Summer, Painting and the Flip-flop

"Flip-flop #4",  oil on 300 lb. watercolor paper. 
The size is 27"h x 51"w.

This time of year is my very favorite because of the long days; beautiful blue-green twilights; and the realization that summer is just around the corner.  These thoughts bring me to the topic of those lazy, hot days of summer years ago when I relished putting on my simple, cooling flip-flops. Times have changed and nowadays one sees people all over the world wearing these thin rubber shoes not only in the summer but all 12 months of the year, night and day, and in hot or freezing weather!

Flip-flops, in most developing countries, are the least expensive footwear available and they are being massed produced in countries with low-cost labor.  As you can well imagine, that means lots of flip-flops are being worn..and then they are tossed, anywhere.  "Most of the soles of these flip-flops are constructed from polyurethane, which is yet another plastic derived from crude oil.  This means that they are going to be hanging around the environment for a very, very long time once discarded". (www.greenlivingtips.com)

As some of you may already know, I have been painting a series of trashed flip-flops using my reference photos taken during a walk on a beach in South Vietnam.  This current series is the latest in a multi-year process of illustrating, through art, my nervous concern about the very negative effects of global garbage pollution.

I am currently working on this oil painting on 300 lb. watercolor paper and titling this work "Underwater Flip-flop with Overwater Reflections"!

The size is 27"h x 51"w.

If you look carefully, you will see a lost, trashed and forgotten flip-flop under the blue water--floundering in the deep!  I have really been struggling with this painting, and it is not quite finished.  I chose to post it anyway because it is work in progress...and this blog is essentially about my painting experience.

One of my artistic wishes has always been to paint a water surface that reflected shimmering light -- a la David Hockney!  I feel he created some colorful and personal work, and I distinctly remember a painting he did of a person peering at someone swimming near the bottom of a turquoise pool in Los Angeles.  Light was bouncing all over the top of the water!  I thought it would not be too difficult to create the same sparkling effect.  Well, I was wrong!  Depicting an over-layer of moving water reflections, while at the same time showing something quietly submerged, has been quite the challenge for me.  I usually feel more comfortable working in an abstract style so painting these rays of light is slow and somewhat difficult.

What I would also like to suggest in the painting is the fact that sunlight on water can contain a surprise hint of magic rainbow colors. In this regard, I was inspired by a photo I took in my kitchen this morning of sunlight beaming through clear crystal.  Question is:  how can one render in paint such intensity and luminosity?  Mmmmm?


Here is the rainbow picture:

I wish you all a light-filled and fully creative summer!  

From Visits to Hawaii, New York and Montgomery, Alabama

Hawaii Visit

Bird of Paradise 

    Watercolor

During the last two months I have traveled to beautiful Hawaii, exciting New York, and experienced a memorable weekend in Montgomery, Alabama.  I decided to devote this blog to the paintings I did and photographs I took which relate to these three places.  I still continue to work on the paintings which reflect  my concern about global warming and pollution of the ocean (see past blogs).

While in Hawaii I painted three small watercolors (about 5" x 7").  The Bird of Paradise above and the water and tree you see below.  I have always wanted to paint a Bird of Paradise with its strong, intense coloration, so I really enjoyed layering the oranges, blues and purples while doing this beautiful flower.

Water on the Rocks 
Watercolor

This water scene was my first attempt to try to capture the feeling of  bright white spray surging up against the dark lava rocks in Hawaii.  Maybe someday I will try a more abstract version of the scene!

My Favorite Tree 
Watercolor

And, last but not least, the tree you can see in the painting is my favorite tree in all of Hawaii.  A natural umbrella,  I feel protected walking under it while being graced with the sweet aroma of hundreds of flowers decorating the leaf-filled branches.

New York City Visit

"Nut"

The hightlight of my New York visit was experiencing a Modern Garage Movement dance performance, "Nut"  at the Kitchen.   Please check out www.moderngaragemovement.com to learn more about the exciting work the group is doing.  This photo of the stage was taken with my iphone which now captures shots with a distinct blur.  I spilled some turpentine on the phone and consequently all the photos have a smudged look to them...rather interesting, nevertheless.

Montgomery, Alabama Visit

"until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream" 

words by the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
fountain by Maya Lin

Rosa Parks Bus Boycott Plaque

These two pictures were taken in Montgomery, Alabama.  I was fortunate to attend an inspiring celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Southern Poverty Law Center which is one of the most important and effective  centers in the United States, or anywhere for that matter, dedicated to "fighting hate and bigotry and seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society". (from the SPLC newsletter)  The beautiful fountain at the Civil Rights Memorial was designed by Maya Lin.  Please help contribute to this center's most admirable work at www.splcenter.org.