Achromatic colors (also known as neutral colors) are black, grey and white) with infinite hue variables. The collection comprises of paintings utilizing only neutral colors. There is a little purple in the “Ghost Waterfall.”

Featured paintings in the collection are “Lines and Boundaries” “Basketball Training Camp” “Appreciating Franz Kline” “Ghost Waterfall” and “Kinetic Energy”

All lines are implied and perceived by what the viewer sees and interprets under any given circumstance, For example, the viewer sees the horizon on the ocean as a straight line when in reality it is far from straight. The same with any view that only shows a fraction of the total view bt when stitched together seems to create a straight line (like the demarcation of a field from a forest of trees, Lines comprise how we see and interpret images but they are not nearly as pure as the image, be it a painting or a photo, implies. It is said there are no straight lines in nature and the reality is that there are no straight lines anywhere. They just seem straight and we think of them as straight. We use the line to create the demarcation points in an image. All illustration of various subjects, like the human form, use lines to outline the subject. The line seems to this artist to be more acute, and therefore, more powerful in a achromatic presentation. The line is more highlighted when there is no color up against the line to mute it or otherwise change the impression. Therefore the Achromatic collection seems more provocative in presentation.

The most impactful is the demarcation and contrast between the colors black and white. There is no pure black or white. For example, look closely at an all black dog. You see many different permutations of black caused by different lighting variables. But you still think that it’s a “black” dog. When you visit a paint store it is interesting to see how many versions of white are being offered. “Egg Shell” is very different from “Midnight White” but we still lump the hundreds of white hues into the color “White.” We really notice the visual impact of the contrast of white and black when an image is restricted to the use of those colors with the addition of the various grey hues caused by combining the two. This is caused by the breadth of the contrast, like that of night and day. Black looks blacker when next to white and white looks whiter next to black.

So, the Achromatic collection attempts to cause the viewer to see the variables both from a standpoint of lines using a restricted color palette and the dramatic contrast of white on black and black on white. What color are the Zebra’s stripes? Either perception creates a dramatic result. It also causes the viewer and the artist to consider all colors and the impact they cause in the unending combinations. Franz Kline (1910-1962) was an abstract artist in New York in the 50” and 60’s. known for his black and white abstractions His paint lines implied being straight but were free spirited in an untethered fashion. The contrasts caused by larger black shapes on larger white canvases seems contemporary today.