with family or enjoying those last few hours of a sunset, would love to read your stories. Thanks for reading and get out and explore.

Articles on travel

Lake Daingerfield Fishing for Chain Pickerel


Yesterday I enjoyed another beautiful day on one of my favorite lakes. Lake Dangerfield is a small intimate lake in East Texas, this was my second time to visit. It feels like being in the middle of the north woods, including the sound of owls in the evening and the cries of wolves at night-okay coyotes but still.
I photographed with my camera phone, which guarantees a less than high quality product but I’m very impressed with the fact that the lack of quality almost made it more artistic than photographic. I have a new series of small paintings and these are like photographic sketches for those upcoming studies.

I want the paintings to convey the dark, cool blues and greens that make you feel so isolated and alone but the feeling isn’t lonely, its small and intimate, there are lily pads everywhere hiding chain pickerel and bass. The colors of the lily pads are warm reds and golds and they reach up from the crystal clear water like ghosts. As the sun descends the colors and light change and the drama of the scene heightens, we shared the lake with just a few other people that were crazy enough to go out into the 46 degree water and a twelve mile an hour wind but this is half the fun of kayaking in the winter, no really it is, having sensation in your extremities is overrated anyway.

On a lake like Texoma in North Texas, you feel like you are lost in the middle of a large body of water that could be an ocean if it weren’t for the tall trees and rocky cliffs but the size of the waves and the activity is so different than being on a lake like Dangerfield. The stillness of the forest that surrounds you and the deep blue color of the water as the shadows twist and bend at sunset are just a few of the reasons why I love kayaking Daingerfield.
Something that separated this particular day from other days spent kayaking is the fact that we actually caught fish this time. I caught a very large chain pickerel, my son and nephew each caught a few of their own, it was one of the more successful fishing trips I have had in recent months.

I even go the chance to see a pileated woodpecker, an osprey and other various songbirds. Being on a kayak in a place like this is like for a moment not existing and allowing nature to act as it would if you weren’t there. Recently, I have taken advantage of the silence and stopped fishing long enough to take in the beauty and calm of a pristine lake and one of my favorite places to kayak in Texas. I think this stopping and taking in the scenery has improved recent kayaking ventures as it is very hard to feel clumsy and awkward trying to fish while the wind is moving the kayak in a different direction and a tree is trying to pull you and your rods out of the boat-I’m not the most agile fisherman but this time was more calm and peaceful than many other trips I have taken.

Next destination, Broken Bow Lake Oklahoma, still cold but hopefully not too windy. Until the next time, get out there and explore.

Articles on travel

Happy New Year and Things to Come

This is the first image of 2014, my cat and a bit of rendering in Photoshop-I enjoyed the process of isolating what I liked about the cat and allowed the personality of the cat to come out. I am going to try to photograph every day-something and hopefully in 365 days I’ll have lots of images to go through and maybe a few that are noteworthy. 
I am in the middle of a painting series and have just sketched out eleven new paintings. The view is of water and darkness in varying degrees mixed in with some Florida scenery from my recent trip to Cape San Blas and Mexico beach. I have also did an underpainting of a koi pond-there are rich colors of reds and yellows that blend into the dark water that goes back into a waterfall in the background. I am excited about the change of scope and multiple vantage points I am perfecting. I want the viewer to look down into the depths of water and be able to stare out into the distance as well so there are various vanishing points in the same scene and several different planes where the viewer can focus their attention.
Besides igniting the passion for photography I am also planning on continuing my multiple stories I have in the works. I also have several self-help books about finding happiness in ones’ life. I am excited about possibilities for 2014 and hope we can have more contact and communication from readers. 

