Blog
July 22nd, 2025
I left the gallery that was representing me 2 weeks ago. I grew tired of the standard 50 percent I had to give up with every piece sold. I decided that I would once again take control of my work and my sales. Call my own shots and be the boss of me. I’ve had good sales over the years and earned a following that I am very proud of. I am starting this website as of now to hopefully propel myself forward. Nothing is easy and it never has been. I’ve had to work for everything I have. Art and the constant search for the NEW has given me a great life. Art has absolutely enriched and sustained me. HARD WORK fulfills, thrills, and energizes me. And so—I go on.
Clonts
This is STELLA. She is our 125 pound Pyrenees/Mastiff mix. She is my constant companion while I’m in the studio working. She loves to lay near me and snore. Nothing gets done without Stella.
August 8th, 2025
Music is extremely important to me and is a constant in my studio. My work is improvisational and fires from my head and heart—music helps drive this. My tastes are eclectic. During long sessions in the studio I might listen to Jazz—Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Coltrane, Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Django, Miles, and on. Just as easily I might switch to classical, with Mozart being my absolute favorite. I grew up in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s so rock and roll is ever present. I fell in love with the punk movement in 1978 and it has never left me. Some favorites from that genre: Black Flag, Minor Threat, Husker Du, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, The Damned, The Stranglers, The Vandals, X, Angry Samoans, T.S.O.L., Fear, and on. Other music listened to on a regular basis: Pixies, Roxy Music, Tom Waits, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Echo & the Bunnymen, Camper Van Beethoven, The Jesus and Mary Chain, StereoLab, Gang of Four, Polvo, Pavement, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, BOWIE, The Psychedelic Furs, IGGY, and on. For good measure, the occasional round of Mountain, Blue Cheer, James Gang, very early Grand Funk (before they became radio dogs), Captain Beefheart, and on. To round things out: Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, and on. And late at night—always Soul—Aretha, Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett, James Brown, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Stevie, Sly & The Family Stone (my go-to favorites), Supremes, and on. THE MUSIC IS ALWAYS ON AND IT ALWAYS DRIVES ME.
I look at a lot of artists. I’m inspired by - I suppose I shouldn’t say “inspired”, but it’s not really influenced. I am inspired. Art comes from art.—Cy Twombly
Use and respond to the initial fresh qualities but consider them absolutely expendable.—Richard Diebenkorn
If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world.—Francis Bacon
It is true that every artist has his own religion.—Robert Motherwell
I don’t mind being miserable as long as I’m painting well.—Grace Hartigan
Art has a will of its own. It has nothing to do with the taste of the moment or what’s expected of you. That’s a formula for dead art, or fashionable art.—Helen Frankenthaler
Do not fear mistakes—there are none.—Miles David
It’s a hell of a thing to be born, and if you’re born you’re at least entitled to your own self.—Louise Nevelson
Some of the marks found on the backs of my paintings—
The footprints are reduced ink-prints made of my grand-
daughter’s feet, 4 days after they were born. The example
on the left is an older photo when there were only 4. We
have another now—hence the example on the right. FIVE
GRANDDAUGHTERS. Their nicknames are below each
footprint: “Bean-Bean” (Bela), “Bee-Bo” (Olive),
“Vi-Vi” (Vada), “Bird” (Hazel) and “Lo-Lo” (Willow).
Every piece of work I create is dedicated to Taeko—my
Wife. The square red stamps are “Clonts” in the Japanese
Language. Taeko had them made for me on several of her
visits back to her home island of Okinawa.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Maleta Forsberg passed away today. This incredible woman was my very first art teacher. I began taking lessons with her when I was around 7 years old. She taught me the color wheel. She taught me perspective. She helped me begin to SEE. Over the years we stayed in touch. She had moved to Lindsborg, Kansas years ago and transformed an old school house in to her studio. She was a prolific artist. She had received her training from the Kansas City Art Institute and over the years had workshops with a number of nationally recognized artists. Upon my return to Wichita she regularly attended my openings. She was in fact at my very first opening in Wichita. She always supported me through the years. One of my great honors was to serve with her on a board for the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery.
She passed today in her 94th year. I shall miss her greatly. She was truly one of the sweetest people I have ever known. Always so gracious and soft spoken. She was lovely in every way.
She is pictured here with me (on the right) and Ron Micheal—artist and Director of The Sandzen Memorial Gallery, (on the left). Ron and I had a show together in Lincoln, Kansas several years back and Maleta showed up to give her great support.
Nothing is as cool as visiting someone’s home and finding one of my works hanging in their living room, or anywhere in their house. I am always so incredibly honored when someone chooses to live with my work. But to then see it in its new home is entirely heart- warming.
