Vertical Loaf

Vertical Loaf  |  12 x 12  |  Oil on panel

Well, even with all of the holiday goings on, I still managed to get all five of these little paintings done before my end of the year deadline. I was hurrying through these in order to meet a show date for the first of February. Now it seems that date has been pushed back until the first week in April. I'll post more about the show Karen and I will be sharing at Principle Gallery in Charleston as the event draws closer. 

So, I guess that's it for 2014. Thank you all for visiting my various sites throughout the year, registering "likes" and leaving all those wonderfully positive comments. They really mean a lot to me. Hope you all had a great year and here's wishing you a happy 2015!

Carnival Ride

Carnival Ride  |  12 x 12  |  Oil on canvas

Number four for my December 12 x 12 project. Little Dumbo here took a bit longer than the other three, but it was worth the extra time. I've painted this subject a few times before and his happy face always cheers me up. I'm attempting to complete five of these 12 x 12's before New Years, so I'd better get busy. I'm not sure what to do next. Karen says, "bread!", so it might be bread. 

Apéritif

Apéritif | 12 x 12 | Oil on canvas

Well, I've done about as good as I can photographing this particular painting. It's a decent representation, but not as good as I would have liked. Using the polarizing filter (thank you Katherine Kean) did help. I then spent a significant amount of time in Photoshop matching the image to the original. Steven Vaughan's idea was my next plan of action if Katherine's idea hadn't worked, so thank you as well for your suggestion. 

Now it's on to number four. I'm hoping I can get five of these small paintings done by the end of the year, but with the holiday's coming up that may be a stretch.

Hi-Fructose

Hi-Fructose  |  12 x 12  |  Oil on canvas

Here is the third piece of my December project. I had completed another of these small paintings last week, but I used a medium on parts of it and am now finding it nearly impossible to get a good photograph of it. There is a lot of  "sparkle" in areas where I used the medium and even with all my long years of Photoshop experience I can't seem to get rid of it and still have a decent representation of the painting. Plan "B" is to shoot it again once the painting has been varnished. I'm hoping that'll create a uniform surface and a more successful capture.

Juice O Matic No.2

Juice O Matic No.2  |  12 x 12  |  Oil on canvas

With 2014 winding down, I decided to run out the clock with a few smaller pieces. My intent with these is, for the first time, to place them in frames. Karen's "Perch" paintings look so good in frames that I wanted to see how some of my stuff would look framed. I'm going to finish up a small group of these then begin testing out various styles to see what looks best.

I bought this vintage juicer  in an eBay auction a while back and have painted it once before, but I really wanted to do it again. The other paintings in this group will come from old favorite subjects from the past. Once the holidays are done I think I'll get back to something big for the first of the year.

120 Grit

120 Grit   |   24 x 24   |   Oil on hardboard panel

Every once in a while a painting comes along that really kicks your butt, and for me 120 Grit has been one of those paintings. I never imagined when I began this piece that I'd spend as much time and effort on it as I have. I like how it turned out, but getting here was a real challenge. I've taken a number of breaks during the process of getting this done, ie. some house stuff, a trip to Charleston for the mentor show and at least five days trying to get my new iMac up and running. Transitioning from a six year old 24" iMac still using Snow Leopard to a new 27" Retina (which is beautiful by the way) using Yosemite has had me in tech mode practically non-stop. I've got most of the problems licked, but there's an ongoing complication involving Photoshop, my Wacom tablet and Yosemite that's really got me stumped. And, judging by the number of online discussion groups related to this glitch I'm not alone. I'm praying that either Wacom or Adobe comes up with a solution really soon. 

Wings Over North Georgia Air Show: October 19, 2014

I spent the day in Rome Georgia yesterday to attend the Wings Over North Georgia air show. I was hoping to get some photos I could use for future paintings and secondly, I just love me an air show. The event paid off on both counts. I couldn't help but post a few pix of the performers which this year included the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

Scott Yoak in his P-51D

Patty Wagstaff in her Extra 300S

Mike Wiskus in his Lucas Oil Pitts Special

Jim Tobul in his F4U Cosair

Walkabout Tiger Aerobatic Team

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds

The Mentor Show at Principle Gallery: Charleston

Shiny Loaf No.2  |  12 x 24  |  oil on hardboard panel

Karen is participating in a show at Principle Gallery Charleston based on mentors. The gallery came up with the idea to have their artists present a painting for a show, then have an artist who had mentored them provide a piece, and finally present the work of an artist that they themselves are currently mentoring. Karen asked me to show as her mentor, and Munroe d' Antignac is showing his work as her protégé. I asked Karen what she'd like me to do for the show and she said I had to do one of my bread paintings. So . . . .

