Glass Week: Crystal Ball

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

To finish off glass week, I've got a little crystal ball. I painted this sphere a number of times in the past, but it's been a long time, and I thought it would be a good closer for this theme. If you want to participate in the auction for this painting, you can bid by clicking here.

Glass Week: Wild Turkey

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

Thursday's selection, is a bottle of Wild Turkey. This particular bottle was given to me by a good friend years ago for my birthday, and I'm still feeding off of it. I love it, but a little goes a long way with me. I wanted to get the "glass" of this piece, as well as the artwork for the bird. If you'd like to bid, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Glass Week: Salt 'n Pepper

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

Wednesday's entry for glass week, is a pair of tiny salt and pepper shakers. Karen and I drove up to Asheville, NC a while back to attend the opening night reception of a show Karin Jurick was having at 16 Patton Gallery. We all spent the afternoon together wandering around town. During our travels, we stopped into a small cafe for a snack. These were sitting alone on a table in the sunlight, so I grabbed Karen's camera, and took a shot. If you'd like to participate in the auction for this painting you can bid by clicking here.

Glass Week: Coca Cola Carton

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

Tonight for glass week, it's a carton of empty Coke bottles. I haven't quite squeezed out all the potential of this subject, and have plans to work it into a few more paintings. This composition is basically the right half of the carton, the left side having already been immortalized in an earlier ebay painting. An even more complete version of this composition is currently being used for the "me" photo on my FaceBook home page. If you'd like to bid for this painting, you can participate in the auction by clicking here.

Glass Week: Olive Jar

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

I've got a sort of theme going with this weeks ebay paintings. Each of the five pieces to be listed are made of glass, and all but one contain an edible product. First up, a jar of olives. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Broadway and Canal by Jeff Cohen

Broadway and Canal

I've got five new ebay paintings in the works, along with a 6 x 6 commission, so it will be a little while before I get some new images up. That being the case, I thought I'd use this time to brag a little about my friend Jeff Cohen, and publicize his latest painting entitled Broadway and Canal. I hesitate to write that it's the best thing he's ever done, because he's created so many paintings that I would consider masterpiece's. But, this one . . . is a friggin Masterpiece! The sick part is, he makes it look so easy. I've described his technique numerous times in the past in previous blog posts, so I won't go there again now, but Jeff just created a clever new website which illustrates his process beautifully. The URL is urbofrag.com. If you happen to be a member of FaceBook, you can follow the progress of this painting from start to finish, on his Fan Page. Jeff, you've outdone yourself.

Pool Bowl No. 18

18 x 18 oil on hardboard panel

Cathy with Dean Day Gallery in Houston has asked me for a pool ball painting, and I'm always happy to oblige. I did this one a bit larger than most, and it offered me an opportunity to get some good detail into the rim of the bowl. That particular part of the bowl, really provides that sense of "glass", which I love. I'll be sending Cathy an image of this painting as soon as I finish this post, and hope she likes it. Next up a new set of ebay paintings, then I dive into the big one.

When I mentioned that I would be building my own panel for that piece, I received a number of suggestions for various companies, that offer larger hardboard panels. I appreciate the information, and thank you to those who provided those suggestions. A few days ago I purchased some prepared panels manufactured by Ampersand, for my next group of ebay paintings as a test to see how they take paint. If I'm happy with them, Ampersand does build cradled panels at 36 x 36, the size I had intended to use. If they don't work out I'll either build my own panel, or give one of the other suggested companies a try.

Coinage

12 x 12 oil on hardboard panel

I spent the better part of the last week working on this commissioned painting for my good friend Phil. He and I have known each other since our first years of high school (I'm talking like since 1968). He commissioned me to paint this as a gift for his brother, who owns a coin shop. I have to say this was a tough one. I can't really say why, but the embossed images on these coins was a bear to paint. I think all in all it turned out pretty well. Karen and I will be heading up to Phil's this weekend for a cookout, and I will be turning over the painting to him then. Hope he likes it.

