Inspired by the protests in Portland Oregon to block the ice-breaker ship bound for the Arctic to drill for oil. As I worked on this painting the endangerment grew from the polar bears to fish to wolves, mountain lions and eventually tropical birds. All connected. All in danger. After 30 years of making figurative sculpture, 10 years of painting figurative subjects and one year of posting Daily Drawings on social media, I am now exploring colorful abstract oil paintings with seemingly unrelated figurative elements that develop into unexpected narratives. In letting go of pictorial logic and pre-meditated metaphor I have found freedom in composition, boldness in color choices and magic in following the random line. These paintings begin with an abstract, random application of acrylic color, then the figurative artist in me re-emerges to tease out people and animals, bugs, landscapes and odd shapes which have nothing to do with each other until… they do. I let the colors, shapes and brush marks lead the way using oil paint and oil sticks to complete the paintings.