Cherry Goblet No. 3

Cherry Goblet no. 3
oil on gallery wrap canvas
10'' x 10"

Here is the next painting headed to the winter show at Twinhouse gallery. The show pieces are now being added to my website as each is completed. The site will also include contact information to the gallery for those who may be interested in making a pre-show purchase. The website also includes a link to Karens catalog of paintings scheduled for the show. If you think you may be interseted in the purchase of this piece you can click here for more information.

I was originally planning on doing six 10 x 10's, but with the added time provided by the altered schedule, it looks like I may have nine or ten small paintings in addition to the larger Cherry Can.

See you in a few days with the next installment.

pb&j no. 5

pb&j no. 5
oil on gallery wrap canvas
10'' x 10"

Thanks to all of you who left the encouraging comments on the Cherry Can painting. I was a little iffy about how it would be received at the Twinhouse show in February, but now am much more confident about that particular piece. Jim (you know who you are) thank you for your observations, and comment as well. I'm looking at my images a bit more closely now before I commit them to canvas.

Above is the first of the 10 x 10's headed to the winter show at Twinhouse. I have three pieces relating to bread. Karen likes my bread, and convinced me to do some more. The date for the show has been pushed back until the 22nd of February, and so I'm going to try, and squeeze in a couple more of these 10 inch squares before the deadline. If I don't make it I'll still have the six, which I think is a respectable number inluding the 24 x 36 for a group show.

I'm sure that a lot of you who frequent this blog are fans of Karin Jurick, and may have seen this painting already, but Karen and I are so proud to have been "immortalized" by her I had to include the painting in this post. The image was taken from our trip to Asheville NC, to take part in the opening night reception of her show at 16 Patton. One amazing thing about this painting is that Karin started it just after we called her to say that we were on our way to her house to meet for lunch with her and Brett. The painting was complete by the time we arrived. She's something else. Karin has a spread in the January issue of American Art Collector magazine on newstands now. She is also painting for a show at the Howard/Manville Gallery in Kirkland Washington. The opening reception is February 9. You can see those works by clicking here.

I haven't updated my website as yet to include the contact information for the gallery, if any visitors are interested in purchasing "pb&j no. 5". I should have that done in the next day or so. If you can't wait you can click on the Twinhouse link, and either call or email Tiffany. She can help you with that. I'll be spacing these new images out, with the final one posted a few days prior to the opening. I'll be back in a few days with the next painting.

Cherry Can Complete

Cherry Can
oil on gallery wrap canvas
24'' x 36"

The can of cherries is finally finished. I don't know if it works or not. It didn't turn out like I'd hoped it would. I may have bitten off more than I can chew on this one. It took much longer to complete than I anticipated, and my cold didn't help speed things up any. Now I'm in a race to produce enough work for Twinhouse to actually call my contribution a "show". Fortunately it's a group show, which takes some of the pressure off.

No more large paintings for the time being though. I've got six 10 x 10's drawn out, and if I kill myself maybe I'll be able to complete them all in time to hang in early February. It's not what I had planned, but the holidays, my illness and the riduculous amount of time I spent on the cherry can has rendered my original ideas moot.

I'll post each of these small pieces as I complete them with links back to the gallery for purchase information. Wish me luck, because I'm going to need it.

My Original Painting A Day

August 1986
ink & marker on bristol board
7'' x 7"

I've been laid up for the last eight days with a terrible cold, and as such haven't been able to put in any time on my Cherry Can painting. This has really put me behind on the work I need to do for the show at Twinhouse in February, but what can you do.

Rather than let my blog languish un-updated I thought I'd post something fun from my past. I recently received an email from someone who used to frequent our type/design shop Pace Typography in the late 80's. In his letter he mentioned how much he had enjoyed my calenders. I hadn't thought about them in a long time, so I got them out, and looked them over for old time sake.

Each month for one year I created a calendar shell, and in each square I'd draw a little picture representing the most significant event of the previous day. Then, I'd color them with markers. Each square was about 3/4 of an inch in size. A lot of these days had no event more significant than working, and maybe watching television that night.

March 1987
ink on bristol board
7'' x 7"

March of 1987 was the last month I did this, and as you can see I never found the time to color that month in. The images are rather cryptic, and I've forgotten what a lot of them are supposed to mean. We did go to a lot of movies in those days. A lot of movies. I was also spending a great deal of time building scale aircraft models. Both of which are heavily represented above.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to post my first "painting a day" effort. I have a lot of fond memories of Pace Typography. It was a wonderful experience working everyday with my best friend Michel Valin. He and I worked really hard, never made any money, but for nearly eight years I looked forward to going in to work each day. Many of our clients would come to pick up their jobs, and then would just stay and hang out. People didn't want to leave, even occasionally joining us for lunch. A number of those clients have become very close friends.

