Bend 

Coming up with titles can sometimes be a chore. An artist may, or may not, want to influence the viewer with the choice of the title of a piece of artwork. I usually prefer the latter, as I want the viewer to participate in creating a narrative for the work. If I could get away with it, I would not title my drawings. But I understand they do serve a purpose, if only to keep track and identify one from the other. Even though this is one of my favorite drawings, as you may have guessed, it is not one of my favorite titles.

 Revive 

This small, intimate drawing is based on an ongoing theme that I've used in other compositions. My intention is for the focus to initially be on the obvious group of trees off center the frame of reference. Hopefully with a longer gaze, one starts to realize the subject is not the tree, but the slightly diagonal sunlit trail in the far foreground...invoking a journey, or a stop along a journey.

 Crossroads 

I have always been interested in art that requires some effort from the viewer, such as images that are so dark or so light it takes the eye time to adjust...or the drawings and paintings of George Seurat, which demand a certain physical distance from the work. This drawing does not make much sense up close because of the "blurriness" of the image, but reads well from a distance or as a thumbnail on your computer screen. Don't misunderstand, detail could have been added, but sometimes the most valuable thing an artist can do is know when the essence of a piece has been achieved and immediately stop working.

 Three Pillars 

This drawing changed in form and composition radically during the early process of drawing, when the marks are usually quite light. Originally, there were four large trees emphasized. Later, the balance of the piece shifted when I erased a diagonal area in the very front foreground, and lightened up several key areas in the distant background. This drawing evolved in a way that was a welcome surprise to me. I do not work from source material, other than my imagination, for just this reason.

 Aceldama 

Some of you may recognize this drawing as the piece reproduced on my postcards. It began with an idea for an image that lived in the back of my head for years. It is very loosely based on the light and shadow I observed on my late night walks in the woods near my home.
I started this drawing more times than I can remember, only to give up and go on to something else.

 Convergence 

Rivers are apt metaphors for just about everything that exists in life, and I am not above exploiting river imagery. In my defense I should say that I enjoyed living on a very active river for over ten years and have many stories to prove it.
This imagined confluence of two rivers or streams can be interpreted as a symbol for a wide variety of experience, but whatever symbol you choose, my hope is that it has a positive influence.