For my show in November, one of the paintings that is in process is called, Connect the Dots. I will write about the concept behind the piece later. The image starts with a field of dots on canvas. I decided that last First Friday, I would invite guest to paint dots. I gave guests paint and a Q-tip. Then they would make dots on the canvas. I'm guessing I had about 50 people participate between First Friday, a college group from Lincoln College that came on tour, and the Art Circle.

Dot by dot, the field of dots grew. I'm interested in how the dots look together, and how other people place them on the canvas. My greatest interest is in communicating the point of the piece while making it into a fine art image, when all is said and done. That's the struggle, that's the challenge, and the beauty of the assignment.

I asked the Art Circle to make dots, within a certain area. I dictated the color and the proximity for a reason. The others who painted, I gave them free reign as to where, only asking them to make a small dots.

Purple dots were painted by the Art Circle.

Once back in the studio, I started to add more elements. It's a slow process.

Adding additional elements to bring in interest.

I will show the process in a later post. Also, I will write about the concept behind the piece.

This is close to where I left off. My last attempt landed me a bout with the sponge scrubbing the canvas. It was late last night, and time to pause. Stay tuned.

The canvases 2' x 3'. It's going to require a lot of dots.

I'm excited to share the why behind the piece. I heard once that you had better know the why, because it helps you when the how gets hard. One of my favorite sayings that I tell myself, is, "Somewhere between the yes and the finished project was 'What was I thinking!'"