I'm back at work now on the cherries, so I should have a new progressive image up soon.

Happy New Year - you all!

Seasons Greetings

St. Angus
oil on canvas
18'' x 36"

For the last few years my annual Christmas card has been derived from modifying one of my old "cow" paintings in Photoshop. Basically transforming a pastoral scene into a winter landscape. I thought this year, in addition to creating hard copies to be sent via snail mail to family and friends, I'd also post it here on my blog, as a sort of "e" card to everyone who has taken the time to visit and comment in 2007. Thanks again everybody. I hope you all have a happy holiday season. Oh and, Merry Christmooooooooos!

Cherry Can in Progress

Cherry Can
oil on canvas
24'' x 36"

The prediction in my last post, as to the subject of my next painting, was that it would probably be a percolator. This has turned out not to be the case. I've had this particular composition on my mind for some months now, and decided that it was time to give it a try. Cherries have been a re-occuring theme in my work for years, but this is the first time I've painted a cherry the size of a grapefruit.

This piece could take some time, so I've decided to post a series of "in progress" images. The image above is the end of day one. To do this is a bit like exposing your soft underbelly to the wolves, but I find it interesting when I see these transitional shots on other artists blogs, so I'm trying to suppress my fears, and present my process.

I'm a little fearful of the can, with its extensive series of parallel ridges. It will be a challenge to get "right". If it works I think it will be very cool, if not . . . . ? Hopefully the next post will include an image of the satisfactory completion of the underpainting of that can.

Free At Last! the Mixer is Complete

Hamilton Beach Mixer
oil on canvas
18'' x 24"

Every once in a while I get into a painting that just doesn't want to cooperate. Fortunately it doesn't happen too often, but this has been one of those paintings. I've been working on it so long now that I don't even "see" it anymore. I can't tell if it works or not. Karen says it's really good. I did the overnight test, where I tell myself to wait until the next morning to make a value judgement. When I saw it in the light of a new day, I was "less" negative about it. I still don't know if I got it with this one. Jeff Stricoff at Stricoff Fine Art, Ltd. was excited to have it, so there's a second positive opinion. I believe I'll just have to get away from it for a while, then after a few days see if it starts to grow on me.

I'm still working out the details with Plus One Gallery in London, but I think I can safely say that I'm in! They have three of my small pieces now, which they tell me they love, but "would really like some larger work". Until we figure out the logistics of our relationship I am going to hold out on sending any new paintings, but I'm confident enough to begin work on a larger painting that will be slated for their gallery. The director and I spoke over the phone last week, and I don't think what we have to deal with could break our new association. They haven't put my name on their website as yet, but I have added them to mine. Couldn't wait to do that.

These next few paintings will probably be larger pieces requiring significantly more time to complete than my earlier work. Because of this I may post more "in progress" images to keep the blog current. I haven't decided on the subject of my next painting as yet, but at this point it looks like it will be a "big" percolator.

Addendum: I've been Tagged!

I got tagged last night by an amazing watercolor artist Pablo Villicana Lara. It's my understanding that I am now required to list 5 little known facts about myself, then "tag" five other artists to do the same. Here are my five:

1. I've begun the learning process of playing, then dropping the following musical instruments in the course of my life: 1. The Accordion 2. The Coronet 3. The Piano 4. The Guitar 5. The Banjo 6. The Clarinet

2. I once produced a short lived movie magazine called Cinemondo. It was the brainchild of our friends Burk Sauls and Kathy Bakken. The production team also included my best friend at the time Michel Valin (now my brother in law), and my wife Karen.

3. I've seen Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey over 60 times.

4. Once a year I allow myself one entire family size bag of Cheetos all for me by myself. (These are always eaten when Karen is not at home, and at a single sitting.

5. This may seem blasphemous to admit on an art blog, but I enjoy woodworking more (much, much more) than painting. Now that I paint full-time I do not have time for it, but retain wonderful memories of building furniture. You can see a few of those pieces here.

Those to be tagged? It's very hard to pick just five. Hopefully these have not yet been tagged:

Christopher Stott

Dianne Gall

Bob Martin

Leslie Sealey

Carol Marine

My Next Painting in Progress

I got kind of sidetracked this last week with the holidays and all, but I have begun a new (somewhat) large painting. It's a great looking vintage mixer - also made by Hamilton Beach - I picked up on ebay. The dimensions are 18 x 24, which for me is pretty big. It's proving to be a bit of a bear to paint, so I'm not committing it to any particular gallery until it's finished. There's always a chance it will wind up under a new coat of gesso. I've only got three days into it so far, so I'm not going to start freaking out right away. I'll give it a few more days before I decide to finish it, or trash it, and start on something else.