Paul Coventry-Brown

I had to pass along some very cool information about an online colleague of mine Paul Brown. Paul and I have been corresponding for years. He's a great guy, and an amazing realist painter living in France. His work has recently been adopted by two major art suppliers for the promotion, and packaging of their products. The image above is an ad running in the April issue of The Artist's Magazine. Dick Blick has chosen his work to promote their cradled hardboard panels. The same ones I'm so fond of. He gets his own image in the ad along with three of his paintings. If that's not cool enough . . .

. . . Winsor & Newton has chosen his work to adorn the packaging of their new "Fine Detail" canvas. Elegant packaging to say the least. He even gets credit on the label for the painting. Unreal. Paul really deserves it. His work is truly outstanding. Congratulations Paul. You can see more of his work by clicking on his name above to visit his blog, or click here to visit his website.

Pool Bowl No. 16

10 x 10 oil on hardboard panel

The entirety of last week was spent working on a commissioned Pool Bowl painting for Elliot Fouts owner of Elliot Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California. Two of my online colleagues, Christopher Stott, and Vic Vicini are represented there. I've been fortunate to receive a number of requests for commissions in the last few weeks, and will begin my most recent commission today. Something completely different, for a long time friend, as a gift for his brother.

Mason Murer Fine Art, here in Atlanta, has proven that they are definitely a more conducive space for my work. I got a call this weekend from Mark that two more of my paintings had sold. To add a cherry on top of that good news, about twenty minutes after the call from Mark, I received a call from Cathy at Dean Day Gallery in Houston, calling to tell me that she had just sold one of my paintings. This is a trend that I hope will continue.

In a previous post I mentioned that I was considering the idea of doing a "big" painting. I received a number of "go for it" responses about that plan, so I'm going to give it a try. I think this recent burst of sales has given me the financial breathing room to spend some serious time on a larger painting. Unfortunately commercially produced cradled panels aren't available in a size I need to do this painting. I could use canvas, but I've become addicted to working on a hard surface, so I'll need to build one. Before I started to paint full-time I used to spend my time building furiture, and remodeling our house.

The bed, pictured above, was the last piece of furniture I built before I began my new career as an artist. I also put in the floors, created the wainscoting, and the beamed ceiling. I have to admit, I still mourn the loss of time to build furniture, and re-model the house. Building the surface for this new painting will be a good excuse to head back out into the shop, and create a little sawdust. I'll keep you all posted on how this new project goes.

Commission No. 2

6 x 6 each oil on hardboard

After I completed my portion of an ongoing project I'm doing with a group other artists (more on that later) I got to work on these two commissioned paintings. The collector had purchased a painting of PB&J bottles from me a little while back, and requested these two compositions to go along with it as a kind of triptych. These will probably be shipped in the next few days, and in the meantime, I've begun a third commission for a larger Pool Bowl piece. I'll post that as soon as it's complete.

In other news, my relationship with Mason Murer Fine Art has already begun to pay off. I received word from Kelly that one of the paintings sold the day after my collection was hung. That's pretty cool.

Sugar Bowl

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

This sugar bowl was part of a collection of silver items given to us by Karen's parents a while back. The gift consisted of some flatware, sugar bowl, creamer and a water pitcher. I love the symmetry of this little silver bowl, with the pineapple finial on top. A really great shape, and the mirrored finish provides a wonderfully distorted view of the surrounding room. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

A Gallery Shift

I moved to a new Atlanta gallery yesterday. It was sad saying goodbye to Anne, Tiffany and Sybil at Anne Irwin Fine Art. I just felt my style of painting didn't mesh very well with that of the gallery's other artists. My new space, here in town, will be Mason Murer Fine Art. Their gallery has a much more varied collection of artists, and styles, and I believe it will be a better fit for me. Mark, Kelly and Andrea are wonderful people, who appeared delighted at the opportunity to show my paintings. The gallery space is huge, impressive, and includes my favorite Atlanta artist (other than Karen), James McLaughlin Way. I'm really looking forward to working with all of them. Hopefully for a long, long time.

