Jay Raymond, Leap and Rise, oil on panel, 30 x 40 inches In a previous post this image appeared as a digital painting. This is the final piece in oil. All of my current works, including this one, begin as abstract compositions drawn in a 3.5 x 5 inch sketchbook. There is no preconceived idea about what the image will be. Instead, I begin with a few lines and begin playing with forms to develop interesting positive and negative shapes. My natural inclinations sometimes emerge in hints of figurative or landscape elements, but many times there's really no obvious references to those, and the image becomes an exploration of interesting ways to divide space and experiment with color effects. I like to use color harmony and dissonance and effects such as simultaneous contrast to infuse energy and vibrance. Josef Albers' Interaction of Color is a recent re-read for me, and while it was once simply required reading during my college art days, it is now very interesting and relevan...