Articles on travel

Teresa Kalnoskas, An Amazing Artist that Captures the Energy of Things

Patience oil, alkyd, wax on linen, 40″ x 76″

I have always questioned the process of abstract art and having even attempted to paint in a somewhat abstract manor I realize there is more to abstraction than simply shapes and patterns. An artist either sees in that realm or not and to simply try to paint abstract does not bring about art that touches the viewer. There is decorative art, that is beautiful in its own right and than there is art that truelly touches the viewers soul and evokes, flavor, emotion and conjures up memory. I have been inspired by one such artist that creates abstractions but in such an organic and animate way that the word abstract seems too ambiguous to describe her artwork.
I wouldn’t even call her work abstract or even expressionist as it is so fluid and dynamic it embodies different aspects and various schools of art. Teresa Kalnoskas captures perfectly, images of everyday life, natural objects, mechanical objects and she strips away their exoskeleton leaving the pure energy of the object. The viewer doesn’t waste a moment of just seeing an object, instead they see that same object and all of its energy the artist captures. When I see her paintings of fruit-I can taste the sweetness of the fruit, I think of a stone counter where fruit is rich and appetizing, I picture a place and time-it takes me further than the actual image of fruit to the very aspect of what makes us crave the taste and the sweet juices of the fruit.
Her colors are not pretty for the sake of pretty, they are beautifully violent and richly soothing- they bleed across the canvas and capture a place.The deliberate hues don’t seem intent on being artsy or graphically pleasing no more than autumn leaves try to be pretty-they are organic and natural and that untouched, untainted feeling is what makes them so intense and beautiful-she gives colors flavors and shapes sound-they act as if they have always been there but we as viewers weren’t open or insightful enough to see them that way. 
Mojo oil, alkyd, wax on linen, 54″ x 54″

I’m haunted by the paintings of her parents, they speak, they are not portraits but an intimate moment where you can the see their energy and every beautiful feature that she celebrates allows you to know the person that is beneath the paint. Her images of leaves remind me of that dark cloudy day where you walk in puddles in the street and you don’t see leaves, you feel the day and the atmosphere. She captures images of red tractors in a field and I can imagine that day, the harvested field, the smell of oil and gas-it makes an object an emotional experience and the viewer can bring experience to her paintings and that is a supernatural process that describes the true essence of what art truelly is.
Lucidity (triptych) oil, alkyd, wax on panel, 10″ x 30″

Articles on travel

This is an oil on canvas from 2012. The late afternoon was cold and right after we saw this we walked the Golden Gate Bridge. I wanted to show the cold atmosphere, notice everyone is bundled up but at the same time the colors are very rich and warm. The people were not very social with each other but instead kept among themselves in small groups of families.

I really appreciated the activity, as in the suburbs it seems to be a bit of a ghost town, I love tourist areas because locals and tourists tend to be all around even if no one actually socializes amongst themselves, I still enjoy the energy and activities of community and family.

Articles on travel

First of the New Series

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The new series is well on its way, with manic excitement in the in initial sketches, great under paintings that really gave me a great overall idea of what the series would say and than the long and labored creative block and suddenly I can see the ideas clearly again.

So here is the first of the series, it is an image of a shrike, also called the butcher bird because their habits with their prey, they tend to hang grasshoppers and mice on thorns and barbed wire. I had originally planned on adding the prey but felt it might detract. The concept here is the beauty and warmth of an open field at the height of summer sunflowers and hidden along the hedgerow the shrike surveys its territory.

This image is the first time I had ever used oil sticks, as I wanted a rich somewhat abstract feeling of the weeds and sunflowers, the background was left open and barren. I hope there is a bit of strength in the power of a predatory bird and a bit of sadness in the distance with the impending storm. This scene is something I see pretty much every day-the shrike came to me as a harbinger of something perhaps violent, I aimed for simplicity and left only the detail for the birds and bit of the sunflowers.

My colors have changed in recent, especially in
some of the water scenes, more greens in the emerald hue inspired by a visit to the Florida coast.  This painting of the shrike quickly clarified my direction with the contrast, limited color palette and the somber grey bird with a violent reputation as a small but effective predator. I am eager to paint more birds, wildlife and probably people, I want the landscape to stand on its own to create the atmosphere but the wildlife and the people will bring a voice or personality to the empty landscape.

My first love is nature, something that has been a major influence as long as I can remember. I love the hedgerow, I love the silence of being in the middle of a field during the most dramatic seasons of fall, winter and spring, a time that I seem to paint the most, maybe because its cooler than but more importantly the atmosphere of the landscape is more distinct and says more in its reference to death in autumn, the deep thought of loss and redemption of winter and the chance for the renewal in spring. I want my colors to be true and my shapes to almost allow an abstract feel mingled with realism.

My next paintings is of a cat at the window with the moon and trumpet flowers on the fence outside-I concentrated on the blues and oranges of the night garden contrasting with the shadows of the cat as it stares out of the dark corner of a window scene. I am very excited to see this series progress and am also happy to include more pastels which were a bit absent in the last series. I hope you will enjoy the series.