In March 2007 I moved to Oquawka, IL located right on the great Mississippi River. Along the banks I started collecting unusual pieces of driftwood that gathered when the water was high. Driftwood can evoke new worlds of form; look at this photo of a tree trunk that washed on the sand (pic below).
Actual Driftwood (above) Mermaid (My Painting- Framed)
In my painting a dozen of different images and scenes emerge. In the center of the real tree trunk I saw a girl smelling a flower, so I recreated that in my painting. All the Driftwood Series paintings are based on real life but there's more than meets the eye.
Most of the series has not been digitized, a process that I will begin this year. Hope you like them. I finished "Mona Lisa" May 2009 and will be doing more paintings that can be viewed upside down soon.
Richard Matteson