|
Abstract Contemporary Paintings and Drawings of Bob Heatly, American artist from his studio in Provence, France.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
| █ | Home | Table of Contents and all the usual | ||||
| █ | Current Work 2008-07 |
I am in my black and white
realistic period . My last paintings have
only used black and the grays leading to white with much less
abstraction. I was calling these
paintings Townscapes but, that just doesn't seem right any longer. For
right now they are my "Current Work". They are designed to change character as you view them from different distances. Real or at least quasi real from a distance to total abstractions on closer inspection. That part has not changed. I still want both the almost real from a distance and then the gradual change to the realization that it is also total hard edged abstraction at closer distances. Light and the absence of light are major components in the success of these abstract paintings of ordinary reality. In my mental exploration of light and the absence of light made by natural and man made structures, it seemed logical to explore maximum contrasts with no color to influence the viewer's eye. Instead, I am using contrast as my primary visual composition tool.
|
||||
| █ | 1 Townscape Series 2007-02 |
The Townscapes series (1-31), by incorporating the elements of time and movement, illustrates the beauty and charm of the ordinary street scenes of the hill towns and villages that surround my studio. These kinetic images give the viewer a sense of "place". They are designed to change character as you view them from different distances. Real or at least quasi real from a distance to total abstractions on closer inspection.
|
||||
| █ | 2 Five Series 2005 |
The
articulated planes of the Townscape paintings are based upon
compositions I developed as geometrical abstractions within a square. I
decided to do a better job of documenting the compositions for possible
reuse in future paintings and this is the result. The conceptual base
has six square planes cut out based on a geometrical ordering system and
laid on top of one another. To visualize the composition I gave each
plane a different color and a specific place in the stack. Working from
the back to the front, they are black, blue, gray, yellow, white, and
red. As I documented the ones I had already done, I began to see the
possibilities of these compositions as paintings in their own right.
This led me to consider transparency and rotation as additional elements
to redefine the six original planes. I want each painting to be seen as
a three dimensional kinetic description of a simple action.
|
||||
| █ | 3 Fall in Provence Series 2002 |
Provence
is slowly changing as it moves into the 21st Century. Traditional values
still are present but the influx of more people and the development that
comes with people are forcing a new geometry and pattern upon the
land. The Fall in Provence paintings are my interpretation of that
change. Paintings are designed to be rotated.
|
||||
| █ | 4 Twilight Series 2002 |
This
series is a deliberate study of limits. What magic can happen in the
last transition between light and dark? They are designed to be rotated.
The paintings have the same meaning irregardless of the orientation.
|
||||
| █ | 5 Summer Sun Series 2002 |
This
series was done in the sun and with the sun in mind. "How bright can I
make a painting before it overloads the senses and the result is visual
chaos?" These painting are my answers to my question. I can get pretty
bright. Color theory is not just a phrase to throw around. Itten and
Albers knew what they taught. Every now and then, all painters need to
re-examine their roots and re-learn elements of design that are often
taken for granted. They are designed to be rotated. The paintings have
the same meaning irregardless of the orientation.
|
||||
| █ | 6 Reflection Series 2002 |
The
paintings of the Reflection series are just that, reflections on life,
the things around me and my expectations for the future. I deliberately
kept my color palate small and created within the zone between two of
the primary colors. Conceptual directions often come by setting specific
limits and then abiding by them. I did not use contrast or complements
to achieve my objectives and relied on more subtle ways to compose and
move the eye. They are designed to be rotated. The paintings have the
same meaning irregardless of the orientation.
|
||||
| █ | 7 Earth or Terra Series 2002-01 |
Each
painting had its origins and first gesture in the shapes and colors of
the Eygues River valley in the Baronnies Mountains east of Nyons. As the
layers built up, meaning and content evolved and the origin receded
until the imagery and content was 100% meaning. They are designed to be
rotated. The paintings have the same meaning irregardless of the
orientation.
|
||||
| █ | 8 Water or Eau Series 2001 |
In the
summer, our entire house opens up and we essentially move outside. The
days are warm and the nights cool. We take advantage of it and eat,
sleep, party and work outside. The Water (Eau) series, while continuing
my dreams of alternate worlds, has it's beginnings in blind contour
drawings of our swimming pool. They are designed to be rotated. The
paintings have the same meaning irregardless of the orientation.
|
||||
| █ | 9 Nine Square Series 2001 |
The Nine
Square series are paintings of my dreams of an alternate Earth where the
real and tangible are thoughts, wishes, time, and dreams (what might
have been and what can be). The square is the most challenging format of
the rectangles to create dynamic and interesting compositions. By it's
very nature, it is self centering and static. But, it is best suited to
multiple orientations and the challenge of geometry is worth overcoming
to facilitate the ease of rotation for the collector. This series is
designed to be displayed in any orientation.
|
||||
| █ | 10 Dream Window Series 2001 |
Dreams,
particularly the day after, seem to be scenes from our imagination
viewed from a great distance by a person almost like us. That filter
becomes the window in my metaphor. Four dreams each viewed through the
same window (frame and grid) became the basis for the Dream Window
series. They are designed to be rotated. This series is designed to be
displayed in any orientation. Each orientation has a different portion
of the four part title. Non Serial Paintings of 2001 are also included in this Gallery
|
||||
| █ | 11 Window Series 2001 |
This
series explores the visual potential of a painting that hovers on the
edge of becoming six paintings instead of just one. The visual tension
or implied movement when you place the painting right on the line that
separates one from multiples results in more kinetic and exciting
compositions or at least, strong architectonic forms. Most of my
paintings deliberately use either high gloss and/or non gloss surfaces.