What I do when I’m not making art—I spend a lot of time on the front porch of my home/studio. It’s a GREAT porch with ratan furniture. Anytime friends or family are over this is usually where you will find us. It’s also the best place to be when it’s raining—just watching it come down with a coffee or beer in hand. Fall is a glorious time to be out on the porch. We have 5 flaming maple trees just off to the left that are famous in our area. I read. I’m currently reading “Mad Enchantment—Claude Monet and the Painting Of The Water Lillies” by Ross King, and “Art Is Life” by Jerry Saltz. I watch many art and history docs on the dreaded YouTube. I love old black and white movies. I kayak. I have a 12’ Old Town Loon that I use on rivers and lakes. Kayak adventures sometimes include camping on sandy islands found on some river ways. I play golf every Wednesday, rain or shine. Yep—golf. The game is Zen. It frees my ass so my head can follow. I drink Irish Whisky sometimes, and copious amounts of strong, black coffee. Coffee is Zen. It frees my ass so my head can follow. I love to cook. My family calls me “The Sauce Man”. I love to eat good food. I study good food and preparation. SOUL and HEART are the two most important components of any good meal. I’m a half-hearted collector of watches.
THE OLD TOWN LOON—12 FOOT
KICK ASS ON RIVER OR LAKE
Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City, Mo. 64108
One of my all-time favorite places to show. Director Stephanie Leedy, and G.M./Curator Erin Woodworth are WONDERFUL to deal with. My experiences there have been amazing.
If you find yourself in the KCMO area it is definitely worth your time for a visit. The shows at Leedy-Voulkos Art Center are always amazing.
Cy Twombly Gallery—Houston, Texas. THIS IS CHURCH
Located on the Menil Museum campus, this gallery holds 5 decades of Twombly’s paintings and sculptures. Twombly worked closely with architect Renzo Piano and former Menil Director Paul Winkler on the design of this structure. The design of the building is based on Twombly’s sketches.
I walked through the door and made a right into a beautifully lit gallery holding Twombly’s iconic and stunning “Untitled (Say Goodby, Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor)”. The painting on canvas is 13’ high x 52’ wide. The painting is rendered in oil, oil stick, crayon, charcoal, and graphite. It —IS— Twombly. I must admit that upon seeing the painting for the first time I froze in my tracks and wept like a baby.
(I would normally post a photo of the work here, but I want readers to look the work up on their own and hopefully, from there, perform a deeper dive into Twombly’s amazing body of work.)
I remained in absolute AWE as I made my way through the entire gallery. Paintings, drawings, sculptures which I had only previously seen in magazines were all here before me.
My statements about the experience may seem melodramatic, but here’s one more: I left feeling as if I’d been baptized. The single most exquisite art-viewing experience in my life thus far.
It’s waiting for you in Houston, Texas.
A FEW THINGS GOING ON, PLANS, IDEAS, OBSERVATIONS:
I will be having a sale on some of my works beginning sometime in early November. This should be in time for the holiday season coming up. I will give a heads-up via social media, and the pieces on sale will be highlighted in the “WORKS” section of this site. I’m looking forward to it!
My great friends, artists Connie and John Ernatt are having a show of their incredible collaborative work! The show, titled THE COLLABORATIVES, will open Friday night, October 24th, at 6:30 pm, at DIVER STUDIO (their fabulous studio space) at 424 S. Commerce, here in Wichita. The works included in the show will feature bronze and painting collabs with Connie and John, plus their individual works. This will be their first Wichita exhibition in 10 years! This show will be a fucking killer and you will not want to miss it!
You should make your way to the Wichita Art Museum for the show ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISTS: THE WOMEN. The exhibition features 40 canvases made by 30 incredibly important women (Grace Hartigan, Helen Frankenthaler, and Lee Krasner among them). The show, as I understand it, is comprised of works from one person’s collection, so the more iconic works from these artists are not featured. I’ve seen iconic works from these artists in other museums around the country, and I have also been to view this WAM exhibition — I do not think the works in this WAM exhibition are “A”-game works from these artists. While the show is fabulous from the standpoint that all of these artists are represented together here, some of the works feel more experimental and unfinished—which, as an artist, I find fascinating and extremely interesting. It gave me a deeper view into the mindset of these artists and their approaches to problem solving on the canvas. Just don’t go and expect to see “Still Life 1938” by Lee Krasner, or “Grand Street Brides 1954” by Grace Hartigan in this show. The power of this exhibition lies in its representation of the monumental and phenomenally important movement as a whole.
