Thermodidactic Painting

This piece has a bit of that Jetsons vibe I like. Space is the Place. The size includes the handmade cedar frame I built for the painting. The surface is varnished with a Golden Polymer varnish. You'll notice some distress marks on the frame. That's because I've been hauling this piece around with me to art fairs for the last 3 years. If you like history to be evident, like I do, I can leave them. If you want me to touch it up and erase the history I can do that too. I've made some prints of this which are sold. I may make more in time. Cheers! Mike - - In my paintings, everything flows together. Diverse colors, lines and shapes - People, places, plants and things are woven into one harmoniously functional ecosystem. I want to subtly remind viewers that we humans, in all our diversity, are essentially interconnected, and with thoughtfulness, can function together harmoniously as well. How I work... When I start a painting, I turn on some music, sit down with a blank sheet of paper and choose whether to begin with black ink, watercolor paint, or masking tape. I rely on improvisation and a stream of consciousness approach to let my life's experiences bubble up and flow out as shapes and lines, colors and textures. Anything I've seen or experienced through the years may come forward. I let myself flow and I am most happy when the work seems to create itself. Whatever takes shape is OK with me. I relish surprises. After each layer of paint, ink or masking tape, I stand back. I watch. I wait. Sometimes I wait days, weeks, or even years to add another layer. This process of painting and contemplation is always happening in my studio with many different pieces in many stages of completion. Why I paint… ​ I paint to share what is on my mind and heart. I paint to find out what will come next and... After nearly three decades of making and showing paintings, I have recently come to understand my role as that of an Artist/Shaman as elucidated in the work of Joseph Campbell. Briefly, this means to me, that my job is to share my visions of an interconnected, peaceful and beautiful world with others. I have created a life mission to help guide my actions: I create a world of beauty and bounty by generously sharing my visions of Oneness. ​ My work is also an exploration of what Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh has called ‘Interbeing’. “If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either.” - Thich Nhat Hanh.