This is especially true in this series which uses both to project the
squares forward and the grid to the back
|
||||
| █ | 12 Twelve Square Series 2001 |
Twelve
Square Series continued my exploration of the role geometry plays in
depth perception. I believe that layering or placing one transparency
over another adds a level of kinetic energy to a painting. I want to get
your eye moving. I have always been intrigued by man's reliance upon
right angles, grids, frames and other simple ordering tools. It must be
our way of confronting the chaos of creativity. Most of us do use those
tools to manipulate the basic theories of color and form, proportions,
texture and rhythm as espoused by the Bauhaus. I do!
|
||||
| █ | 13 Dream Series 2001-00 |
The
thread that bound this group of paintings together was their purpose.
Seek and explore "THE" future direction. I was trying to identify the
direction I wanted to concentrate my future upon. I explored
alternatives within each direction until I felt I could see the
potential of the idea. Then, IDEA, study alternatives, evaluate, IDEA,
repeat again. I continued doing the Dream series until I felt that I had
identified the most promising directions. I really feel like I found a
lifetime's directions all worth exploring. I am still exploring some of
the directions exposed in this series.
|
||||
| █ | 14 Emotion Series 2000 |
1999-2000 were the Paper Years when I was
settling into life in Southern France. I took these years as an
opportunity to re explore my roots in Abstract Expression. Several
different Series (Emotion, Violes, Transition, Oklahoma, French Postcard
and Tuscan Landscape) emerged from the search. There was a lot of paper.
Therefore, this Gallery had to be divided into several.
Emotion Series paintings are abstract expressions of different emotions and thoughts. We had just bought our house/studio and were in the process of ripping walls out. Maybe that explains some of the thoughts.
|
||||
| █ | 15 Violes Series 2000-1999 |
Violes is a village in the Vacluse,
Provence where we were renting a vacation home from a retired French
General in the Army when these abstract expression paintings of
different random and interesting thoughts were created. From the Grand
Canyon as Seen by an Earth Worm to the Zulu Warrior, they were all fun.
|
||||
| █ | 16 Transition Series 1999 |
The paintings of the Transition Series
were done in abstract expression style in the last days of my transition
from Professor of Architecture at Oklahoma State University to an
American artist living and working in Condorcet, France. The meaning is
implied by the title.
|
||||
| █ | 17 Oklahoma Series 1999 |
Paintings on paper in abstract expression
style done in the last semester I taught after making the decision to
leave Stillwater, Oklahoma and move to France.
|
||||
| █ | 18 French Postcard Series 1999 |
Paintings on paper in abstract expression
style done in the Summer of 1999 in Versailles, France.
|
||||
| █ | 19 Tuscan Landscape Series 99 |
Paintings of the Tuscan landscape as
abstraction and patterns done while staying at an estate outside of
Siena, Italy.
|
||||
| █ | 20 Sante Fe Series 1999-92 |
My life and therefore, my work, has been
divided into a series of seven year cycles based upon my association
with academia. Looking back, you can see that pattern in the timing of
major directional change in my work. Most of the changes were
evolutionary in nature. I spent one half of 1992 living and studying the
unique regional architecture and art found in and around Santa Fe, New
Mexico that grew as a result of the mix between Native Americans,
Spanish explorers and the artists attracted to the area. Strong
relationships between wall, sky, and earth dictated a representational
approach to capture the essence of this environment. I have always used
layering or perspective to create the illusion of depth in my work. The
evolution from Mondrian like geometrical based abstractions to hard
edged realism with more and more glimpses of buildings and streets as
abstractions of reality eventually led to a focus on architectural
elements that reflected or diffused reality. I was intrigued by the
stark quality of openings in massive simple walls. All of the interest
and detail was in the window and way the sun played across the window
elements in combination with the transparent and reflective qualities of
glass. Photo realism of sorts?
|
||||
| █ | 21 Patmos Series 1997-87 |
1987-92 Vestiges plus Island Vestiges led
to the Patmos Series. I decided to increase the importance of the image
and downplay the visual strength of the abstract ordering of the various
planes. No negative space. The planes of the Vestige and Island Vestige
Series remained but, the definition of the planes would be done without
the use of light and shadows. Scale of the image was to be the only
perceptual tool I would use. I chose images with a strong sense of
perspective to reinforce the depth of the painting and then enlarged the
image as the planes receded. The idea worked even better than I hoped.