My friend Robert Deyber has created something new. I know a lot of artists are video taping their painting sessions, then publishing them to YouTube. Bob has taken this a step further, and installed, what I refer to as the DeyberCam. It's a continous live remote view of him at work in his studio. A "fly on the wall" look at the artist in action. It's a little voyeristic, but a good way to kill a few minutes during the day. He's given me permission to post the URL here for anyone interested in having a peak. You can visit by clicking here.

The "Big" Picture

Hamilton Beach
oil on canvas
24'' x 36"

The big painting is finally finished. I picked it up this morning from Gallery Street along with the CD containing the jpeg. Apparently the painting garnered a lot of positive attention while it was hanging around their studio. This was nice to hear, since I was afraid that no one would recognize what it was.

I couldn't wait to get home, open up the CD and check out the image. They really do a great job, it looked spot on. The first thing I did was to send an email to PlusOne, with the image attached. I'm still waiting for a definitive answer as to whether I'm in or not. Hopefully this will persuade them to give me a chance.

We got a call from Wynne/Falconer last night. Ken and Ally had just returned from the 11th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show. They sold two paintings during the show, and one of them was Karen's. My two percolators got a lot of attention they said, but no buyers. Another cool bit of news was that Joshua Rose, an editor at American Art Collector Magazine gave a slide presentation commenting on work displayed at the show, and one of the images he used was one of Karen's paintings.

I've started another "large-ish" painting. It's a gamble, but I had such a good time with this one, I had to do it again.

A Blurb & Some Other Stuff Too

I tell you what, when you spend all your time working on a single painting, it takes a long time to come up with something new to post on your blog. I know that image of the milkshake mixer was getting pretty stale. Fortunately the December issue of Art Calendar Magazine has just come out, and there's a short blurb about me on page three, giving me something to post.

Kim Hall, the managing editor, contacted me a few weeks ago for a follow-up interview to the October 2006 Issue containing an article about the Painting A Day movement. Why they chose me for the follow-up, I can't say. None the less it's fun to see your name in print. It's especially nice when they also include an image of one of your paintings. If you'd like to read the article you can find it by clicking here.

I have finished my "big" painting, and will post the completed image after I get it back from Gallery Street. I'm having this one professionally photographed. They do a great job of photographing artwork, and I really want a high-quality image of this one. I have to say, I think it turned out pretty good, and it has left me with the desire to go large on another one.

My friend Karin Jurick recently purchased a digital video camera, and has begun to tape her painting sessions. Her first movie showed only her hands as she prepared her palatte. As simple as that sounds it's a fun to watch. The audio of her describing which colors she uses, and why is a joy to listen to.

Actor
oil on masonite
6'' x 6"

Her second video shows the entire process of painting the picture above. There is no speaking in this one, but the soundtrack is great. You can access this video on You Tube by clicking here, and you can watch the "color palette" video from her blog. It takes a few minutes to load, but it's worth the wait. If you are not aware of Karin's work you should check out her website and blog.


Sweet Summer
oil on canvas
48'' x 48"

My wife Karen has been accepted to the Addison Gallery in Boco Raton, Florida. She's particularly excited about Addison, because they will be selling not only her originals, but her giclees as well. Karen's been selling prints from her website for a few weeks now with a good degree of success, but welcomes the additional print sales from such a prestigious, and well established gallery. It will be interesting to see where this leads.

Karen and I both had paintings at the 11th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show this year, and are anxious to hear how our work was received. Kenny and Ally Wynne from Wynne/Falconer Gallery took our work there. Hope something sold.

Hamilton Beach Mixer No. 30

oil on canvas
24'' x 36"

It's taken a week, but I've finally completed the first pass on my "big" painting. Before I go any further I suppose I should identify what it is, so those of you who don't recognize it right away won't wrack your brains trying to figure it out. It's a vintage Hamilton Beach Milkshake Mixer Number 30. This is an unusual crop, but I wanted to concentrate on the mechanical portion of the machine. I love the big chrome head with its' vents, and on/off switch. Plus at this size you get a good view of the room reflected in the motor housing.

I have no idea how popular this subject may or may not be, but I have to say I've really enjoyed working on it so far. I recently purchased a bunch of vintage kitchen appliances on ebay to paint, and this is the item I wanted to begin with. It's just so cool looking. This is the first painting I've done in a while where I have allowed myself to work methodically, without pushing to finish quickly. It's a luxury I know, but I want to push the envelope with this piece.

