Astral Jazz
Acrylic, charcoal, paper on wood panel. 11 x 14 in. 2026.

I delivered this and two other new works down at Desert Art Center in Palm Springs this morning. The final exhibition of the season opens this Friday, April 3, with reception 5-7 pm.

Sometimes one color is enough. Many years ago in San Francisco I had a talented glass-sculptor housemate who decided to wear a single color each day. It was quite striking, actually. It never felt “loud”, though some of the hues were plenty strong. And there can be so much variation in a single color that there is no need for it to be boring.

In “Astral Jazz”, the several varieties of blue felt more than sufficient. Different shades of a single mood. It also reminds me of my sister’s very, very blue eyes, refracting the cosmos even now.

I’ve been working more on wood panels lately, instead of the textured canvas that has characterized the Air series heretofore. The panels are certainly easier to work on, but that’s not why. I’m just finding the smoothness and simplicity satisfying, for some reason. A definite change that’s opening up new possibilities.

But none of that was in my mind when my Green Knight, his sword and shield, and his heraldic golden lion manifested on my canvas last year. It’s a subject matter a bit afield from my more recent work, but I was quite swept forward with it. And apparently someone else was, too, because it sold off the wall at the Desert Art Center last week.

In other news, there’s this:

Electrons album cover art

Yes, that’s right! This album cover uses one of the digital variants I did last year of a homestead monoprint. So fun! I love it. Definitely not monotone! You can listen to Joe’s Electrons here. There will be a show celebrating the record release with music and photos by Joe Chaplain and including some new homestead-y art from me at the Glass Outhouse Gallery in Wonder Valley in May, with reception May 2 from 6-9 pm. More details to come!

Read more posts on the Magicgroove blog —>