Classic Coke No.3

Classic Coke No.3 | 18 x 18 | oil on panel

I feel like I spent an absurd amount of time on this Coke painting. It seemed I was moving at a snail's pace every step of the way. I don't know what was going on with me. I did have a lot of distractions in the last few weeks to complicate things, such as home maintenance, helping to get our taxes in order, and the early stages of completely redesigning, and rebuilding my website, and Karen's as well.

MobileMe will no longer host websites after June, and Apple has ceased to support iWeb, so I needed a new plan. I chose Freeway Pro as my new application for constructing the sites. I'm in the process of "learning" the program now, and my poor little brain has been really struggling. Fortunately, I made a couple of breakthrough's this weekend, and I think now I'm familiar enough with the program to start building. I'm hoping the new sites will be leaner, and easier to navigate.

Cory Electric No.2

Cory Electric II | 18 x 18 | oil on panel

I finally finished up the second version of my Corey Electric Percolator. This is one of the coolest kitchen appliances I've ever seen, and I was hungry to paint it again. The ribbed handle is a challenge, but I really love base.

Now I'm bouncing back an forth between two ideas. I came across an old composition I did a long time ago. It's from the Antique Shop series, and it's really calling my name. A vertical 30 x 40, so kind of big, and complicated. The second is another version of the Return for Deposit series of Coca Cola compositions. I'll eventually do both, but I'm leaning towards the Antique Shop first.

Stacked

Stacked | 12 x 24 | oil on panel

I've been out of commission for over a week with a cold, hence the delay in the post of a new painting. The percolator idea was put on hold temporarily. I've wanted to do this particular "blocks" painting for a while, and it felt this was the time to do it. This size of panel also gave me a chance to blow the dust off of my woodworking tools. I don't know of anyone making a 12 x 24 panel, so I have to cut down a 18 x 24, and splice in the missing cradle strip. Not really woodworking, but close.

I've got the drawing ready for the percolator, and will start on it today. It's the Cory Electric with that crazy complicated ribbed handle. It looks really cool, but it's a bear to paint.

Heavy Duty

Heavy Duty | 18 x 18 | oil on panel

I went with my gut, and decided to go ahead, and paint the big drill. It may turn out to be a flop, but I had a blast working on it. Most fun I've had on a painting in while. Big knobbly, heavy duty, mechanically, steel tools are just so cool. I need to keep my eye out for more like this. Now on to what ever comes next. I think, maybe it's time for a percolator.

Bowl O Blocks

Bowl O Blocks | 16 x 16 | oil on panel

I've been putting things in bowls for sometime now, but the objects have all been round and shiny, so I thought I'd try something new and use wooden blocks for a change. I think they worked.

Now my problem is determining what to paint next. I've got a composition that I've been saving for a while now, but I'm not sure how it would be received. It's an image of this really beefy electric drill I borrowed from my buddy Jeff Cohen. It's very cool looking, but there's not much color in the image, and I fear it may have limited appeal to collectors. I think I may just do it anyway.

3 Alarm

3 Alarm | 24 x 36 | oil on canvas

I was very generous to myself over the holidays, and I gave me permission to paint nothing until the first of the year. I really needed to recharge my batteries, and "tried" not to even think about art for a couple of weeks. It was great just to spend time with family, eat decadent food, go to the movies, read, etc. Now it's time to get back to work.

I found this toy Fire Engine on ebay, and paired it up with an old Zippo cigarette lighter I've had for years for my first painting of 2012. Onward to number two . . .

Happy Holidays 2011

I just wanted to say Happy Holidays to everyone, and thank you all for visiting my blog and FaceBook page, and for leaving such wonderful comments throughout the year. I hope everyone has a great holiday season, and a terrific 2012.

See you all again next year!

View-Master

View-Master | 18 x 18 | oil on canvas

I've really been out of the loop for quite a while now. With the Thanksgiving holiday, and family in from out of town, my attention was diverted from my career. Which was a good thing, because Karen and I really needed to get out of the "work all of the time mode", and chill a little bit.

My brother Doug was here from New York, and he convinced us to get a Christmas tree this year. We don't have much space in our house, so we usually just decorate the mantle of our fireplace, but with some creative rearrangement of our furniture it worked perfectly. We had a great time decorating the tree, and it looks great. Thanks bro!

