Serious Conversations.

Four Latino men were discussing the problems of the day. One seated man seemed to be giving his opinion while the others listened. But another is leaning on his bicycle pausing to hear the story, before proceeding on his way.

Maybe the four are friends who gather often to ponder on the issues of the moment.

I discovered this group among the many photographs I had taken while traveling in Mexico during 2006. Their study in human interaction intrigued me, and I used it to constructed this 16 x 20 inch studio oil painting.

New Painting Completed.

Just finished this new painting "Friends." As usual these days, this 16 x 20 inch painting is an oil on canvas, unframed, and with painted edges.

Two women, one well dressed, the other – perhaps best described as a bit of a slob – are sitting on a street bench. Both have a paper cup of some drink in their hands – probably picked up at a nearby stall.

They are in a deep discussion of some problem. The woman in yellow looks worried. The other is offering helpful ideas and encouragement. After all, that is what friends are for.

Quite possibly it is about a man, or a relative, or maybe about a health issue. All the usual possibilities. It is left to the viewer to decide.

I wanted to push the images a little, to make them more dramatic. The story is the key element. The result is a rather more styled painting than my more recent work.

Last summer I took some photographs at the Thursday evening Street Fair and Farmer's Market, while visiting Palm Springs, California. In the background of one photograph, very small, I saw these two women sitting on a bench and talking. From that fragment I developed this painting.