2021 Artist Statement - Shoosty Bugs

2019 was the last year of my working career. I was very stressed but making art as much as I could. I was also writing my father’s biography every morning for about two hours. I was compelled like nothing else to get it done. If I could just do it again, I would have been so much more careful with the time we had together.

The artistic highlight of the year was the continued learning of the iPad pro using the Apple Pencil. I tried a bunch of apps but I settled on Affinity Designer, a vector-based app with some great features. My work took on new levels of professionalism. At first, the technology slows you down but once it’s mastered things speed up making the transition well worth it. Conceptual City is an example of an old painting redone as a vector.

For many years I have been making art that requires perfect shapes. I did my best to hand-paint them but I always felt like the result was less than what I was aiming for. When I discovered vector art that changed. I could now do everything with far more precision. I believe the vector version of my old paintings represents the current state of the art in visual art.

I did some significant traveling including a trip to Vancouver for a week to study NW Indian art at Emily Carr University. Emily was a painter that created iconic art based on the region.

Of note in 2019 are the six paintings I did of the Cade Museum, Railroad Depot Park, Gainesville, Florida. I admire the design of this building. It is a science-based museum located in a city park with lots of green areas, biking paths, a few places to eat, and plenty of dog walkers. Sitting on the lawn I couldn’t help but start drawing it.