The Birth of Bookworm

With collage I have two options. 1- Collage whatever pieces on the board and go with it serendipitously. This option is often rewarding and likely taxing on my nerves. Option 2- Plan the painting ahead of time as far as the objects are concerned so I know where to place them. I had to go with option #2 with Bookworm because of his glasses and the puzzle pieces in his lower 'worm' torso. I didn't paint the glasses - they're plastic and stand out from the board. Everything else was up to chance. I see him as a quasi-adult version of Harry Potter. I recently devoured the entire series of audio books and movies.

The pinecone and stag are recurring elements in my current work. I have an idea what their messages are, but quite honestly I'm not sure yet, so I'll keep painting them until they become a bore. I do remember the instant the stag creatively 'hit' me so to speak. I was living in Oregon, sitting in a Northern Exposure-like restaurant with a stag head adorning the wall. I looked up to the stag and something clicked, something shifted. He must've inserted a microchip in my head that evening. Maybe it's the Wisconsin in me that's trying to get my attention. The pinecone is new to me, and I've collected a bowl of them. It isn't something I look forward to painting - how can you replicate the perfection of Nature? You can't. But something says to 'paint the pinecone" and I just do it.