Looking for Inspiration

I have been wandering around looking for new subjects and took a group of drawing students to the local state park.  The waterfall looks a little weak, but I am very interested in coming to this park to see what I can see. 

 I like the idea of water and rock as very basic elements of life and earth and I think I can produce some interesting images.   Minneopa State Park near Mankato, Minnesota, could be a pilgrimage site for me, like Sibley Park in Mankato.

The water could become a very Turner-like image for me.  We'll see.....

The Path in Two Parts

William Bukowski

The Path in Two Parts

(in progress)

oil on linen

I originally posted this painting on January 3rd, when it was in a much earlier state.  I think it is coming together and soon will be finished.  There are two canvases placed together to make a larger view.  The summer isn't far off and I am anxious to see what I have in store now that the actual path is being re-created in bricks.   By  June 6th, the entire path will be made up of vintage paving bricks, it should add some perspective problems, but I am looking forward to the challenge.

Panoramic detail

William Bukowski

Panoramic Garden (detail)

2009    oil on linen

The surface is getting closer to what I am striving for.....the brushstrokes are becoming more independent of what it describes.  I am still looking for the rhythm of growth and the light.  It allows me to work the paint surface more than usual.  It adds a new level of appreciation and pulls you into the painting in a new way.  

Panoramic Garden

William Bukowski

Panoramic Garden

8' X 3'

oil on linen

One of my recent goals was to work at a larger scale.  This painting is getting closer.  The painting surface is taking on a life of its own.  The shadows and darker greens have a fluid jabbed surface.  I think the angle of the path pulls you into the work and the small garden becomes the entire field of vision.

Bukowski Painting- Catalog

One of the bonus features of the 2009 Ylvisaker Drawing Invitational at Bethany Lutheran College is that we were able to produce a full color catalog of all of the artwork in the show.

A current Bethany student, Amanda Scharlemann, designed the look, with some editing and input from all of the artists.   Each artist has a bio, a statement, and a full color detail from one drawing.  

They are available from the Bethany College Bookstore. ( Check online for number and address)

Bukowski Painting- Peak Summer

William Bukowski

Peak Summer

2008-09  oil on linen

I have had this one up before, but I finally finished it.  The light I was trying for is very transient and I had to rely on some digital memory.  The title is "Peak Summer" and when you live in Minnesota that peak is very short.  The conflict is when you work from life, and life only lasts 2 weeks a year for the images you want to paint.   The paintings have become more about painting and less about specific perceptions at a specific time.   Oh well...who cares as long as the painting is worth looking at....

Bukowski Painting- Light and Shadow

William Bukowski

Light and Shadow

oil on linen   30" X 40"

This is a recent painting that shows my concern for light as it hits the edge of the path.  It is like a detail of a much bigger painting, or experience.  I like the way the soft grays change almost like the natural light one can experience.  

The path will look different next summer.  The park department is currently ripping up this path and laying down paving stone.  It will look really nice when it is finished, but it will pose new problems of perspective and space.