While most folks like to look at wide vistas and grand views, I have been looking down for landscapes. A landscape looking down is a microlandscape.
A microlandscape is an outdoor view that is smaller and more compact than what most people are used to. Paint it in the transparent cubist style and the plants and undergrowth are shown in a whole new light. Look and see a complicated tangle of plants near the ground.
For example, here is a piece from a microlandscape series that I am working on right now. It is a tangle of leaves and grass that begs to be explored. It gives the impression of summer growth gone crazy. But the red leaves could make you wonder, “Is this a plant with reddish leaves, or is this the very first hint of fall?” That is the type of question you won’t find me answering. I like to allow the viewer to find their own story. I mean, really, when someone comes along and says this reminds them of the time they tried to play Jack Frost by spray painting a bush in the backyard red, do I argue? No. Besides, it’s a great story. Will I tell you if I was that kid or not? No. Let’s leave some mystery in life for goodness sake.
The life of an artist these days seems to come down to work vs writing. It is really very easy to dive into one and forget about the other. Coming up with any kind of balance is, at least for me, difficult. So, I am working to write AND produce some great work. That is a continuing struggle. But hey, doing a great job is rarely easy.