Segmented Squares 2013-2020

Painting Series: "Segmented Squares" (2013 - 2020)

This imagery has evolved from a previous content which was abstract, but contained references to landscape and nature. As the imagery began to change, I recognized a similarity to Paul Klee's "magic squares", although actually, my formal concerns with color were merged with a metaphor about "time", and this had greater meaning for me: I think of the faceted divisions of color as "moments in time", even as they also operate in their own chromatically interactive way. I often include a reference to the moon. While the faceted divisions of color spread out in accumulated "moments", the phase of the moon marks a longer interval within the patchwork of time-space.

The variegated borders on these paintings refer to the idea of Yin and Yang---the notion that time and nature are always changing and flowing---moving in cycles, from darkness to light, cold to hot, wet to dry, the turning of the seasons and back again.

As I've gotten older, my awareness of the momentary aspect of life also gives me a great appreciation for the gift of these moments. Finally, I've found that the relatively small formats of these pieces lend themselves to a sense of intimacy, and provides a level of concentration that I associate with mindfulness.

Orange Moon and Time Zone

2013, acrylic on canvas-panel

13 5/8 x 12 5/8 inches

Yellow Zones

2013, acrylic on canvas panel

12 1/8 x 11 inches

Time Frames

2014, acrylic on canvas

14 5/16 x 12 1/8 inches

Fishes Under the Moon

2013, acrylic on canvas

18 x 15 inches

Phase Shift

2014, acrylic on canvas

9 13/16 x 9 3/4 inches

Red Light

2014, acrylic on canvas

17 1/8 x 13 1/16 inches

Two New Moons

2015, acrylic on canvas

13 1/16 x 10 1/2 inches

Eclipse in the Autumn Night

2015, acrylic on canvas panel

24 x 20 inches

Syncopation, 2015

acrylic on canvas-panel

10 x 10 inches

Flash Phase

2015, acrylic on canvas-panel

18 x 18 inches

Transit to Fall

2015, acrylic on canvas-panel

18 x 18 inches

Inside Winter

2015, acrylic on canvas-panel

18 x 18 inches

In Spring

2015, acrylic on canvas-panel

18 x 18 inches

Canyon of Night, 2016

acrylic on canvas-panel

12 3/8 x 8 15/16 inches

Minutes and Moments

2016, acrylic on canvas-panel

15 15/16 x 10 inches

Awake and Asleep in the Night

2016, acrylic on canvas-panel

13 3/16 x 10 7/8 inches

Dreaming Near Dawn

2016

acrylic on canvas-panel

11 5/8 x 9 3/8 inches

Blue Groove, 2016

acrylic on canvas-panel

11 3/4 x 11 3/8 inches

Night Tower, 2016

acrylic on canvas-panel

12 x 8 inches

Dream Season, 2016

acrylic on canvas-panel

11 13/16 x 6 7/8 inches

Late Season Sun, 2016

acrylic on canvas-panel

11 7/8 x 9 inches

Morning Before Darkness, 2017

acrylic on canvas-panel

10 x 10 inches

Nurturing an Inner Spectrum, 2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

16 x 14 inches

Late Day Unfolding, 2017

acrylic on canvas-panel

15 x 12 5/8 inches

Climb Past the Crescent Moon

2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

14 1/8 x 20 9/16 inches

Click-Clack, Step Track

2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

12 x 14 inches

Day with Frost, Shroud of Night

2017, acrylic and pencil on canvas-panel

18 5/8 x 14 15/16 inches

Snow Zone

2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

14 x 12 5/8 inches

Sideways Slide Way

2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

12 1/2 x 16 3/8 inches

Simultaneity

2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

11 3/4 x 10 7/8 inches

Scales and Patterns

2017, acrylic on canvas-panel

12 x 9 13/16 inches

Full Moon Soundscape

2018 , acrylic on canvas-panel

16 5/8 x 14 1/2 inches

Transcendent Refrain

2018, acrylic on canvas-panel

9 x 8 inches

Swing, Bake, Percolate

2018, acrylic on canvas-panel

14 x 11 11/16 inches

Improvisation Suite

2018, acrylic on canvas-panel

16 9/16 x 28 15/16 inches

Rip Rap Re-bop

2018, acrylic on canvas-panel

15 1/4 x 14 1/8 inches

Painting and Jazz

Since the fall of 2017, this work has undergone an additional change. A deliberate effort to listen to classic, jazz recordings by such musicians as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and others, has had a distinct influence on the paintings. Individual "squares" began to stretch and elongate. Clustered patterns of color formed---- bumped and flowed with each other, like the collaborative riffs and improvisations in jazz. The visual work has been directly influenced by the music.

Multiplicities

2018, acrylic on canvas-panel

20 x 34 inches