2000: The Abstract (and everything else) Painter

 Leading up to the year 2000 I had been traveling and painting a lot, including a trip to California, France and Spain, Carolina, rural Ontario, and of course in hometown Bolton and London Ontario where I was completing undergraduate and beginning a graduate degrees at Western University. Until that point I had made a few abstract efforts for example  Sun, Earth, Moon. As Y2K came and went without any technical calamity, I turned my attention to abstract painting. The abstracts were focused on my own thoughts and feelings, and were original designs that sometimes brought in source material like a Stratford festival play bill. One example is Birdman, which was sold that year out of Artisan's Alley London Ontario. Here is another painting done using similar methods, albeit without the Chinese black ink. 

 

Theatrical Collage, 12 x 16" hot press, watercolour, 2000 (No. 0100)

On trips home I took time to make some paintings in the neighborhood, or in this example, in our own back yard! I had painted geraniums in a pot in 93, even selling one version, and more recently in 2020 I painted geraniums out back of my apartment. Geraniums are actually really hard to paint correctly, their leaves and flow shapes are are very irregular and heavily textured. Notice the dandelions in the yard back there, must have missed a few!   

Geraniums, Parents' House, Bolton, 5 x7 cold press, watercolour, 2000 (No. 0247)

Other than painting, my favorite past time was ultimate frisbee (a competitive hippy sport). I made paintings at the various tournaments such as the tournament in Kanata. Also on my busy travel itinerary for 2000 were trips to Ottawa, Toronto, St Mary's, North Carolina, and Keystone Colorado. But most of my painting would be done in London Ontario that year, inside and outside. A personal favorite was Where go the Fish?, but I sold that one too. Here is an innovative abstract done around that time: 

Connection Centipede, 5 x 7" cold press, watercolour, 2000 (No.1708)

And another ambitious abstract effort...

 

Snakes and Patterns, 11 x 15" cold press, watercolour, 2000 (No. 1424)

But what about my other other favorite past time besides watercolour and ultimate frisbee? Here is a hint...

The Beer Store, London Ontario, 5 x 8" cold press, watercolour, 2000 (No. 0556)