After a few years of creating images digitally, I felt an itch to return to painting. I missed that tactile sensation.
Rather than just go back to familiar territory in watercolor painting, I embraced a new medium that I never tried before -
abstract expressionism in acrylic.
The first two images are on canvas, but the rest are created and stored in a journal.
This makes it easier to keep all the images together as one coherent project.
The theme is sleep, hypnagogic states, lucid dreaming and other streams of unconsciousness.
Please scroll down for descriptions of the images.
Rather than just go back to familiar territory in watercolor painting, I embraced a new medium that I never tried before -
abstract expressionism in acrylic.
The first two images are on canvas, but the rest are created and stored in a journal.
This makes it easier to keep all the images together as one coherent project.
The theme is sleep, hypnagogic states, lucid dreaming and other streams of unconsciousness.
Please scroll down for descriptions of the images.
DESCRIPTIONS
"THE ETERNAL NOCTURNAL" - April 2022
This is done as a dry brush style abstract expressionist piece blending and edging the primal colors of blue, black and white.
It captures the feeling of lying down and fading out, but still being mentally bombarded with memories of the day and other thoughts that happen when my body finally stops moving.
This is done as a dry brush style abstract expressionist piece blending and edging the primal colors of blue, black and white.
It captures the feeling of lying down and fading out, but still being mentally bombarded with memories of the day and other thoughts that happen when my body finally stops moving.
"VOID" - April 2022
"VOID" is a calmer, more hypnotic image of a large central black circle with a dark blue swirl around it.
It is what I imagine when I get control of my thoughts and start to go into that hypnagogic state.
As I do so, I often repeat the mantra, “I Am No One, I Am Nowhere, I Am No One, I Am Now Here.”
"VOID" is a calmer, more hypnotic image of a large central black circle with a dark blue swirl around it.
It is what I imagine when I get control of my thoughts and start to go into that hypnagogic state.
As I do so, I often repeat the mantra, “I Am No One, I Am Nowhere, I Am No One, I Am Now Here.”
"GHOSTS" - May 2022
This painting was exciting as it evolved by tapping into my subconscious / “CC” in order to get to the final result.
It started as another type of dry brush abstract expressionist piece, but I didn’t like how it was forming.
This is also the first piece in the book, so it is painted on paper rather than canvas, so the paint was responding differently. This was a real learning experience. The paint dried immediately and there wasn’t much time to work it for blending. It was beyond frustrating. This caused me to look for a solution online and I discovered “paint retardant” which allows you to have more time to blend colors easier. Another tip was to wet the paper first in order to get a softer effect. Each day, the images took on a life of their own. The blotches of white paint that were initially very subtle started to become more of the focus, and I created amorphous ghost-like shapes out of them. Looking unfinished, I created a light blue “halo” around them, and still looking unfinished, called for a dark blue line around that. The end result is a full departure from what I first envisioned, but it looks better than where it began. I feel that this may be a sign of how the rest of the journal will be.
This painting was exciting as it evolved by tapping into my subconscious / “CC” in order to get to the final result.
It started as another type of dry brush abstract expressionist piece, but I didn’t like how it was forming.
This is also the first piece in the book, so it is painted on paper rather than canvas, so the paint was responding differently. This was a real learning experience. The paint dried immediately and there wasn’t much time to work it for blending. It was beyond frustrating. This caused me to look for a solution online and I discovered “paint retardant” which allows you to have more time to blend colors easier. Another tip was to wet the paper first in order to get a softer effect. Each day, the images took on a life of their own. The blotches of white paint that were initially very subtle started to become more of the focus, and I created amorphous ghost-like shapes out of them. Looking unfinished, I created a light blue “halo” around them, and still looking unfinished, called for a dark blue line around that. The end result is a full departure from what I first envisioned, but it looks better than where it began. I feel that this may be a sign of how the rest of the journal will be.
"FADE" - May 2022
This one was my original spark for doing the series in the first place. I am really in love with how this effect looks. It immediately calms me down. This is what I visualize sometimes as I am falling asleep. I had this image in my head and it was supposed to have been the first one on canvas. I wanted to create a white > blue > black ombre, but couldn’t get the flow right, so the the expressionistic “The Eternal Nocturnal (#1)” was the result.
This time I was able to get a sample of acrylic paint flow retardant from the Village Center for the Arts to try before buying it and it worked like a dream. It was very smooth, like oil painting, but dried faster, but not as fast as just water.
