Drawings
When I set out to make a drawing I answer one question before starting. Who is this drawing for? The answer affects many choices. If a drawing of a residence is required will the intended audience be the owner and future tenant? Will the audience be the electrical contractor? The owner may want something suitable for framing. The electrical contractor would be looking for something more descriptive of the wiring than of the house's appearance. Though this example is extreme it is an illustration of how the intended audience of a drawing affects many choices.

Choice of paper medium, choice of line style, choice of drawing instrument and etc. Most important for myself would be the choice of what aspect to capture. The audience of fine art is looking for something more marvelous. The audience I hope to interest is one that is looking for a new aspect. An aspect that is insightful into what we are experiencing.

Watercolor
If a wish could be made, I would want that there were infinite years to perfect my art in watercolor. Were that moment to arrive, the years that had passed would increase in value exponentially. There is great honor in labor.

I hope you enjoy the studies of great watercolor masters that I chose to emulate. The simple act of duplicating a master painter's brush stroke can shed light. Each work, with its many brush strokes, has proven to be a mission of admiration.

Specific Works Statements
"Vise in the Moonlight" - This vise is part of a group of works that I created around this singular subject, an old rusty bench vise. This depiction of a vise as caught in the moonlight is work that captures a manufactured item beautifully rusted by time in the gentle light of the moon.

"Vis-a-vis" - This is a later work with the vise as a subject. While working this sketch I created a "test patch" for the colors I was working into the subject. The patch grew as a reflection of the subject. Recognizing this instigated the choice to include the "test patch" in the frame. Hence comes the name, vis-a-vis, face to face.

"Resting in the Sun" - This and other watercolor with pen and ink nudes sprang from life drawing studio time that I use to tune my art skills and my connection to humanity.

Charcoal Works - Every week I spend a little time in the life drawing studio. Most of this work was created with myself as the intended audience. What I want to see is something bringing a greater appreciation of people. The shapes that I try to define are universal to all of us. The shapes of our human parts combine to provide a marvelous insight into our inimitable existence as human beings.

"Georgia O'Keeffe Study" - The original works, Nude X and Nude XI, by Georgia O'Keeffe caught my attention because of the fluidity of the wet-in-wet watercolor technique. As I completed my studies of these nudes another aspect attracts my attention. The simple capture of shape, volume and attitude are captured with an economy of stroke. The simplification seems closer to a truth about the nature of a woman.

"Winslow Homer Study" - The original work by Winslow Homer struck a sentimental chord for myself. I am also a farmer's boy and understand what treasures one might find in a pumpkin patch. The original, "For to be a Farmer's Boy", is an extremely well finished piece. The subject is active and interesting. The field expresses space and distance without the devices of hard perspective. Receding size and softened lines inform us that there are not many other distractions for quite some distance in this scene. The audience is left quietly alone to contemplate Winslow Homer's beautiful portrayal.

"John Sargent Study" - The colors in this work dazzle me. The original by John Sargent is a little different from his renowned works. This difference, in my perspective, is that "Giudecca" is somewhat more abstract, less about subject and more about colors, shapes, and emotions. The color rhythm is wonderful.

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