How long have you been painting?’

The first time I put paint on canvas, ever, was the fall of 2021.

But I’m not new to visual arts. I’ve been studying art and sculpture for more than 50 years, going all the way back to my studies with Rudolf Arnheim at Harvard and his course The Psychology of Visual Perception. I’m a confirmed museum freak; my idea of a good time is to spend a day at a great art museum. At last count, I’ve been to more than 80, including all the big ones in Europe and the USA.

And as a music composer and improvisational performer, I’m not new to the creative process. A lot carries over from my experience with sound to my work with color and form.

I discovered spray paint art gradually. It evolved beginning with my spraying all my garden tools orange and yellow and red so I could find them when misplaced in the garden beds. Then, just for fun, I painted all the plastic buckets I use for hauling stuff as I garden. I painted the tools and buckets directly on the floor of my shed andI became fascinated with the abstract and colorful patterns left behind. I started painting anything I could find and experimented with making ever more interesting compositions and colorful patterns on the shed floor. But the problem with floor art is it doesn’t last because it gets walked on and scuffed. The solution was to buy a few canvases at the art supply store and capture the silhouettes of the tools and other found objects so I could preserve them and even hang up on my wall. I’ve been experimenting ever since, with an attitude of ‘anything goes’ and ‘I wonder what happens if I do this.’ Since I started with a crude form of stenciling from painting tools, I’ve continued to push the limits of stenciling and masking for my ‘serious’ art.

How do you make art with spray paint?

I use mostly spray paint I buy at the hardware store, though I’m gradually adding “professional” spray paint I get at the art supply store.

This is acrylic paint. It dries quickly so if I’m going to manipulate it directly on the canvas, I have to act fast. It also clogs the nozzles, which is a problem. I buy new caps and replace them when they get too gummed up.

Because the fumes are noxious, I do all painting outside or in my garden shed with a couple fans blowing the fumes out the door.

This is my garden shed set up for painting. You can see some of my stencils hanging on the wall and the shelf where I do the spraying.

The painting on the shelf is a half-finished Schematic for a Bright Idea.