[Jim Moonan]

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This is a pleasure to browse, Rick. Ever since I saw the cover of your long poem “Huncke” I have enjoyed your work. I like the interplay of color and texture and focus. I like, too, the subject matter you choose to paint — in particular your Pinocchio representations (the Barrel one is fantastic).
Others I like are Hoboken Homage, Attic Guest Room, Three Kings, Amaryllis, Self Portrait, (the one with the double image of the glasses) and my favorite is the one that is your website masthead (with Pinocchio and that fantastic chorus line propped on the typewriter.)

There are many others that are nearly abstract that I love, too. (Ravine, Lost Day, a couple of the Marine and Lake Landscapes)

What I like about your style is the messy, dark density of it. So much detail can be gleaned from so little detail. Thickly, delicately painted, in my view. Great shards of paint applied thickly. And I like the rusted iron feel to it all, with a few notable exceptions when the blue sky appears or sunny yellow.

I have always loved the story of Pinocchio and had great affection for all the characters. growing up. I traveled to Italy awhile back and became enamored with the story and history of Pinocchio. (As I recall it was in the town of Lucca that they have a shop and museum dedicated to Pinnocchio) I became smitten with the theme and myth and came back with visions of opening a cafe I would name Geppetto’s that would sell gelato, Italian coffee, cookies and pastries, selected oddities like wind-up clocks, with bookshelves lined with children’s fairytale books, figurines and hand puppets of Pinocchio and other characters from the story. It was a great dream. I toyed with plans for it for awhile but nothing came of it. Had it ever come to fruition I would have gobbled up your Pinocchio artwork. But it wound up a dead dream. I wrote a series of 100-word obituaries that included one for my (dead) dream of opening the cafe. A proper burial for it I guess : )

Really nice work.



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