Behind The Art (scroll down to see specifics)

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When my son Halston was four years, old I took him 50 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico off St. Pete Beach, Florida to experience for himself the many sights and sounds of being on the open ocean.  During the day he asked many questions, which allowed me to see through his eyes.  "What bird is that?  A frigate.  What fish is this?  A tuna fish, a mackerel, a dolphin.  Are there sea monsters?  No.  Will we see whales?  Unlikely.  Why is that buoy red?  So you will know to keep it on your right side when coming back to port. Oh, what's port?  Home."

In the 1990's, I got into writing about my family history, which eventually led to this painting.  My use of blue jeans as a symbol of today's culture (getting more casual by the year) dominates the top of the work along with the cannon balls that blew up the southern states during the Civil War - which had a big effect on my family.  

In the bottom right of the canvas, is my portrayal of my great grandparents, Bug and Molly Belew, which was taken from an old photo of the then young couple.  They experienced the Civil War first hand as residents of Lawrence County, Tennessee, at the time.  Despite the times they lived in, they were fruitful people who left each of their children a fully stocked farm.  

On the very bottom left of the canvas, is a self portrait overlooking the shoulder of a girl I married, who turned out not the be what I had initially thought (so her face got turned into a passage to another place).  The figure holding the black horse was taken from the only known photo of my great grandfather, Richard "Felix" Woodward who was murdered.  While in a fist fight with another fellow, the man's son fatally shot Felix in the back of the head.  Above the ex-wife is the ghostly figures of my father, James Roy "Slug" Woodward, and above him my great great grandfather, Richard Jasper Woodward.  

In the top right quarter of this painting is my brother, David Woodward, who I portrayed as a ghost crossing water.  This turned out to be a premonition as my dear, dear brother passed away at age 52 in 1999 of a heart attack.  It was a devastating loss.  

The steer in the center of the painting, standing on an unfinished rug, is a representation of me at the time that I began the work.  The fruit that floats over the canvas represents the fruit of the vine or the continuance of the family.  Much fruit is produced, but only a part goes to seed.

This painting contains visual elements of a novel I wrote, but have yet to publish; just another of the long list of uncompleted projects I have waiting on getting enough time to finish.  It was a pleasure to research and write, but a beast to edit.  It is not unusual for me to finish a painting twenty years after beginning the work.  The novel is about a group of people that get tossed together after the Civil War and end up traveling west in hopes of finding a better place to live.  There are outlaws, Indians, ex-slaves, and a host of other characters that are all trying to adjust to a new society following a devastating war.   

Life was green like the Carolina mountains for the ever-so charming bachelor.  This guy was the epitome of a bachelor.  He mostly treated women terrible, which is an understatement.  "Get them in bed then run" was pretty much his modus operandi.   Here he tells his sister, (reflected in the sunglasses), about one of his latest conquests, which were a series of usually one-night, but always short-lived, affairs.  Beside him, the sea shell (see drawings) represents the hard headed women who were determined to catch him, only to learn that he considered past bed-mates as trash to be discarded like the waste they were.  On the bottom left of the painting, is a mannequin (see drawings), representing his type of woman, who is in line to be the next fool heart in search of being broken.  Over his left shoulder, is a ball and post in a broad field, which represents his true love - sports.  Love to the Bachelor was a ball.

This is basically a painting about a bachelor and his sister, whom he loved and confided in.  The women in his sexual life - well another thing.  Eventually he came upon a woman that corralled his cold heart.  I am sure it is an on-going process.

I love the sea.  In 1999, soon after the death of my brother, I bought a boat.  It was time to enjoy my life and quit putting things off that I had thought about for years.  The boat was a twenty-seven foot open fisherman with twin Honda engines.  After getting the boat, I began the process of learning as much as I could about the boat, the sea and the rules and regulations that were necessary to be a good seaman.  In December 2000, I got my captain's license.  In April 2002, I got a license (master of steam or motor vessels of not more than 50 gross registered tons upon inland waters).  I was a captain and a responsible one.  

This painting, "Rough Seas Ahead", represents a technique that I do occasionally.  It is a non-objective type of style.  I try to put as much paint on the canvas as quickly as possible by just having an image in my head of a past experience.  The idea is to capture a feeling of, as in this case, what it was like to be somewhere fairly dangerous.  

