Cans-o- paint! One day in October, 2005 - I drove around this beautiful county of mine in Southeastern Arizona with my daughter and a camera. I was frustratingly determined to seek out 'traditional southwestern' imagery that might appeal to more of the folks attending the art shows - and maybe even be a bit more feminine. NOTHIN'! I could not get inspired to paint anything I saw, until I stopped in the middle of nowhere, outside of Tombstone, to visit a friend at his 'Chicken-Frog Ranch'. As soon as I stepped out of my car, I saw this pile of old rusted house-paint cans and I just KNEW I had to paint them. So much for traditional and feminine!

I love the mix of reflective surfaces and rust. Love that rust. At first the piece was a 4'x4' acrylic on masonite (see "cans -o- paint II "), but I had just come up with my idea for "deconstructed photorealism" and broke the piece down into four equal quadrants, rearranged them, and mounted them at different planes. I then re-united the panels with the yellow paint and brush dragged across them. I've also hidden my signature in the piece a total of 12 times.



Click on each image to see a larger version below.