Opening night reception is November 7th.

Farewell to James McLaughlin Way

I received word last night that James McLaughlin Way had died earlier that morning. He was a sweet man and a truly gifted artist. Karen and I had the privilege of meeting him on two occasions when he was living and showing his work here in Atlanta. We both considered it an honor to have had our work in the same gallery next to his. Whenever we had reason to go to the gallery, the first thing we would do when we arrived was to search the space for any new "James Way" paintings.

R.I.P.

Pepsi 12 Oz. Complete

Pepsi 12 Oz.  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on hardboard panel

After what seems like an eternity, I finally finished the Pepsi painting. A little under three weeks, with a couple off days of to spend with my brother on his way home from Nassau where he had been working for the Reef Ball Foundation. Now I've got to get busy on a piece for the Mentor show at Principle Gallery in Charleston. Karen shows her work there and they've asked their artists to participate in a event that includes paintings by themselves, an artist who has mentored them and a piece by an artist whom they are currently mentoring. Karen wanted me to participate as her mentor, and her protege will be Munroe d'Antignac. 

Pepsi - In Progress: Underpainting Complete

Pepsi 12 Oz.  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on panel: Completed Underpainting

Day eight and the underpainting is finally complete. I was somewhat surprised at how tough this style of bottle was to paint. The concentric spirals were a real challenge. So, now it's back to square one with the start of the second pass. I'm not sure how long this will take to finish, but I'm holding off on any more in progress posts until it's done. 

Pepsi - In Progress: Day Six

Pepsi 12 Oz.  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on panel

I didn't get as much work done in the last few days as I'd hope to, because I had a 24 hour bug. It's weird, but I was sick literally for 24 hours, almost to the minute. That being said I was able to finish up the underpainting on the left bottle and laid in the top of the full bottle. I'm thinking the next post will be the completed underpainting.

Pepsi - In Progress: Day Four

Pepsi 12 Oz.  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on panel

Moving ahead with the underpainting. Laid in more of the carrier and the labeling on the bottles, plus I added the first pass of the background and began working on the glass. 

Pepsi - In Progress: Day Two

Pepsi 12 Oz.  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on hardboard panel

Breaking with tradition here and trying my hand at a Pepsi composition. A commission from my gallery owner in New York. He wanted a companion piece to go with a Coke painting I did for him a couple of years back. I worked in acrylic up to this point, but never again. I don't know how acrylic painters do it. Paint dries way too fast for my taste. Today it's back to my beloved oils.

B-25 Mitchell: Complete

B-25 Mitchell  |  20 X 60  |  oil on canvas

Finished up the B-25 Mitchell last night. A true labor of love.

A little info about this particular plane. Today this aircraft is part of the Disabled American Veterans Airshow Outreach Program, developed to increase public awareness of disabled veterans and to serve veterans in communities across the nation. The B-25 Panchito, named after the rooster from Walt Disney's animated musical The Three Caballeros, is restored to the wartime markings of pilot Don Seiler’s B-25J from the 396th Bomb Squadron, 41st Bombardment Group, 7th Air Force. The original Panchito flew 19 missions over Japan from 1943 to 1944.

B-25 Mitchell - In Progress: Day 16

B-25 Mitchell  |  20 x 60  |  oil on canvas

Underpainting complete. Historically with in progress posts I've held off on presenting any new images once the underpainting is done. I'll follow that pattern again with this piece and wait until the painting is finished for a final reveal. At that point I'll use my "good" camera for the shot then spend some serious time using Photoshop to color match the image as closely as I can to the original.    

B-25 Mitchell - In Progress: Day 13

B-25 Mitchell  |  20 x 60  |  Oil on canvas

Karen's mother passed away last Monday. I think she was fortunate in that she didn't suffer too much and was surrounded by her family throughout her illness. We've been slowly easing back into our life, and painting has proven to be a source of comfort during those painful last few weeks. 

During those times when we were at home I've been working towards the nose. The last of the fuselage has been laid in as well as the framework supporting the glass and some of the interior as well. I'm hoping to have the first pass of this painting completed in a couple of days, then it's on to the refinement layer(s). 

