As I post this, I have been on a viewing tour of the art museums in Baltimore and Washington DC.  Apparently, I was subconsciously impressed by what I saw in the abstract collections. I’ve done several works in the abstract vein as a result; drawing upon the likes of Gauguin, Seurat, Van Gogh and Cézanne for inspiration (aside from my normal inspiration from nature).  Without further ado, I give you my “early abstract period”:

“Untitled,” I used a wash of acrylic paints to simulate the depth of field.  It was originally supposed to be a background for another work, but I couldn’t bring myself to paint over it.

“Untitled.” This was also supposed to be the background for another work. Once more I could not bring myself to destroy it through creating something else.  The original idea was to have a waters-eye view at the perspective line.  Had I moved on, I would have connected the waves and the rocks, however, on its own, it looks as if there is turbulent weather over rough seas.

“Moon on Water.”  This was the first phase of a painting exercise. I wanted to see what I could do with a small straw and paint to simulate stars. I also wanted to practice reflections on water. I realized that the mountains looked like the sun was setting on them, so I went on several sojourns in nature to discover what it looks like opposite the setting sun.

I converted it to a moonrise scene in the fall. I will attempt the dark sky / stars thing again, but I felt that this was the right way to go with this painting, as it was an exercise.