This is a companion to “Trail by the Back Bay”.
Another unpaved trail by Newport Beach’s Back Bay but with more visible sky
and fewer trees. The composition is traditional.
The diagonal trail is surrounded by receding planes of foliage on both sides, while a red line marks the composition’s center and at the same time points to a shift in the direction of the path. The slightly tilting dark blue shape above the trail represents a hillside with three trees and continues the emphasis on the center. This trail and the park it leads to is close to the bay. During the time I lived nearby, the park was turned into a housing development.

Framed in a light colored wood.

Diamonds and Ladders Series

The current painting along with two others are
“Free geometry”. Composed of what appear to
be cages, or ladders, or stairs, they suggest the influence of Cubism, although no direct reference was intended. Mostly they were an
exploration in picture making with strong forms
and shallow depth. Warm and cool colors are combined into patterns and adjusted to create
balance. Movement is suggested by diagonals.
Transparency is indicated by changes in value.

Framed in black colored wood.

Diamonds and Ladders Series

The Pink Room suggests an enclosed space terminated by the contrast of a dark blue shape with light pink shape. This contrast near the center of the composition starts a visual game of compare and contrast: the yellow triangle placed against the mid value orange shape is comparable in its shape to the dark blue triangle at the top; the upward direction of the pink shape contrasts the downward direction of the "ladder" at the lower right. The goal here is to attain harmony through careful adjustment of the elements of design.

Framed in black colored wood.

Diamonds and Ladders Series

All three paintings exists as Free Geometry. Composed of what appear to be cages, or ladders, or stairs, they suggest the influence of Cubism, although no reference was intended. Mostly they were an adventure in making paintings with an ambiguous sense of depth. Warm and cool colors are combined to into patterns and adjusted to create balance. Movement is suggested by diagonals; transparency indicated by changes in value; in other words these are exercises in basic design.

Framed in black colored wood.

This painting started with sketches and photos of plants found in the Joshua Tree Desert.
The glove-like shape which emerges from
the bottom edge of this painting represented for me the idea of a desert plant, a cactus. This image parallels the way in which photographers often isolate their subject by contrasting it with surrounding objects, in other words they frame it.
Two small blue shapes repeat the plant theme and provide a queue to spatial depth. Harsh
contrasts in tone separate the desert and its framing plants. i used to think I needed a completely resolved idea before I began a painting. The finished artwork, I thought, should reflect its inspiration. Now I often find something of interest as I am developing the painting - something which may run contrary to my original idea.

Sunset OC is an abstract seascape, inspired by the dramatic sunsets of Southern California- evenings where the sunlight begins to fade and details are lost.
What stands out in this painting is the single bright rectangle of yellow, like a ship coming into a harbor. The sharp wedge that penetrates the yellow rectangle is echoed in the black hills that frame the scene. Together these few contrasting shapes bring the work to life.
And we note that contrary to expectations
the bright ship outshines the setting sun.

Another abstract landscape in heavy oils. This one adopts a suggestion of depth through the use of perspective. A road appears as a light violet shape rising through the center of the painting. Dark shapes - a tree and its shadow -
counter the rush into depth and add richness to the bold colors that surround the road. The black outline around the tree together with the
overlapping arched shapes of low hills sets apart the bright sky with its pink clouds. This simple configuration reveals both energy and gravity and gives the painting a timeless look.

This small abstract painting is meant to evoke the European fascination with harems and concubines from the colonial period on. In the art of French modernists like Matisse the Odalisque provided a chance to paint a semi-nude female figure in an exotic and luxurious setting. In this painting I try to use abstract elements to accomplish the same thing; sensuous color; glowing light- like sunshine illuminating a dark interior; a pink vase to symbolize the Odalisque; and a pair of small red lines to suggest red slippers. Rich color and strong pattern evoke the romantic otherness ofthe Orient.

Framed in a light colored wood.

A small painting with an abstract expressionist look based on a view of Newport Beach’s Back
Bay. The main influence on my painting at this time was a London based artist named Frank Auerbach, who had painted landscapes and cityscapes in England a decade earlier. I had seen and been impressed by his work in London at the Marlborough Gallery in 1986. When I expressed interest in his drawings to the gallery assistant he brought out several fine examples for me to look at. What I admired about his painting was his energetic handling of the medium, broad brush strokes and strong compositions. The drawings had the same
energy.

Two Trees is an earlier version of my painting For Terry. Although It is smaller and has its composition reversed, Two Trees has the freedom of a first try: a greater blending of brush marks and more reliance on value than hue.

Like the other paintings in the Abstract Landscape series, this one uses a strong contrast of colors to express the brilliance of Southern California light. Deep space is suggested by small triangular shapes - shorthand, perhaps, for boats in Newport harbor. The view is divided in half by a thin horizontal line. This could represent the coastal hi-way beyond which lies Newport Beach harbor as it would be seen from the Back Bay.
A Lemon Yellow sky fades into Cerulean Blue with a touch of pale Violet. This supercharged
atmosphere feels like a late afternoon in summer. Now the drought has turned the fields a deep yellow-orange and although there are no clouds in sight the hot sun may soon give way to a torrential rain storm.

Abstract impression might describe the painterly style here. It could be any clear
day but it happens to be a particular one in Southern California at a park in Orange where I could not find a subject I wanted to paint. So surrounded by trees with a narrow view of grass and sky I recorded an impression of my location, emphasizing the brilliant sky in contrast to the dark bushes. It was the interaction of the colors in nature that held my interest, not a particular tree or field that lay before me. I was pleased that I was able to achieve a harmonious unity with such a simple composition. Discovering later the pink marks in the blue of the sky and the mustard and yellow- green dots in the field was an additional plus.

A view of Back Bay before the development of its westernmost point. This painting was done around the same time as the painting of the PCH at Newport Beach. It combines into one view the water, the steep bank, the point of land, with a background of buildings, sky, and framing trees. The heavily painted curved lines repeat the curves of paths through the trees, and echo the large twist taken by the exposed point of land. The high contrast
colors chosen for this work reflect the brilliance of Southern California light.

Looks like the product of a tipsy sign painter.
Red, yellow, blue, black and gray: solid colors painted flatly in thick paint. A playful design whose composition involves a subtle balance:
the black and yellow seahorse exerts a quiet
pressure on the large oval which leans to the right and threatens to nudge the black noose off the page. A blue pair of stairs in the lower left corner supports a set of three bicolored brackets which support an invisible wall as it rises to the left. Amidst these rigid forms the painted seahorse floats with surprising ease, approaching the flexibility of the actual creature. Frame in a light colored wood.

Seahorse on the Stairs is another experiment in design with simple shapes, this time on a cream background which has a texture like an old book cover. A black and white Seahorse floats above a pair of stairs. It faces a large yellow C shape centered around a vertical blue line. Four black shapes on the two sides, I think of them as hinges, hold the book together. A threesome of tiny ciphers balance out the composition and energize the “old book cover”
design. Framed in a light colored wood.

Things in the Sea shows a collection of varied objects on a blue ground. The Seahorse is once again the dominant figure with its reverse
curves and boldly contrasting colors. Centrally placed red stairs rise left to right over a fat yellow T shape. Random signs, a black house, a green cross, an orange dot, green sun glasses, and floral leaves help to enliven the composition. The oval returns, this time as a pair of horse shoes in black and green. A glowing ring of rays surrounds the oval shape and gives the Seahorse a jolt of energy.