Three cypresses

 Oil on Masonite, ACEO:

SOLD

Been a while since I painted anything. I have been busy sketching a bit, but nothing spectacular enough to be worth posting here, though some of it made an appearance elsewhere.

A bit of random philosophy. There are two things that an artist might look for. One is subject matter, pretty things that he or other people might like, such as, say, birds, vehicles, people, flowers, etc. The other is more subtle: simply interesting shapes and colors, irrespective of the subject matter. These two things are not incompatible, and often elements of both are present. The best subject paintings usually also have a solid underlying abstract design. 

But I have become more aware of late that these are really two different elements, and that one needs to be aware of it. Am I primarily interested in the subject matter (often the case when I paint animals), or was I mostly struck by the abstract pattern? In the latter case, the subject matter is almost incidental. The above mini-painting falls in this latter category.