The first six pieces of the new series, You Are Here, made their gallery debut last night in Orlando, FL at the CityArts Factory.

So I should probably give some background on the series, right?

The pieces in You Are Here (YAH) are still in what’s become recognizable as my style – flowing, organic lines, bright colors, high contrast. How I paint – how I interface with the world on panel – hasn’t changed much. Deepened maybe, but not changed much. It’s still a meditation on how I see the world and it’s workings; beautiful happenings that we can, at our best, contribute our influence to; beauty that would otherwise be lost if we tried to control it down to the last minutia. Yes, that is DEFINITELY a metaphor for living life fully and presently.

You Are Here doesn’t change that – but it is a reflection (well, for me, at least) on the experiences that come with living. Each piece is a visual metaphor (because, let’s face it, art IS metaphor, and so is language) for an experience – not always a single emotion, but an experience.

Take the first in the series, Power.

 Power is a reflection on it’s namesake – the experience of having, feeling, or dealing with power. Each person’s experience of this piece is going to be different. For me, it’s more empowering – the movement of solar flares, the colors of  warmth; Power for me is an expansive, glowing, giving-towards-others experience. Even the darkest parts of this piece are not completely black – just a very dark blue, visible when enough light hits it. On the other end of the spectrum is the feedback from my mother, also an accomplished artist. For her, she says, this piece, it is more terrifying. Maybe it is the sense of explosion in darkness, of something dangerous and sinister. Both are perfectly valid responses, and your mileage may vary, as well, depending on your own experiences of power. But in this piece, you are here, too – you likely have had an experience with power, somewhere, and what it was will shape how you view and read this piece. You Are Here, too.

Each of the six so far are similar. Some may not have as wide of  range of interpretations as Power – it is a complex experience for many – but most of these paintings are experiences we’ve had to some degree or another.

I’m going to leave the rest of the pieces, with their titles, below. If you feel inclined to comment on your reactions, you are welcome to do so. (I do delete snark and vulgar comments.) Do keep in mind the intent of the series, however. These are reflections on the human experience, and a deeper exploration of how as different as we think we are, it’s not as different as some would have us believe once the superficial has been stripped away and we are left with the abstract distillation of our experiences.

(I’ve been working my way slowly here for years, with awareness and intention; there’s more of this line of exploration coming now that I’ve worked out the means of explaining this bit of Knowing I’ve been carrying around for so long. If you happen to make the next few philosophical leaps without the next works, then kudos. I’m still making them anyway, heh. Painters gotta paint.)