(About this poem: This is the most recent and may be the most succinctly lucid statement I have made about my art so far.)                         P. Ormsby November 2015 

Timeless existence, celestial space
Due homage and credence to the delicacy of place
Sky, land, sea surround and enfold
Human presence complicit to witness
The impermanence a changing world holds.

Solid, liquid and gas,
Ageless atoms make new things from old
The universe expands, as creatures evolve
And begin the search
To understand.

Minerals, water, vapor and heat; elements combine,
Shaping new places.
Landscape with planets and stars in a line.
Rust as pigment, patina as paint,
Act as metaphor for creation,
And are tools that I use for the art that I make.

Geometry, everywhere, random in nature
When evenly spaced, in grids, screens and lines
Of circles and squares
Form boundaries or windows
To contain or escape, or steal glimpses of elsewhere,
Past, future or space.
Seek order from chaos, our need to feel safe.

History shows art begins as a Need
Essential for warning, for teaching and thanks,
For counting, for sharing, to survive, to succeed.
Relate and communicate. Visually.

Which is why art history motivates me.
Technique to concept, ancient to new
Renaissance spirits guide
My artistic voice.
Deep reds, patina, age-crackled gold
With alchemy and gratitude for this fleeting world
Sacred, behold.