ABSTRACTION

Aloha,

The world is a smaller place now. We all can travel virtually far and wide. I in fact started that about 15 years ago when I received my first computer. It was a Mac and in it I found an application called appleworkes.
It is a rather simple one that allows for word processing and as I noted a painting format. I started playing around with it, using my mouse to draw images. As with anything else in so doing, the more I played with the tools at hand the better my control and end result. At the same time my introduction to the world wide web began. I started to chat with folks here and there. A couple of years later while staying in Berkley, California , a Swiss friend of mine paid an unexpected visit. He is a dear friend who had rented a vacation house that I owned on Maui. I had been drawn into this digital painting world and had been putting my work on paper by going To Kinko's and having my floppy disks read and printed. This friend had bought a few of my water colors and acrylic pieces in the past. I showed him what I had been doing and he was impressed. As it would happen at the very time he was visiting there was a Mac Expo going on in San Francisco. He suggested we go. That experience altered my art life forever. At the Expo I was introduced to the Watcom Tablet. This wireless drawing tablet with stylist permits an artist to draw as is using a brush or pencil. No longer would I struggle with the mouse. I also at that show met a guy who owned an Iris printing business in California. After showing him some of the artwork from my limited portfolio he invited me to bring my stuff to his place of business and there showed me the astonishing quality printing that was available. He also invited me to put my art on his website. The journey had begun. It's an amazing time and the avenues of distribution are unparalleled.

BLUE NUDE

Aloha

It has been one of those days. The rain has fallen from the heavens and the tropical jungle that surrounds me is enjoying the refreshment. Since moving to the islands it has been my choice to live mostly in the rain forests. The magical balance of rain and sun create the most lush setting. Unlike other tropical areas we have no real predictors. There are the wild pigs that wander the terrain and some deer and wild turkeys that avid sportsmen brought over along with some ring necked pheasant. No snakes or other venomous creatures. The jungle is a place to wander and enjoy. There are the mosquitoes, but if you live here long enough you acquire an immunity to their bites, no swelling or itching, quite amazing actually. The bothersome buzzing in you ear perhaps the only annoyance. Surprisingly here on the Big Island where I have settled they are found in the thick jungle but the nights are void of them. I had previously thought I'd acquire a net to eliminate that sound at night while in bed, but no need. I have screened doors but most often don't bother to use the screens so my dog can just go for a jaunt at will. Oh it is lovely and magical. How I remember those awful hot summers on the mainland where the mosquitoes attacked with vengeance and and one itched forever. Paradise does exist for some of us.

GONE BANANAS

Aloha,
It is yet another tropical morning here on the Bis island, and the birds are chirping their messages from aloft the Ohia trees that stand straight and tall in the ring of Hawaiian jungle that insulates my living environment. It is peaceful and serene. The universe has rewarded me greatly. When I reflect on my Bronx beginnings with the el trains rumbling by, a hundred feet or so behind our tenement. Magic does happen if you dream it. I still do dream, but not in the rushed way of the city mind. Now those dreams are full of color, the sorted grays of city days gone. I see it in my paintings, slightly abstract, but soft. I hope that your day is as fresh and soothing as mine.

KOOLAU TREES

Aloha,
It has been several days now since I've spent any time here. Was busy with finishing my plumbing on my new house. The building process in time consuming especially when you are dealing with a skill that you normally don't do. I did make a couple of mistakes and had to retrace my footsteps. That though is not a bad thing. Every time you goof you learn. My uncle was a plumber. He had his own business on Long Island. He was my mother's brother, and my uncle, but beyond that he was my friend and protector. He saw in me this rebellious but translucent kid that he sort to lift up to a new level. He did have the addiction to alcohol that seemed to permeate the males in the Fritz family. This guy could drink a whole bottle of scotch at dinner. That was followed by many beers and shots at the neighborhood bar, while running the pool table, walking away with everyone's money. I sat in amazement watching this Dean Martin look alike show me what real men did, at least I thought so. We would stand there in his back yard watching the sun rise. Uncle Ray was a hell of a guy. He died of White Lung, a disease associated with those who worked around asbestos. His flask of scoth was holstered to his oxygen tank....a Long Island cowboy. I raise my glass of red wine to him. Rest in peace my friend. Order another round on me at the heavenly bar you sit at now. When I got out of the Navy he gave me his Buick convertible. They were a different breed. My cousins, his sons are my great friends these days and they drink me under the table. We do sit at a table called family however, and it spins in one direction, that of love. Trees grow in the most incredible places.