PlusOne in London hasn't made an offical decision as yet, but I did receive an email yesterday stating that the paintings had arrived safely, and, "they are lovely". I think that's a good sign. They've also asked about larger paintings. If this one turns out the way I hope it will, I'll offer it to them, and cross my fingers once again.

Miro Sinovcic

October in Atlanta
oil on canvas
42'' x 28"

I've recently begun a correspondence with another artist blogger, Miro Sinovcic. He is a Croatian artist who imigrated to the United States in 1985. Miro worked as an illustrator creating cover art for, primarily, western novels. He was extremely successful in this area, but "once the kids were out of college", he moved into the realm of fine art.


Late Summer in the Village
oil on canvas
30'' x 40"

He is having a show at the Anne Irwin Gallery in Atlanta, and asked if Karen and I could possibly attend. The opening was friday night, and there was a great turn-out at the gallery. It was a real pleasure meeting Miro. For an artist with his history, list of awards and reputation, he was a very down to earth fellow. We talked art and galleries for quite a while. We also touched upon technique, style and why our paintings do well in some locations, and not so well in others. Miro has also just been taken on by Wynne/Falconer on Cape Cod, so now we are "family" too. It was a very pleasant meeting. We had to cut our visit short though, since we also wanted to head back into Buckhead to attend a show of the works of Jim Dine at Trinity Gallery. We were with Robert Deyber and Robert Graham. They along with Karen are big fans of his work.



To be honest I wasn't familiar with Jim Dine, but became a fan as I walked through the gallery. The lions share of the work was based upon the theme of Pinocchio. I can't say exactly why I enjoyed his work so much, but I guess you can say, "it spoke to me" on some level. I love that degree of free expression. Wish I had more of it myself. A lot more.

I still haven't heard from PlusOne. Nail biting time. I have begun my "large" painting. It's a little overwhelming. Two days, and I've barely made a dent. I've painted big before, but the subject was still under scale. Here I'm taking a small object, and blowing it up. Way up! I'm beginning to realize that this is going to take a bit of time. I may have to post this one to the blog in stages. Hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.

Two Percolators

oil on canvas
12'' x 16"

I've been working on this piece for a number of days now. Spent more time on it than I should have, but I liked were it was going, so I stuck with it. The idea of creating more heavily shadowed compositions has been enticing me for a while now, and my current batch of "potential" still lifes reflect that new direction. Although many of my paintings are monochromatic, they are usually starkly illuminated. The concept of actually losing portions of the subject in shadow is new to me, and I'm pretty excited about it.

I'm also seriously considering taking the leap, and working larger. Get outside of my comfort zone, and paint like the big boys. Financially this is probably a mistake. It's more profitable to do more small paintings than one large. I think it was seeing Jeff Hayes paint the large mason jar with the lemon that got me pumped to go big.

The painting above will be going to Wynne/Falconer. They were asking for something "shiny" to send to the up-coming 11th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show in November. I was hoping to get them at least one more for Boston, but I've only got a couple of months to get ready for the winter show at Twinhouse, and need to get started on those.

Tybee Island

Karen and I don't get out of town very often, but this weekend we were made an offer we couldn't refuse. Our friends Jill and Jon Dible had the use of a wonderful little beach house on Tybee Island Georgia, and invited us to share it with them. We had been talking for a while about taking a trip back to Savannah to do some photography, and Tybee Island is just across the bridge.



Karen was looking for some "big sky" images, and one thing the Georgia coast offers is a lot of big sky. The salt marshes are breathtaking, and the weather provided a beautiful combination of blue sky and dramatic clouds. She came back with around 300 shots. Now comes the task of culling out the best images, cropping and color correcting.



I was looking mostly for architectural images. Savannah provides a wealth of "historical" doorways. I've painted a number of these in the past, and have been "Jonesing" to do some more. A nice break from still life. Walking around the moss draped oak lined streets of Savannah early in the morning is a pleasant experience to say the least. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it.



I couldn't resist taking some standard "boat on the water" pix. It's hard to resist when your there on the docks. The Tybee Island Marina provided no shortage of those too. It was a fun trip. Lots of walks on the beach. Delicious food, all prepared by Jon, who is an amazng cook. A good time, with close friends. It doesn't get any better than that.

Now it's time to get back to work. I've been collecting some new items for up-coming still lifes. Really looking forward to painting these! Anxiously waiting to hear back from the London gallery. Apparently there is a postal strike going on at the moment, so there's no telling when my package will actually arrive.

I will have a new painting ready to post in a couple of days. I think it's a good one. I like it so far anyway.

