This past winter and spring, I focused on still-life paintings of roses and lucky bamboo, and transcribing the work of Antonio Pollaiuolo, a fifteenth century Florentine painter. Paradoxically, by narrowing my subject matter, I had more freedom to explore color, space and composition in my paintings. I often painted my still-life set ups using the palettes and color structures of great artists such as Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard, Wassily Kandinsky, and the artist(s) who painted the haunting Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. In a similar vein, I used Pollaiuolo's engraving Battle of the Nude Men (1465) as a structure upon which I experimented with color, such as that of Matisse's Dance (1909) and Joie de Vivre (1906).
In addition to the still-life and transcription paintings, I made a small series of watercolors from my home in San Francisco. I hope to continue painting with watercolors, a wonderful medium for travelers!
San Francisco Watercolors December 2007
Ian by the Fireplace10" x 10" watercolor on paper
December 2007