This one was my original spark for doing the series in the first place. I am really in love with how this effect looks. It immediately calms me down. This is what I visualize sometimes as I am falling asleep. I had this image in my head and it was supposed to have been the first one on canvas. I wanted to create a white > blue > black ombre, but couldn’t get the flow right, so the the expressionistic “The Eternal Nocturnal (#1)” was the result.
This time I was able to get a sample of acrylic paint flow retardant from the Village Center for the Arts to try before buying it and it worked like a dream. It was very smooth, like oil painting, but dried faster, but not as fast as just water.
"VEIL" - May 2022
This one came from a photo of the umbrella on our patio. By doing a close up I made it abstract. This was also the first time I used Gesso on the paper before applying paint. Having this foundation made it easier to apply the paint, and blend and model the form with the paint retardant.
This one came from a photo of the umbrella on our patio. By doing a close up I made it abstract. This was also the first time I used Gesso on the paper before applying paint. Having this foundation made it easier to apply the paint, and blend and model the form with the paint retardant.
"LUNAZUL" - May 2022
The title is an alliteration of two of my favorite words, Luna and Azul / (Blue Moon in Spanish).
This started out in my mind as the cycles of the moon going around in a circle. After sitting with that image in my head for awhile , it started to transform into something more “graphic design-y.” I simplified the shapes to 2 half moons at the top and 2 crescent moons on the sides with the full moon in the middle. Coming out of that full moon are moonbeams that connect with the moon phases, with alternating black and blue fields.
This was the first time I needed to draw it out in Photoshop to see it and play around with the design before committing to paint. Originally I wanted to have light blue moonbeams shooting out from the center, but the paint didn’t apply so well over the darker colors underneath. A happy accident when I used silver instead. That look came out much better. The final image seemed like it was lacking something, so I added the black outlines of the moons and moonbeams which tied it together.
The title is an alliteration of two of my favorite words, Luna and Azul / (Blue Moon in Spanish).
This started out in my mind as the cycles of the moon going around in a circle. After sitting with that image in my head for awhile , it started to transform into something more “graphic design-y.” I simplified the shapes to 2 half moons at the top and 2 crescent moons on the sides with the full moon in the middle. Coming out of that full moon are moonbeams that connect with the moon phases, with alternating black and blue fields.
This was the first time I needed to draw it out in Photoshop to see it and play around with the design before committing to paint. Originally I wanted to have light blue moonbeams shooting out from the center, but the paint didn’t apply so well over the darker colors underneath. A happy accident when I used silver instead. That look came out much better. The final image seemed like it was lacking something, so I added the black outlines of the moons and moonbeams which tied it together.
"DRIFT" - June 2022
This is one of the only times I remember changing the title of a piece after I finished it. “DRIFT” was the original title of #5 “VEIL.” I was originally going to call this one “Veil.” However, after looking at some sketches I did for this particular image, they had more of a “drifting” quality, so I just switched them. The title “Veil” is better suited for the previous image, which was based on an umbrella, whose purpose is like that of a veil, anyway.
The image in “DRIFT” is that of an old and well-used blanket (perhaps a baby’s) that once helped “drift” someone off to sleep. Now lost and forgotten, it “drifts” out in space. Also, this was the first time I used a white paint pen to do the highlights. A remarkable game changer.
This is one of the only times I remember changing the title of a piece after I finished it. “DRIFT” was the original title of #5 “VEIL.” I was originally going to call this one “Veil.” However, after looking at some sketches I did for this particular image, they had more of a “drifting” quality, so I just switched them. The title “Veil” is better suited for the previous image, which was based on an umbrella, whose purpose is like that of a veil, anyway.
The image in “DRIFT” is that of an old and well-used blanket (perhaps a baby’s) that once helped “drift” someone off to sleep. Now lost and forgotten, it “drifts” out in space. Also, this was the first time I used a white paint pen to do the highlights. A remarkable game changer.
"INSOMNIA" - June 2022
The original title for this piece was “INFINITEINSOMNIA” - I was pushing together both of those words, but in the end, felt it was too forced. I believe just “INSOMNIA” works better. The image itself of the digital clock number “8” (tilted 90 degrees to replicate the infinity symbol), combined with the repetition of that number inside itself, plus the background brushstrokes coming from the center out, covers the “INFINITY” angle.
There is a unique feeling of deep anxiety and sadness that occurs when I have looked over at the digital alarm clock next to me, only to see that time has not passed and I am nowhere close to falling asleep and I am very far away from the morning alarm.
