Phase III

Phase I occurred in my mid 20s when I lived in Seattle.  Very few Phase I pieces were produced and those few hovered between amazingly amateurish and painfully pathetic.  What else could one reasonably expect?  No lessons, no study, no practice, just buy the stuff and do it.  That's me, hate sitting around in classrooms listening to instructors.  I have the attention span of a grasshopper and a tendency to fall asleep within minutes if not actively engaged or entertained.  So, just jump in head first, screw it up really good, maybe learn a little, screw it up less next time.  Maybe.

That said, the very first Phase I product, now 40 years old, has survived a dozen plus moves and as many 'toss or keep' decisions.  It's hanging in the hallway here in LHC, even as we (don't) speak.  I'm fond of it - more for the theme than the skill it displays.  Figured it out?  Yup, we're talking painting here.  Phase I was oils.  Oils dry slowly.  Not the best medium for a man in a hurry.  Here's the lone survivor of Phase I.  We'll call Phase I the JDI period.  Just Do It.

Flash forward 30 years for Phase II, which was brief, just a couple consecutive winters in Columbia City, OR.  I was living with Patty at the time; many readers knew her as an accomplished artist/illustrator.  She had a large inventory of art supplies that included acrylic paints.  I borrowed a few acrylics, bought a few more, and proceeded to paint a tot-sized chair left behind in one my rentals.  The chair (below) now serves as a color spot in our living room.

The second - and last - Phase II piece was an act of desperation.  I'd been searching high and low for colorful tiles that would fit into the top of a plant stand, couldn't find any.  The tiles that came with the plant stand were your standard natural clay color; I finally gave up my search for new tiles and decided to paint the old ones.  Where I got the idea for a Pacific NW Native American totem pole theme, I don't recall.  Anyway, that's the direction it went and here it is.

I'm thinking Phase II would be appropriately called the PBN (Paint By Number) period since it involved no mixing or blending or other cool artsy techniques.

Phase III started a week ago when I opened a Christmas wish-list gift from Trish: a starter set of acrylic paints.  Phase III is a blank canvas in every sense of the phrase.  I suspect it'll trend towards semi-abstract.  To be continued.