Just a quick post. I get asked alot of questions. Probably the 3rd most popular is "Why'd you change your style from what you did in the 80's and early 90's?". I think what people mean is why did I drop using an airbrush, almost overnight. An airbrush is a device by which air pressure is pumped through a small gun with a needle and this pushes a cupload of paint to the needle tip and aerosolizes it. At one time it was the "thing" everyone used. It produced a highly polished finish to pieces, sometimes seamless and, textureless. Alot of people created nebulae and galaxies with it. Alot of this same look can be more successfully done on a computer to jaw-dropping results.
For me, I did all that. Then a few things happened. First, I started feeling like I lost the ability to "connect" with my work, the tactile feel of a canvas is something I crave. It all looked the same and had this sometimes weird "fuzzy" feel to it. I was reminded of the sides of those cheesy 1970's recreation vans that were all gloss and pink shag carpeting inside. The other thing and most important, were health concerns. I found myself developing an unwanted "cough" similiar to a smoker's cough and I was getting something like five colds or bronchial infections a year!
Then I read about an airbrush artist who died of a emphyzema because his lungs had all aerosolized acrylic paint in them. Sure there are devices to stop the dust, but when you get to that point...why bother?
So about 1997 I started painting and, I mean...really painting. Connecting with the art and canvas...and it felt emotionally great. Also, my colds went away!! In fact the last time I had a bad bronchial bug was in May 2005 and that was thanks to a long jet trip. And the work looks better, my emotions connect with it, and I seem to be learning more and more every single time I work, rather than repeat the same old thing. It comes down to art is exploration and evolution and that's what keeps it exciting.
Sometimes when I go to a show, I have nothing else to do but sit and draw. Well, this is the result of drawing like that, and what's better...I often sell the drawings on the spot. And it reminds me of how I want and need to do more *drawings* for the sake of themselves. These were done with conte crayon & white chalk, on Canson paper. The drawings I do are usually done to get down on paper something I want to do bigger in a painting. I like how the Allosaur turned out alot. Because it's all done on the fly, the drawings are sold there, and we have to shoot a quick digital pic to have some record of them. I posted these to remind myself to do more drawings.
