Signs of Spring

Spring Grass   monoprint   2015

Nasturtiums   monoprint   2015

The weather has been so beautiful that I have been outside making experiments in the backyard.  These are two of my most recent attempts at making monoprints in color, using oil paints instead of ink.  I have always been impressed by Van Gogh's paintings of grass.  To look at something so humble and mundane and give it attention in such a way that it is reinvigorated, as interesting as it was when seen as a child, is a very pure accomplishment.  He in turn was inspired by paintings of grass from Japan, some of which are so detailed that even the different types of seeds are included, and some of which are as pared down as a few blades of grass merely.  And when discussing paintings of grass, one should never forget to mention Albrecht Durer's 'Great Piece of Turf,' a very beautiful specimen.