Bukowski Painting- In Progress.....

William Bukowski

Large Russian Sage

in progress   oil on linen

2008

In this painting I am trying to capture a fleeting moment at Sibley Park.  The light of 8:30 in the morning as it moves over a flower hedge with a large Russian Sage in the foreground.  This painting is 6' tall and about 3' wide.  This same effect has occupied my last 3 out of 5 paintings.  It is extremely complex but the challenge is the excitement.  I suppose the danger is the repetition of so many greens.  The foreground needs alot of work but it is coming along.

Bukowski Painting- Studio Wall

This is a view of a studio I have at Bethany Lutheran College.  I am waiting for spring to erupt and in the meantime, I am pushing the scale of the garden paintings.  The larger work is currently in progress.  It used to be a horizontal painting, but it wasn't going anywhere.  I flipped it upright and brought in the motif of the Russian Sage in the foreground that is in many of my recent paintings.  I like the sweeping space in the foreground and the pure paint.   The stack to the right are some of last summer's efforts.  The scale allows more play with color and build up with paint.

Bukowski Painting- Brushstroke Bouquet

William Bukowski     detail     Garden in Full Sun

The garden series has been essential for me to paint in these past four years.  I drove into Sibley Park in the summer of 2004 and pulled over in front of the garden almost as if it were scripted in a movie.  I got out of the car and set up my easel and for the past four years, have painted nothing else.

This detail is one that is in progress.  Because I love the full garden of mid-July, it is painted from a digital print with the memory of the experience playing a part.  Nothing beats a brushstroke bouquet.