Journal
inspiration, Perspective, and process 

There is a loneliness at the heart of the abstract painter’s calling. As Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), the erudite patriarch of Abstract Expressionism, described it, the painter stands before his canvas seeking a unity between art and the darkening cosmos around him – our ever-expanding universe whose existential meanings have been shipwrecked, cut adrift from all but the most abstract scientific equations, bereft of any kind of vital emotion or spiritual urge.

Luxembourg City was the first European city that I explored at a leisurely pace while a young airman stationed nearby. In that city on a...

Digging through my archives in search of letter K photographs, two themes were obvious. Far Flung Corners of the planet...

A theme often emerges as I look through my photo archives with the alphabet in mind. The “J” theme clearly appears as first and last...

“I” (as in the pronoun “I”) accounts for the exclusive entry for this stop on the photographic journey to Z.

As I look back over years of photos a theme emerged for H: Habitat, (house, home, and hacienda).

Gee, we have reached the letter G on this photographic journey. That is over one fourth of the way to Z. This stop includes a photo from...

Appropriately, my fotographic journey from A to Z arrives at "F" on these first days of the first month of 2025. The letter "F" covers...

“E” is the most common letter in English usage, but not so common at the beginning of words. Two E words describe my photo search for...

Places that begin with “D” are overrepresented in the category of Indelible Impressions Made on My Life. These D-highlights come early in my

Now well into his seventies, artist Norman Carr has vigorously reinvented himself as an abstract or non-objective painter.

As a report card grade, “C” designates mediocrity. Place names that begin with that letter are anything but. In spelling and...

This year’s major painting was sold during an early preview of the 2024 National Watercolor exhibition which recently opened at Mark Arts...

Hardedge painting, concrete art, and formalism are terms with merit, but a summary of two other art movements will...

Songwriters such as Paul Simon and Paul McCartney have claimed that on rare occasions the melody and lyrics of iconic songs in their...

As I consider the letter B, I wonder, is it just me or does “B” begin more than its fair share of place names? Moreover, the letter might be

The Mark Arts School of Creativity Salon 2024 Exhibition will be open August 2 - September 21. This annual exhibition is one of many...

In my very early 20s I wandered along the canals of Amsterdam and spent a lonely, cold Christmas in Aachen. Before that decade was over...

What I call “pure painting” is a concept that has prevailed in American aesthetics since at least the 1940s. Most prominent among its...

Father’s Day is this weekend in the United States. Whether you refer to your patriarch as father, dad or pop, please take a moment to...