All of the paintings were done based upon street scenes of the Island of
Patmos, Greece with the exception of Rio Tera Secondo (Venice, Italy),
Ghost of the Queen (Queen Mary, the cruise ship anchored in L.A.), and
Windows (Santa Fe, New Mexico).
|
||||
| █ | 22 Island Vestige S 1992-87 |
Patmos and Santorini are two of the white
islands of Greece. I thought it would be fun and challenging to recreate
the ambiance and sense of place where most things are painted white
using the minimal amount of realism. Where do you lose the sense of
place? That edge or point was what I was trying to achieve. This
transition between the Vestiges and Patmos Series was a group of
paintings where different scaled images were mentally projected on
articulated planes of different depths. The images were only visible in
the shadows my carved planes cast on one another. The planes and grid
reinforced the ninety degree geometry of the canvas. A whole rationale
for proportion and rhythm independent of the images was developed. I am
still doing that but with different ordering systems. Fragments of real
images were introduced to give the viewer a puzzle to solve as well as
generating paintings with visual depth and interest. Light created the
color changes and only minimal architectural symbols and elements were
required to capture the sense of place. My fascination with the subtle
changes in warm and cold earth colors began with this series.
|
||||
| █ | 23 Vestige Series 1989-85 | Part of my
current idea originated with this early series. At the time, I was
interested in challenging a viewer’s perception of a flat rectangle
hanging on a wall. I still am. I wanted to make the viewer believe the
surface was not flat. Instead, you were intended to see a series of
articulated planes suspended in air and whose color and form were
defined and articulated by the sun’s rays passing through filters before
hitting the planes. This interaction between man and nature was explored
via my mental three dimensional constructs viewed under an intense light
source and through rectangular filters of varying opaque and color
qualities. The operative word was mental for these constructs as their
interactions existed only in my mind. The vestige painting are those
afterimages. Articulated planes of different depth are still major
elements in the implementation of the idea. Emphasis on light is
definitely still part of the idea. These paintings should be classified
as representational art. They represented what I was seeing in my mind.
Their abstract qualities came from the nature of the subject matter.
|
||||
| █ | Drawings, Marks, and Collages present-1985 | I have
included several different kinds of drawings in this gallery. They vary
between abstractions to drawings attempting to emulate photography. Some
were done on site while others were begun on site and then completed in
the studio.
Marks. Are you at your most creative
when you were a young child? What were your drawings and paintings like
before you had seen examples and were convinced by peers, teachers, to
draw and paint a certain way? Drawings needed to communicate to others.
Accuracy was important. Composition principles were thrown at you and
absorbed. I don't have an answer to the question
but, in this series I am trying to reach back to those more innocent
days before composition principles and the acquired skills of drawing
and painting began to dictate every mark I put on a surface. Reaching
back to your childhood freedom of expression is an extremely difficult
approach for a 64 year old artist, architect, educator, human being to
take. Look at my other series. Control and the order of geometry are
extremely fundamental to all of my work. It is difficult to imagine giving up a
life time of learning. So, I didn't totally give up those skills. I just
pushed them to the deep background and am letting the child in me come
out. These marks on either paper or wood are my childhood dreams and
random thoughts filtered through an adults mind. So far, it has been
fun. I hope you enjoy them. They are evolving in interesting directions. |
||||
| █ | Print Gallery | I have also
added a Print Gallery for those of you with limited budgets and/or
extensive Christmas gift lists. These signed prints include many of my
more popular paintings and drawings.
|
||||
| █ | Rotation Gallery | This page
features a Matrix of most of my Painting series to put pictures to the
words show above.
|
||||
| █ | Links | These are
sites that I find interesting and hope you do as well. They reflect my
current interests.
|
||||
| █ | Exhibits | Where can
we see your paintings? There are no current exhibits taking place.
|
||||
| █ | FAQ | Frequently
Asked Questions. The list keeps growing. You can find what passes for my
BIO, plus my favorites, home, studio, etc.
|
||||
| █ | Purchases | How do I
buy a painting?
|
||||
| █ | Commission a Painting | Process and
estimated cost plus access to my design studies and digital paintings.
There are so many painting studies I had to break them down by location
and year completed.
|
||||
| █ | Index | Page by
page list of the entire site.
|
||||
| █ | Conceptual Evolution | A
monologue, Layered abstractions of reality with a clock (evolution of a
kinetic concept) attempts to define my Conceptual Evolution as a painter
|
||||
| █ | ARCART | This
Gallery is devoted to the Fine Art currently being produced by my former
students and my fellow Professors. ARChitects who do ART are not that
unusual. Look at history. Many of the participants have given up the
practice of architecture to focus on their art. The other participants
are actively creating a better built environment for all of us at some
of the best architectural firms in the world.
Artists: Robert L. Wright, Michael R. Wright, John Womack, J. Randall Seitsinger, Michael James Plautz, Charles Harrington, Gary Flesher, and Brian Fitzsimmons
|
||||
| █ | Twins | We have
recently returned from the United States. We had gone back for the first
Christmas of our first grand babies. Yes, they were two twin girls. As we get more
photos, I will add them to this section.
New photos posted on 7 January 2008
|
||||
| █ | Testimonials | In this day and age, that means Email. Your comments on my work and this site. Please keep writing. | ||||