Twist Tie No.2

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

I've got two ebay paintings planned for this week. I completed this one yesterday, and the second will hopefully be ready in the next few days. After that, I've got to get going on a new commission. There's a good possibility I may have another commission to follow. Still working out the details on that one. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

The Mason Murer Show & One More Thing

Karen checking out her space as the evening begins

Karen's show went great friday night at Mason Murer Fine Art. There was a huge crowd of art patrons and well wisher's. The paintings were hung beautifully, and looked really great.

The gallery begins to fill

One of the nice things about being part of a gallery show, is that you get to see a lot of people that you don't get to see as frequently as you'd like. A number of our friends attended the reception that night, and it was really great to have a chance to visit. Really great.

Karen's parents admiring their daughter's work

Jeanie Tomanek and Virginia Parker, who were showing that night along with Karen, also had a lot of fun. I think the consensus was that it was a successful show.

Karen and I had one other adventure this past week. The Atlanta Fine Arts League was having a juried show of work by their members, and invited us to be the judges for that event. Following our initial disorientation at having been chosen to do this, we both agreed. Honestly, it was not an easy task, because there were so many beautiful paintings to filter down to first, second and third place. There were so many worthy paintings in fact, that we convinced the organizers to add three Honorable Mentions to the winners. The paintings were on display at the Cobb/Marietta Museum of Art, and awards were given out on Saturday evening. We attended the awards ceremony, which was organized very nicely, and the winners were very happy to have their work recognized.

I completed my part of the "small project" I've been working on, but will wait to post about it until the entire thing is complete. I also picked up another commission, and have a couple of new ebay paintings in the works as well. I'll have images of those as soon as they are finished.

Karen and Karin: Two Shows on Friday

My wife Karen, and our friend Karin Jurick will both be having shows at their respective galleries this friday night. My better half will be showing ten beautiful paintings at Mason Murer Fine Art here in Atlanta. Our friend Jeanie Tomanek will be showing her amazing work that night as well, along with five other artists. It's going to be a fun evening, I'm looking forward to it.

Abstract Thought: 6 x 14

Karin Jurick will be on Hilton Head Island at the Morris & Whiteside Gallery showing 22 new paintings, many of which have already been acquired through pre-show sales. I think this is some of best work to date, but every thing she does is great. She's a genius.

Espresso

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

As my current paintings were drying between passes I decided to work in an ebay painting for this week. Cups with spoons is one of my more common themes, and the recent mug and book piece made me hungry to do another. This little espresso cup hadn't been utilized in a while, so I thought it would make a good subject for this week. These compositions tend to be monochromatic, but I'm drawn to them their simplicity. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Coke

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

This carton of coke bottles will probably be showing up repeatedly for a while yet. There is something about that green glass, and the red carton that kills me. Especially when the red shows through the glass. Man! I've got this idea in the back of my mind to try one of these bottles really big. Something like 36 x 36, or 24 x 48. I think it could be really cool. Many of my favorite contemporary realists like Pedro Campos, and Steve Mills commonly work in this size. I wonder if I could do it? Maybe 2010 is the year to go BIG. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Recent Commission: Pool Balls

6 x 6 each oil on hardboard

I was busy working on one of two commissions this past week, in addition to a couple of new ebay paintings. The commission for the first client was for pool balls, and the second client will be receiving a loaf of bread and a pb&j. Also in the 6 x 6 format. It had been a while since I painted pool balls in a glass bowl, and it was nice to visit them again. I hope to have the next ebay piece ready to go up on thursday, and the second commission paintings should be ready to be posted sometime next week. I also have another small project coming up in the next few weeks, more about that later.

Morning Mug

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

My plan for this week was to work up another five ebay paintings, but I landed a couple of small commissions just as I was getting started, and this is the only piece I had time to complete. This image was created on a trip to Inlet Beach Florida a year or so ago, and it's been in the back of my mind to paint ever since. My original intent was to do it as a 12 x 12, but I figured I'd try it out on ebay first, and see what kind of response it gets first. The complete photo reference includes all of the books, and a pair of glasses as well, but I thought this told most of the story. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.