The original title for this piece was “INFINITEINSOMNIA” - I was pushing together both of those words, but in the end, felt it was too forced. I believe just “INSOMNIA” works better. The image itself of the digital clock number “8” (tilted 90 degrees to replicate the infinity symbol), combined with the repetition of that number inside itself, plus the background brushstrokes coming from the center out, covers the “INFINITY” angle.
There is a unique feeling of deep anxiety and sadness that occurs when I have looked over at the digital alarm clock next to me, only to see that time has not passed and I am nowhere close to falling asleep and I am very far away from the morning alarm.
“MESMERISM” - June 2022
There’s not much to this other than I have always enjoyed zoning out while drawing spirals. I was originally going to call this “U R GETTING SLEEPY.” I dig how the term “mesmerize” derived from the name of Franz Mesmer, who used hypnosis in the eighteenth century on his patients to cure them.
There’s not much to this other than I have always enjoyed zoning out while drawing spirals. I was originally going to call this “U R GETTING SLEEPY.” I dig how the term “mesmerize” derived from the name of Franz Mesmer, who used hypnosis in the eighteenth century on his patients to cure them.
“X” - July 2022
We live in an unprecedented age in so many respects. One of the more far-out realities that I am witnessing is the U.S. Government admitting the existence of UFO’s! (Or UAP’s, as they call them, probably because it's better for PR). No one really is admitting that they have any idea exactly what they are or where they are from, but after decades of denial, they are admitting "something" exists.
Everyone either has a theory, doesn’t care, or doesn’t believe. My theory is they are time travelers. According to the stories, their presence spiked when we developed and weaponized nuclear technology. There have also been reports that UFO’s have appeared around nuclear sites and shut them down - possibly as a warning to us that we need to stop before it's too late. Even their reported appearance seems like very evolved versions of humans.
We live in an unprecedented age in so many respects. One of the more far-out realities that I am witnessing is the U.S. Government admitting the existence of UFO’s! (Or UAP’s, as they call them, probably because it's better for PR). No one really is admitting that they have any idea exactly what they are or where they are from, but after decades of denial, they are admitting "something" exists.
Everyone either has a theory, doesn’t care, or doesn’t believe. My theory is they are time travelers. According to the stories, their presence spiked when we developed and weaponized nuclear technology. There have also been reports that UFO’s have appeared around nuclear sites and shut them down - possibly as a warning to us that we need to stop before it's too late. Even their reported appearance seems like very evolved versions of humans.
"MIB" - July 2022
After a UFO encounter, the MIB follows. According to UFOlogy legend, after a witness reveals an experience with a UFO, these Men In Black arrive. They are not as Hollywood would make out. They are not here to act as a government agency to rid the alien presence. On the contrary, they surprisingly show up to threaten and intimidate the witness so they will stop reporting. They are also often described as looking fake, rubbery, waxy or like plastic - humanoid but not human.
After a UFO encounter, the MIB follows. According to UFOlogy legend, after a witness reveals an experience with a UFO, these Men In Black arrive. They are not as Hollywood would make out. They are not here to act as a government agency to rid the alien presence. On the contrary, they surprisingly show up to threaten and intimidate the witness so they will stop reporting. They are also often described as looking fake, rubbery, waxy or like plastic - humanoid but not human.
“SANDMAN” - July 2022
This is another one of those images that comes into my mind a lot as I drift to sleep.
I close my eyes and see and feel lava lamp type fluid oozing under my eyelids.
Ironically, this looks more liquid-like, the opposite of sand.
This is another one of those images that comes into my mind a lot as I drift to sleep.
I close my eyes and see and feel lava lamp type fluid oozing under my eyelids.
Ironically, this looks more liquid-like, the opposite of sand.
“DARKSTAR” - August 2022
Named after one of my favorite early Grateful Dead jams. Original sketch done digitally on my iPhone.
A "dark star" is someone who puts on a happy go lucky personality, when they are really miserable. It's called this because the character is hard to see being miserable, Just as it is hard to see a black hole in the vast black blanket of space.
Named after one of my favorite early Grateful Dead jams. Original sketch done digitally on my iPhone.
A "dark star" is someone who puts on a happy go lucky personality, when they are really miserable. It's called this because the character is hard to see being miserable, Just as it is hard to see a black hole in the vast black blanket of space.