A fishing buddy and I left the dock in complete darkness one summer morning while going out on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico.  Several miles out to sea, and what seemed to be not long thereafter, the sun came up revealing a very rough sea.  It caught me off guard and I will admit I gripped the steering wheel a bit more firmly when I saw the size of the seas.  In the dark, we were getting kicked around a bit, but everything seemed normal as we busied ourselves with the many chores necessary for a good fishing trip.  We had shined a light into the water, but were not convinced we were in any danger.  When full daylight revealed the beast we would be fighting, in a small fishing boat, we quickly made the responsible decision to head back to shore.  We had come out on a following sea, which meant going home we were facing breakers that would pound the boat and keep us drenched in salt water.  It was one of many such experiences, and far from the most dangerous one, but one that I thought should be remembered on canvas.

The yellow in the center of the canvas is the beam of the flashlight hitting the water just as the sun came up.

 Things that are developing in the world is the inspiration of this painting titled, "The End of The Cow."  In the background, a man is walking away with the DNA of the beef cow.  Watching is the rancher/cowboy as his industry is about to change as beef will be produced in a centrifuge.  The cow no longer has to fear the butcher, but now the fate of dwindling numbers.  The cow and all who depend on this animal, from man to the dingle bug, now face a new future.  In the end, the grim reaper takes us all. 

I started this painting many years ago not knowing where it was going.  It was almost as if I looked at this cow and said to myself, "your days are numbered."  In a mere one hundred years, from now the people of today will be remembered as savages for eating meat.  

In 2003 we lived in a condominium in Terra Verde, Florida. I was in the process of remodeling the kitchen (if you look close you will see some exposed wires that would later serve under counter lighting), which had a window over the sink. Benicia didn’t like that window at all so she asked me to plug it up. The painting “The Kitchen Window” was the result of that request. This painting is oil on canvas, which was stretched just to fit the window. The oak frame matched the cabinet doors that I had built and installed. I did a non-objective painting rather than a still life as I felt it did the space more justice since a red light fixture hung in front of the painting. 

Her name was Maria Papapanagiotou. I met her on a flight from New York to Athens. I had a business class ticket, but was upgraded to first class since the entire first class section was empty. Just before the doors closed on the airplane, in rushed a well-dressed Greek girl. I had been to Greece several times and I knew the look. She appeared flustered, like one would who had made a flight at the last second. She paid no attention to me at all and sat across the aisle and one row behind me. But even before the airplane taxied out to the runway, a stewardess asked her to move to the empty seat next to me so that the crew could use the other seats to nap during the long over-night flight. Then here came the champagne, followed by a very nice meal complete with salad, entree and dessert, and glass after glass of good wine. She had extremely beautiful eyes. 

I ended up getting an apartment in Athens with a view of the Parthenon and we carried on a long-distance romance for some time with me staying there some and her visiting me in Florida. She was a party animal that could stay out until sunrise throwing down shots like they were tea and she knew every Greek ballad by heart. Her hour-glass figure and dramatic style drew attention wherever we went. Maria was also a celebrity. She was a well-known news reporter. In the Greek community, which is basically all over the world, she was very well known. Armed with good looks and a dynamic personality, she was quite a woman. Unfortunately, there was a dark side – like there always is and the relationship turned into ash. 

The painting, “Maria” was painted in the U.S., but most of the elements are Greek. The sunset in the background, came directly from a view I liked on one of the Greek islands. The olive tree over Maria’s right shoulder is a symbol of just how long the Greek culture has been around. The tiger symbolizes her personality and also says something about how she camouflaged some parts of herself. The leaf and lemons symbolize the Mediterranean diet, that she introduced me to and which I loved. Over Maria’s left should is a game board, which symbolized how she played life. The driftwood behind her how she drifted as though not in any one direction, which was in direct conflict with one so driven in her profession. The hold in the head is about how a person can be so gifted and still do some pretty damn dumb shit like not being able to break a very bad habit. The hair symbolizes her style. She spent hours poring over fashion magazines to be sure she was up to date. The wooden clothing is all about style – so new no one has yet done it. The orange balls in the boxes, symbolizes the treasures she sought. And if you will notice, the right eye behind the magnifying glass, is slightly bigger than the left eye, which explains how I saw her at first. Later, her beautiful eyes were not as big and bright as they were on that flight from New Your to Athens.