B-25 MItchell - In Progress: Day 6

B-25 Mitchell  |  20 x 60  |  Oil on canvas

Had time to lay in the top turret, windows and side guns.

B-25 Mitchell - In Progress: Day 4

B-25 Mitchell  |  20 x 60  |  Oil on canvas

I've been working on this painting for C. K. Contemporary for a few days now. I had planned for it to be included in their still life show September 6th (it's not a traditional still life I know, but I'm calling it one anyway) but I have some serious doubts that I'll make their deadline. One, it's a large painting and secondly Karen and I are currently dealing with a serious family health issue which has required us to spend a lot of time away from home. I have to admit it's nice to have this to work on when we are home. Concentrating on the act of painting helps to divert my attention away from our current situation. 

Cape Cod - 2014

Karen taking pictures on the grounds of the Whalewalk Inn

Karen and I traveled up to Cape Cod last week to attend our two person show at Tree's Place Gallery. We flew out of Atlanta early Thursday morning, picked up a car at the airport in Boston and headed out onto the cape. Mockingjay, the third volume of the Hunger Games, was on the CD player, healthy snacks were on hand and the weather was fantastic.

Our first stop was to drop off our gear at the Whalewalk Inn. It's a terrific B&B in Orleans and our home away from home when we are on the cape. After a quick clean up we drove over to the gallery to check in and see how our paintings looked on the walls. Kelsey and Hannah were there to greet us. Our artwork wasn't up at that point, but on the floor ready to be hung. We talked a little while, but by that point we were starved so we left to get some  lunch. Karen and I have a favorite restaurant there called the Karoo Cafe. They serve south african style food, and it's essentially the only place we eat when we are there. 

Later that evening Karen and I met the new co-owners of the gallery. Donna has taken on a partner, and we joined the Donovan's for dinner at a local tavern called Mahoney's Atlantic. The food was great and we had a really nice time getting to know one another. 

Me, camera at the ready, on the beach in Provincetown

When we come up for our shows Karen and we always allow for at least one full day in Provincetown. This trip was no exception and early Friday morning we were on our way there once again. The weather that day could not have been more perfect. My thermostat runs on the warm side, and summer in P-Town can, for me, be a little uncomfortable, but on this trip the temp was in the low 70's with a sublime breeze. 

We walked up and down Commercial street, checked out all the galleries, and took a couple of side trips out to the beach. This is a great location for Karen, photographically, because  this is where she gets a lot of the images that wind up in her paintings. 

After a full day there we drove back "home" and headed back to Karoo once more for dinner. The sun was going down as we finished, so we decided to drive out to Rock Harbor and watch the sunset. We just missed it by a couple of minutes, but stayed for the afterglow. 

Karen checking out her prints at the Kennedy Galley in Chatham

Friday we visited Chatham. We hadn't been there in a while and thought it would be fun to see it again. It was another stunningly beautiful day and perfect for strolling down main street. We checked out a number of stores and a bunch of the art galleries, including what was once the Wynne Falconer Gallery. One of our old galleries with a bitter sweet past. 

We had walked nearly the length of main street when I mentioned that we should probably head back. Karen said she wanted to visit a gallery she noticed on the drive in called the Kennedy Studio. As I rounded the next corner the entrance to the gallery was right there. I looked in the window and there was one of Karen's prints. She began to sell prints of her work about a year ago, but as yet we had never seen any of them in a store or gallery, so this was pretty exciting. We went in and discovered more and more of her work. Karen spoke with the manager of the gallery for quite a while and she told Karen that they couldn't keep her work in stock it sold so fast. That was a really nice capper to our day in Chatham. Then it was back to Orleans to get ready for our opening reception at Tree's.

Karen and Julie Bangert at the opening

We arrived at the gallery a little before five and the place looked great. Julie was there and it was really nice to see her again. She, Kelsey and Hannah had done a great job of hanging the paintings and it wasn't long before people began to arrive. When the weather is nice most folks are out at the beach, but the crowd was not bad. The visitors came in waves with short lulls in between. There were a number of familiar faces there too. Hilton Pryce Lewis, a great guy from South Africa and a collector of my work, was there with is family. Elaine Coffee, an artist from Arizona who spends the summer painting in an upstairs room of the Tree's Place Gallery came by, as well as Sue and Steve Zafarana. They are type designers, and wonderful people, who always make the trek from Norwood to see us.