“SHIFT” - August 2022
I spent about an hour just staring at the clouds as the sun was setting in the early part of this summer. I was really entranced at how they slowly and casually shifted and blended into other shapes. It reminded me of how often my dreams would shift from one subject or story into another, often seamlessly. It also looked like abstract waves with in a sky.
I added a color (orange) other than blue to signify a shifting in tone, which I plan to carry forward to future paintings.
I spent about an hour just staring at the clouds as the sun was setting in the early part of this summer. I was really entranced at how they slowly and casually shifted and blended into other shapes. It reminded me of how often my dreams would shift from one subject or story into another, often seamlessly. It also looked like abstract waves with in a sky.
I added a color (orange) other than blue to signify a shifting in tone, which I plan to carry forward to future paintings.
- “MINDRIPPLE” - September 2022
This one was originally titled “DREAMWALK” but I changed it because it felt too obvious.
The image is taken from two photos I took while at a hotel in Boston. I really fell in love with the balcony and its wave-like design, with accompanying railing. In Photoshop I tweaked the images of the balconies using overlays, outlined them and printed them out, using it as a guide.
Continuing with my idea from “Shift,” I’m primarily using blue and adding a secondary color. In this case, green. The idea is to add a third, different secondary color for the next piece, and then use those three secondary colors in different combinations in subsequent paintings.
“SOMNAMBULIST” - September 2022
A Somnambulist is a sleepwalker, something I have never been. The idea of it seems like absolute surrealism - two completely opposite, and almost impossible, experiences happening at once. The original inspiration for this came from a classic German Expressionist silent film, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” I was echoing the strange and complex angles that are synonymous with that genre, in contrast with the purple organic swirl / spiral (inspired by an actual staircase I saw online), to convey the experience of contrasts of sleepwalking.
A Somnambulist is a sleepwalker, something I have never been. The idea of it seems like absolute surrealism - two completely opposite, and almost impossible, experiences happening at once. The original inspiration for this came from a classic German Expressionist silent film, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” I was echoing the strange and complex angles that are synonymous with that genre, in contrast with the purple organic swirl / spiral (inspired by an actual staircase I saw online), to convey the experience of contrasts of sleepwalking.
“FURTHUR” - September 2022
An enormous influence on me in many ways was the 1960’s counter-culture movement. The art, music and mindset have been in my mind since the 1980’s. It wasn’t until 1992 that I really started digging into the history. My first introduction was “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe. It was the detailed account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters who drove a bus from San Francisco to New York in the mid 1960’s. They were fueled by wild dreams and LSD. Keep in mind that LSD was also still legal at this time. This really heralded in the new regime of change in society and “Tune In, Turn On and Drop Out,” that Timothy Leary made famous. For many, the LSD trip was a perfect synthesis of dream and reality. For others, it was not so pleasant. The technique for a successful experience is to honor “set and setting” - to be comfortable with your mind and your environment.
The Merry Pranksters named the multi-colored bus “FURTHUR” (misspelled on purpose to denote that their trip was going to be a weird one). They filmed most of their journey, which appeared in the documentary, “Magic Trip.” In that movie, there is the first ever tie-dye shirt being made - paint was poured into water and a white t-shirt was dipped into it. The effect was not exactly the same as what is so ubiquitous today, but you can certainly see it as the prototype. That image soon came to symbolize a physical representation of the vivid tapestry of color that many perceived only in their consciousness.
An enormous influence on me in many ways was the 1960’s counter-culture movement. The art, music and mindset have been in my mind since the 1980’s. It wasn’t until 1992 that I really started digging into the history. My first introduction was “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” by Tom Wolfe. It was the detailed account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters who drove a bus from San Francisco to New York in the mid 1960’s. They were fueled by wild dreams and LSD. Keep in mind that LSD was also still legal at this time. This really heralded in the new regime of change in society and “Tune In, Turn On and Drop Out,” that Timothy Leary made famous. For many, the LSD trip was a perfect synthesis of dream and reality. For others, it was not so pleasant. The technique for a successful experience is to honor “set and setting” - to be comfortable with your mind and your environment.
The Merry Pranksters named the multi-colored bus “FURTHUR” (misspelled on purpose to denote that their trip was going to be a weird one). They filmed most of their journey, which appeared in the documentary, “Magic Trip.” In that movie, there is the first ever tie-dye shirt being made - paint was poured into water and a white t-shirt was dipped into it. The effect was not exactly the same as what is so ubiquitous today, but you can certainly see it as the prototype. That image soon came to symbolize a physical representation of the vivid tapestry of color that many perceived only in their consciousness.