8 Ball

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

Gallery work has been keeping me busy these past few months, and I haven't had the time to offer anything for auction on ebay. The galleries are now stocked, although I just heard from Twinhouse that four paintings have just sold, and two more have gone out on approval (whew!). The galleries were stocked I should have said, and that being the case, I mentally reverted into auction mode. I have two pieces this week, starting today with, what else, a pool ball. Tonight I'll have one of my coffee related paintings going up.

It was nice to paint small, and on a hard surface. I enjoy having an active auction going again too. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up though. Twinhouse is planning the date for a winter show, and I'll have to start working for that soon. I also shipped out the paintings to PlusOne this morning for their approval. If they take me on I'll have to get busy, and provide them some additional paintings too. All that aside, for the time being, it's fun to be back on ebay. If you'd like to place a bid on this piece you can do so by clicking here.

Pool Balls No. 4

oil on gallery wrap canvas
10'' x 10"

This piece completes the group of three paintings I'll be shipping to PlusOne Gallery in London on monday. Those of you who frequent this blog are probably getting bored with the pool balls, but people really seem to like them. Plus, they may be my current favorite subject to paint.

I make an effort, with each subsequent version, to enhance the level of "realism". It's something I'm consumed with these days. My goal (I guess) is to reach a point where I feel I've "got it". Then pull back somewhat, and attempt to infuse that painterly quality, I admire so much, in the work of many of the artists I follow. This may be a futile quest. I don't know if my personality, which is of the anal retentive variety, will allow me to go there.


Contrasts
oil on panel
8'' x 10"

Karen, and I will be heading into town tonight. Tracy Helgeson's work will be presented along with that of five other artists in a group show at Twinhouse Gallery in Buckhead. I've been a fan of her paintings for a long time now, and played a small part in her acceptance into the gallery. It was an easy sell. Her colorful landscapes are beautiful. Tracy will be coming down from New York for the reception, and we are looking forward to meeting her.

As I mentioned, in the previous two posts, if/when these paintings are accepted by PlusOne, I will amend the posts to include a link to the gallery. This will provide contact information for those who may be interested in the purchase of one of these paintings.

Kettle No. 2

oil on gallery wrap canvas
12'' x 16"

This is the second, of three, paintings heading to PlusOne Gallery in London. I've emailed images of all three paintings to the director, and she's asked me to ship the entire group. One step closer to the brass ring.

Hopefully they'll like what they see when these arrive, and choose to keep them. If they take me on, and if these sell, and if I one day see my name in their roster of artists, maybe then I'll be able to relax a little. I'm pretty cranked about this.

These should be ready to ship on monday. I'm not sure how long it will take them to arrive. If they offer them for sale, I'll amend these postings with contact information on the gallery for anyone interested in the purchase of one of these paintings.

Bowl of Bulbs No. 2

oil on gallery wrap canvas
12'' x 12"

A few weeks ago I was approached by PlusOne Gallery, in London, about possible representation. Needless to say I was very excited about this possibility. When I visited the gallery website, and saw their roster of artists, I was floored. Some of the most noted artists in the "realist" world are shown there. Richard Estes, John Salt and Ralph Goings just to name a few. "This is way out of my league", I thought, and in my mind the phrase, "I'm not worthy", kept repeating.

My insecurity aside, they've asked to see a few paintings in order to make their decision. I've been working on three, and will post them here as each is completed. I've decided to stay within my comfort zone here, and stick to popular themes. Post number one, Light Bulbs. I hope they like it. This piece will be followed by something reflective, with a pool ball to complete the trio. These paintings will be shipped together when all three are finished. If they say, "yes" then I will amend these posts with contact information to the gallery, for those who may be interested in the purchase of one of these paintings.

Ice Water No.2

oil on gallery wrap canvas
12'' x 16"

This is the last of four new paintings recently shipped to Stricoff Fine Art. It's a variation of the Ice Water composition I sent to Wynne/Falconer for our fall show. When I rotated the jug, the colors shifted from blue to this wonderful muted ochre. So, I had to do it again. If you're interested in the purchase of this painting, contact information for the gallery can be found by clicking here.

Pool Balls No. 3

oil on gallery wrap canvas
10'' x 10"

This is the third of four new paintings recently shipped to Stricoff Fine Art. I get a lot of requests for them, I love painting them, so for the time being I'll be doing more of them. Them being Pool Balls. Whenever I need a break from my somewhat monochromatic palette, I return to these colorful spheres. I feel that with each I learn a little more about how to paint a sphere. One of these days I'm going to go all in, and paint one of these very large, and really explore the subtleties their colors and reflections. If you're considering the purchase of this painting, you can find contact information for the gallery by clicking here.