For the month of August I have been walking each morning and evening through a nearby farmer's fields. At first it was to walk the dog but then it was for the pure joy of wandering. And in this wandering I fell in love with the tenderness of squash and pumpkin blossoms.

On this morning, the last in August, I realized there were only a few blossoms remaining. These late bloomers who'll never reach fruition.

I'd been shooting digital polaroids daily for the flowsaic series. So I have many images of them in all sorts of light. In the soft cool morning light as the day rises; in the fading glory of the evening light as it release the excitement that was the day; and in the brilliant harsh light of midday in August which seemed almost too painful for something which held deep color in it's tender blossoms.

Yesterday I had a material break though for the large aluminum works that arose from the Jelly Scribbles. Even in that success I faced failure in the images I'd chosen: white peonies. The white was not going to work for too many reasons to count. As I sat in dejection at a loss for how to move this work forward. I waited for an image to speak to me and the squash blossom did. They whispered with their painful tenderness.

After lots of trial and error I've moved the initial Jelly Scribble medium to a new level. One that feels fluid and at the same time has an aluminum foundation. The play of materials exhilarates me.

I've combined the flourescent pigments and some new micron pigments with linseed oil and varnish. After lots of experimenting I found a combination that works! Now onto the real drawings that the jelly scribbles birthed. Sometimes it feels just like that, a birth in all it's messiness, struggle and pain.

I'm excited though to have this new body of work before me even as the Flowsaics settle into their own steadiness.

I suppose this is that blessed unrest artists feel.

Yesterday I heard a shaman describe enchantment as our ability to hear the chant that leads us to the divine. Isn't that sweet?

On this morning's walk I was lead to the divine through nearly all my senses.

Through the scent of newly mowed hay as it lifted on the day's growing warmth.

Through the mellowing greens and bronze yellows of the grass under the late summer sun

Below are a few digital polaroids from a flowsaic series of random weeds. I don't know their name but damn they're lovely!

The farm next door to me has public garden plots this year. I love wandering past them on my walks. Nearly everyone is growing sunflowers.

Yesterday also brought my new micron pigments and cold pressed linseed oil for the new aluminum flower series! How rich a day it was. I am waiting on an ink delivery so I can print out and complete the Iris Flowsaic series - it'll make a second quartet completed. Next up for quartets will the the Quaking Aspens (two can be seen at eo art lab's group show Common Purpose until August 29), Roosters and Unamed Quartet Two. Below is a peek at the studio.

Finishing up the iris flowsaics - tomorrow I'll begin number four completing the quartet. I'll post this quartet when they're complete.

On yesterday's morning walk  the brussel sprouts and chard were  beautiful in the morning light, perhaps a new batch of flowsaics will reveal themselves!

 I've been searching for micron pigments which I can add to varnish and oil and pour onto aluminum for a new series of large works. And my supplier, Kremer NYC, found some exquisite pigments from Japan. Here's their description:

 "For the last few centuries Japanese painting technique has made use of a new quality of pigments for watercolor painting and woodblock printing. This particular technique is called Enogu, for which pigments are made in exactly specified particle sizes - the particles are basically all the same size and shape. Colors of a unique particle size appear more brilliant."

This is brilliant! I love the connection to one of my favorite artists:
Hokusai.

And to the earth, both in naturally occurring minerals and the global reach.

I can't wait to try them out!

Here's a peek at some scribbles as I work out the materials.

Pouring, splashing, shimmering, glowing . . .

These are flourescent pigments in varnish and oil over a digital image on aluminum.