education

my painting teacher
i took a grand total of one oil-painting class in college. My teacher, duncan just sent me a nice hello note. He left my senior year (or the one after) to go paint in the big wide world, and its great to discover that years later is still doing just that - painting, and showing work on both coasts.
After a primer on mixing paints and cleaning up, Duncan let us loose in the field. Every afternoon, students armed with folding tripods and bags of paint and palettes wandered off into campus to find inspiration in the shingles, pathways, and foliage. i had worked in greyscale (charcoal and ink) for so long, that I was surprised to find myself filling each painting with oranges and blues as soon as I got started. What did I paint? fire hydrants, building backsides, and coca cola cans. Sounds familiar.

My eye remains fixed and fascinated with these elements, but the color and the method of painting slowly change. It's a neat gift of the craft.
I love discovering what will emerge when I show up at the canvas with a little time ahead of me, and a little color in my pocket.