With the first round of holidays over, I've been working on some new stuff, the first of which is this GAF View-Master. These devices used to blow my mind when I was a kid, and I thought it would be fun to paint one. Now I'm deciding on the dimensions of my next piece. I'm thinking of going overscale with it, but haven't made up my mind just yet. I think it could look really cool big. I hoping to make a decision today.

I've had some good sales in the last few weeks. I shipped two paintings to Tree's Place Gallery which were marked for the Boston International Fine Art Show. One sold as it was being unpacked at the gallery, and the second sold at the show. Mason Murer Fine Art sold two of my large paintings. Mule No.2 sold a couple of weeks ago, and they sold my B-25 at the Miami Red Dot Art Fair over the weekend. Karen should have a nice Christmas this year.

Speaking of gifts, I'm thinking of asking Karen for a new ball head for my tripod for Christmas. If there are any photographers out their with a favorite model or brand, I'd appreciate your suggestions/testimonials.

Finger Joints

Finger Joints | 6 x 6 | oil on panel

The final painting of the week is a mug, and wooden box. The box contains a small microscope given to me by my brother. I love the finger joints, and the little latch which holds the door. If you'd like to bid on this painting you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Seltzer Bottle

Seltzer Bottle | 6 x 6 | oil on panel

One of my new acquisitions from ebay. A seltzer bottle made of an exquisite amber colored glass. It's really cool. If you'd like to participate in the bidding, you can access the auction by clicking here.

A Single Spoon

Single Spoon | 6 x 6 | oil on panel

My third painting for auction this week is a single tarnished spoon. I thought it looked really good just on its' own. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

PB&Jelly

PB&Jelly | 6 x 6 | oil on panel

Spent most of the day back in my old workshop (the garage) using my woodworking tools once more. It wasn't to create a piece of furniture, but rather to build a big wooden crate to ship a large commissioned painting of Karen's to Australia. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on it, but it was really fun to cut some wood again. Tonight's ebay offering is a new pb&j. If you'd like to participate in the auction, click here.

7RBird

7RBird | 6 x 6 | oil on panel

I've been out of the loop for quite a while now. I had been doing some new photography, with moderate success. I'll be doing more in the near future. Karen and I also took a few days off, and went up to Hilton Head Island to spend some time with Karin Jurick, her boyfriend Brett, and their two new puppies Zac and Joey. They had rented an amazing house, thirty feet from the beach to stay in while Karin taught one of her wildly successful workshops. We all had a great time together. It was nice to get away, and not think about painting for a little while. As soon as we returned to Atlanta, I got busy working on five new paintings to be auctioned on ebay. 7RBird is the first. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

the 16 Patton Show in Asheville

Patron checking out Forgotten Dreams

This past Saturday evening we attended the opening night reception for Karen's group show at the 16 Patton Gallery in Asheville, NC. Her work was presented along with that of Karin Jurick and Suzy Schultz. We headed up mid-morning which, entirely by chance, coincided with the departure of Karin Jurick, and we wound up playing an impromptu game of tag as we passed each other periodically on the drive up.

Standing by Stand Off

The weather was absolutely perfect that day, and the city was saturated with tourists. We were all staying in the Haywood Park Hotel in the center of town, and arrived there simultaneously. Our room wasn't quite ready, so we dumped our bags in Karin's room, and headed out to find a place for lunch. Our first two choices had long waits, which was fortuitous because we discovered a wonderful mediterranean restaurant called Jerusalem Garden Cafe. We lingered there as long as we could, but the show was to begin at 5 pm, and we needed to return to the hotel and prepare for the show.

Karen talking with Douglas Hoover

Receptions usually take a little while to heat up, and there were only a few visitors present when we arrived. One of the first people to walk in was Douglas Hoover, an artist and graphic designer from North Carolina. Doug was a really nice guy, and we all had great time talking with him. As the evening progressed the gallery began to fill, and soon it was buzzing. Suzy was in Los Angeles, but the two Kare(i)n's were busy most of the night discussing their work with enthusiastic patrons, while I recorded the event on film.

Gallery goer admiring a portion of Karin Jurick's wall

Early the next morning we shared a wonderful breakfast with Karin at Restaurant Solace, then packed up and headed back to Atlanta. The weather was great, the mountains were beautiful and we had a collection of Richard Matheson short stories playing on the iPod. It made for a delightful ride home.