Potato Beach

In the last month or so I painted less than usual. To get things going again I am doing a series of smaller doodleism paintings they are about 5 x 7 or 7 x 7 inch. This one captures the colour of Monet and the whimsical sense of Dali. Inside the potato there is a window and a lamp, perhaps this is some kind of beach house?

Recently I have gone through drawings and art from the past 35 years, it was all kept in storage thanks to my Mother and her desire to keep things! Approaching a milestone birthday, I had an idea to paint some retrospective works based on artwork done from the past chapters of my life. There is one drawing from 1983 called "...Un Bateau Rouge' with a great colour sense, and I think that will be the first one in the series. We'll see how it goes... usually 'planning' and 'artwork' are two separate things.

Watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, February 2016

Master of the Margin

I found something old today while sorting through memorabilia, it was a picture of "Master of the Margin", a painting I did probably in the year 2000, based on notes from a chemistry class. The painting was sold long ago, and so I have no better image than this one. It was the first doodleism painting that I ever did, so whomever bought it did get a unique one. I don't know who bought it because it was on commission at Artisan's Alley, a gallery in London Ontario. The background is a copy of the note from which the doodle was made from. The holes, the red line, and the rest of the lining were all copied with watercolour.

Watercolour, cold press paper, 15x11", 2000?

The Phyramid (Sketch)

This blog has always shown finished products, but here is an example of a doodle from some notepaper. I am starting to scan the old drawings and keep a digital record. Not sure what to do with the original sketches as there are nearly four cartons full of them!

Note, I there is no painting based on this sketch yet. Currently I am translating 2013 sketches and also planning something a little different and political in nature for the next painting. There are a few new ones to show but I have trouble getting quality photos when the lighting is poor.

The End of Ego (High Tide)

I just finished posting a new blog on an old painting (Creation's creations). This one is a recent doodelism painting done from doodles done while I was paying attention at work-related meetings. When I doodle in a meeting the theme is that of escapism, which has a little bit to do with claustrophobia, agoraphobia, and snoreaphobia. Here, a character is surfing while holding a branch. A creature crawls upside down on the top of the painting suggesting an unseen ceiling. A sunken pirate ship sits on the bottom of the ocean over top of the city and sky. Welcome to doodleism!

Recently I have though a lot about where you are in life, and how you transition from receiving from other people (parents, teachers, family) to giving to other people (spouses, kids, students). As a scientist growing up it was all about me, but now it is all about something else that is not me. While I grappled with these thoughts of ego, this painting was the only way to express it. The end of ego signifies a transition. The fluid nature of this design represents transition. But who the heck really knows, it's abstract art after all...

22x30" Watercolour 2016

Creation's Creations

The naming of this painting was a lesson in using apostrophes, creations are being made by creation's products namely humans, who also invented religion and discovered DNA, the root source of evolution. Puzzled? So are the characters in the picture who huddle below, scientists and clerics shoulder to shoulder. A DNA double helix comes from heaven connecting to a cross, or is the cross sending the DNA up to heaven? It's one of those chicken-and-the-egg things, which came first?

This painting was done around 2008 shortly after I made a disastrous painting which had attempted to merge doodleism with a rolling ocean surf (not shown on the blog yet). I wanted the next one (which became Creation's Creations) to be the best painting ever, especially the technique. Every part of this painting is carefully executed, including the sky. Sunbeams penetrate the fluffy clouds illuminating everything in an ethereal glow. When painting clouds as such, there is little room for error, every mistake shows. I really think painting the sky and clouds here was one of the most terrifying things I have done, at least as terrifying as it can get when painting watercolours!

Note, I put an impression of my five fingerprints next to the top part of the coil quite on purpose. Though I may have been trying to cover up a mistake ; )

22x30" Watercolour 2008