A New Method of Painting!

Another tremendous blessing related to Jane Robelot's recent visit was the interest of folks unfamiliar with our work in owning a painting by me and Ben. A few folks were a bit confused when they went to my website to view my past works thinking that all of those paintings were a collaboration. At first I was a little disappointed to have to explain that Ben was an obvious influence and observer but did not actually place paint on the canvas.

One particular gentleman came up with an interesting idea after deciding that he wanted to purchase one of my larger pieces. He asked that I allow Ben to add something to that painting even if it were a few finger strokes. In his heart he wanted something created by both of us yet loved that particular painting. Obviously a huge dilemma followed. Needing the money I said yes but the artist instinct within began to question the integrity of this process.

I was fortunate to have the advice of some of my most trusted artist friends last week. EVERYONE OF THEM agreed that I would not be harming the artistic integrity of the painting by allowing Ben to add to it. One of them even told me point blank that if I wouldn't consider Ben as a collaborator on one of "my" pieces then the integrity of Ben's work would be lost. Trust me when I tell you that I have some deep thinking friends!

So this afternoon Ben "finished" the painting which was originally titled "4x4."

This is the typical size canvas we work on. We've recently worked on some canvases that are a few inches larger in each direction.

I think Lisa will agree with me that Ben was just a tad intimidated by the sheer size of this canvas. Plus it was difficult to convince him that he was allowed to actually paint on it. He did understand the theme as he said the word "horse" several times while working.

Here I'm showing Ben one of the areas where I think the image needed work. When I limited the scope of what I wanted him to contribute he relaxed and finally got into it!

And so we turned him loose!

And after an afternoon of painting and a painted goatee like daddy's Ben gained a new sense of satisfaction.

And as always the clean up process is part of the therapy. I must give a great deal of credit to Nurse Lisa for making this an important part of "the process." Having to scrub the caked-on paint makes for great tactile occupational therapy!

This is a crappy photo of the finished painting which is now entitled "4x4x2." I hope to have a better photo tomorrow.