All in all it was a good show. By the time it was over Karen had sold, an impressive, five paintings and I had sold "Shiny Loaf". We chatted with the staff for a little while before they closed the gallery, then we all said our good-byes. The sun was beginning to go down as we left the gallery so we headed over to Rock Harbor again to try and catch the sunset. This time we arrived in plenty of time, and we weren't alone. It seems the entire community gathers at this location every day to watch the sun go down. We were really fortunate that evening because there was a wonderful breeze that kept the gnats away that had plagued us there the night before. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the crowd began to applaud and cheer. A perfect end to a pretty perfect day. 

Me taking some shots of the sunset at Rock Harbor

Our trip home was easy and comfortable. Karen and I watched the movie Midnight in Paris on our laptop during the flight back to Atlanta. Then we drove home, unpacked, ordered chinese take out then called it a day. Monday it was back to work.

Sunset at Rock Harbor our last night on Cape Cod

Single Coke

Single Coke  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on panel

Karen and I have just returned from Cape Cod where we attended the opening of our two person show on Saturday at Tree's Place Gallery. I'm going through the pix of the trip now and I'll post a blurb about that in a day or so. Presently, I've finished my second piece for the still life show at C. K. Contemporary Gallery opening September 6th in San Francisco. I've had this composition in mind for a while now, but wasn't sure if a single bottle would fly. Personally, I really like it, but ultimately its' success will be determined by the public. Now I think I have just enough time to do one more painting before that September deadline.

Big Drill No.2

Big Drill No.2  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on panel

I will be participating in a still life show at C. K. Contemporary Gallery in San Francisco on September 6th. Big Drill No.2 is the first of however many paintings I can get done in the time I have left for that show. My friend Jeff Cohen, owns this mighty drill and used it himself in a painting he created (that should be in a museum) titled 21 Century Woman. Jeff was kind enough to loan this piece of equipment to me for my own artistic purposes before he and his wife Leslie left us for the beaches of Wilmington North Carolina. As the title indicates, this is the second incarnation of the drill, and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't make another appearance one day in the future.

Karen and I in the July issue of American Art Collector

Karen and I got a write up in this month's issue of American Art Collector. They put together a nice little two page spread, and the reproduction of our artwork is actually not bad. It's so nice seeing your work in print. 

It's a little easier to read from my website.

Shiny Loaf

Shiny Loaf  |  12 x 24  |  Oil on hardboard panel

Karen is a fan of my bread paintings, and she has told me, more times than I care to recall, "you should always have a bread painting out there". Well, I hadn't done one in a long time, so I decided to take her advice and paint one for our show at Tree's Place this July. This will be the final painting I do for the show, because I'm taking part in a still life show at C. K. Contemporary in San Francisco scheduled for early September, and times a wastin. 

Out of the Box

Rocket Racer | 6x24 | Oil on panel

I don't usually do whimsey but I needed to cut down an 18 x 24 cradled hardboard panel to 12 x 24 for another painting I have planned. This left me with a 6 x 24 piece left over. Twice in the past I've used this remainder to paint a tall stack of children's blocks but this time I thought it would be a good opportunity to finally paint my Rocket Racer. This piece will be going to Tree's Place Gallery for our show in July.

Sharp

Sharp  |  10 x 20  |  Oil on canvas

This is the second of two smaller paintings I'll be shipping to Tree's Place Gallery for a two person show I'm sharing with Karen in July. The painting of the crayons got me in a kind of nostalgic mood for my childhood so when I came across this pencil sharpener I thought I'd give it a try. It really reminded me of the one that sat on the teachers desk in elementary school, and you'd have to ask permission to come up to the front to sharpen your pencils. I remember it always had that wonderful aroma of cedar shavings. 

Pocket Knife

Pocket Knife  |  8 x 8  |  Oil on canvas

I'm currently working on two shows for 2014. I'll be sharing the billing with Karen at Tree's Place Gallery the last week in July. A few weeks later I'm participating in a still life show at C.K. Contemporary Gallery in San Francisco which is scheduled for the first week in September. Needless to say, I may have I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew. Since my timeframe is so short I took Karen's advice and decided to do a few small pieces to flesh out my part in these events. Working small like this really took me back to my old ebay days. For years this was my stock-in-trade. So far I've done two of these smaller paintings. I'll post the second in a couple of days. It has been fun, but I'm really looking forward to a new larger painting that I can sink my teeth into. Two of those are on the drawing board now. 

Crayola

Crayola  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on canvas

Karen discovered this box of vintage Crayola crayons on ebay a while back and I've wanted to paint it ever since. I asked her permission to use it, and it was granted. The box says 64 different, brilliant colors, but I think the total of this box is somewhere in the fifties. I guess some got lost or just used up over the years. I'll be shipping this painting up to Cape Cod for a show Karen and I are sharing at Tree's Place Gallery this July. However, it was so fun to paint that I think I'll do another for a still life show I'm participating in at C. K. Contemporary in San Francisco this September. 

Chronology: a new book

I officially quit my day job in 2004 to paint full-time, so I thought it would be a good idea to put together a book highlighting some of my favorite pieces created during the last ten years. My archiving process is not perfect, so I'm sure on a few of these paintings I've written either the date, title or dimensions incorrectly, but I'm pretty confident that the majority are labeled accurately. 

The books dimensions are 12 inches by 12 inches, hard cover with a dust jacket. It's 86 pages long and available for purchase through blurb. The book is expensive, but 90% of the cost goes to blurb. There is an eBook version for those who have iPads. It downloads into the iBook app and is only $9.99. 

The link below will take you to my bookstore on blurb where you can preview 15 pages of the book and if you like make a purchase.

http://www.blurb.com/user/jnhgallery

Community Coffee

Community Coffee  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on panel

Way back in 2009 I received a commission to create five paintings for the boardroom of a large printing company here in Atlanta. They produced the packaging for a number of clients including: Reeses, Coca Cola, Nabisco and many others. Before we started they gave me a long list of their clients to choose from. I went to the grocery store and picked a variety of items who's packaging, I thought, was the most interesting/iconic. I then put together some comps and they choose the five they liked best. To my dismay one of the companies that didn't make the cut was Community Coffee. I had really wanted to paint all that crinkly, shiny red. Later that year I did paint a six inch by six inch version of this composition for auction on ebay, but I always wanted to do it big, so . . . I did. 

I'm working on two realism shows for 2014. One for Tree's Place Gallery in July and another at C. K. Contemporary in San Francisco in September. This piece will be heading up to Cape Cod for the Tree's show. 

Triumph: Complete

Triumph  |  36 x 36  |  Oil on canvas

On day 36, give or take a day or two, I finally completed the Triumph Bonneville. I spent a huge chunk of today with my camera and in Photoshop trying to get a good photograph of the finished painting. Trying, being the operative word because I've never had so much trouble coming up with a decent image of a painting. This is the best of the twenty five versions I came up with, and I'm not very pleased with it. It's a little muddy with an overall bluish cast and the background color is off as well. 

So, as soon as this painting is dry I'm taking it to Gallery Street and have it photographed professionally. They do all of the photography of Karen's paintings used to produce her prints, and I'm hoping they can do a better job than I have. If they can produce a more accurate representation of this painting, I'll post it again with some detail shots. I will also include all the progress images like I did with the P-51 I painted back in the fall.

Now it's time to get busy putting together some work for a show at Tree's Place this July. 

Triumph In Progress: Day 21

Triumph  |  36 x 36  |  In Progress: Day 21

Day 21 and the underpainting is finally done. I really bit off a mouthful with this one. Now it's time to go back to the top and start all over again. I'm spending way too much time on this one painting I know, but I have to admit I'm really savoring the process. I haven't had this much fun working on a painting in a long time, so I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts. The second pass of a painting is always my favorite part. The hard work of building the structure is done and the subsequent passes where enhancing the detail comes into play is pure pleasure. This will be the final In Progress image. The next post will a high(er) res image of the completed painting.

Triumph In Progress: Day 15

Triumph  |  36 x 36  |  In Progress: Day 15

A couple of more days and I've got the underpainting of the fuel tank laid in. The word Triumph in the lower badge will be much darker and appear to have three dimensions in the final piece. Today I'll move down into the engine. The engine, the engine, the engine. . . . 

Triumph In Progress: Day Twelve

Triumph  |  36 x 36  |  In Progress: Day Twelve

The last few days were spent finishing up the first pass on the frame and working on the name badges on the fuel tank. If you look closely at the word Triumph on the right hand side you'll see a "shadow". My first attempt at putting in the type was a no go because I didn't center it properly. So, I had to re-measure and paint it in a second time. Even though the type will eventually be a dark charcoal color, I put the name in white to help distinguish it since I was laying it right on top of the previous version. A task that was a little confusing.