Fire Truck

Fire Truck  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on Panel

I just finished a new painting for Rehs Galleries in New York. I did this toy truck once before and wanted to try it again. It's still drying and won't be ready to ship for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I've got my canvas ready and am working on the drawing for a piece for C. K. Contemporary in San Francisco. It's going to be a big one, and those always really freak me out. Due to the time it will probably take, I'll more than likely be posting some in progress shots. 

Karen and I in American Art Collector

Karen and I shipped our paintings up to Tree's Place Gallery yesterday for our two person show August 31st. Shipping is always a stressful time. Putting months of work into someone else's hands to deliver is tough. Neither one of us can truly relax until we get a confirmation from the gallery that everything has arrived undamaged. 

Click the page to view an enlarged version

Our mood was lightened quite a bit this morning when we checked our mail and discovered the September issue of American Art Collector.  I have to say, it's really nice to see your work in print. This is the third time I've had my paintings in AAC, the second for Karen and it's just as exciting each time. 

Click the page to view an enlarged version

I'm finishing up a new painting for Rehs Galleries now, and I'll have a post of that in a day or two. Then I'm dedicating myself to C. K. Contemporary Gallery in San Francisco for a while. These paintings may be pretty big, so I'll probably include some in progress shots.

A Bowl of Pool Balls

Pool Bowl No. 22  |  18 x 18  |  Oil on panel

It has been ages since I painted a bowl filled with pool balls, but if you check the number of this particular version you'll see that I've spent a lot of time with this subject. So, when Reh's Galleries asked specifically for a new one I jumped at a chance to meet back up with an old friend. 

The Pool Bowl took a full two weeks, longer than I anticipated, and as I completed it I suddenly realized that I was quickly running out of time to complete work for my show at Tree's Place coming up at the end of August. I was hoping to do two more for that show, but I've got a little less than a month to have them all finished, and the one I just started is quite large, so it's going to be close. There's a chance I may come up one short. 2013 has been a year of tight deadlines and it looks as though that trend will continue for some time yet. 

Juice O Matic

Juice O Matic  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on canvas

I'm emailing this image to Cape Cod today in hopes that it will not be too late to be included in the Tree's Place catalog for the fall show. The printer deadline was the end of June, so it may be a lost cause. This is a really cool vintage "Juice O Matic" orange squeezer I picked up at an antique store the last time my brother Doug was in town from New York. It's fitting that I complete this during his most recent visit which ends today. I thought this particular piece would fit in nicely with the other two "fruit based" paintings I have already completed for our show. 

Now I need to divert my attention from the show for a little while to complete a couple of paintings for Rehs Gallery. When those are done, it's back to work on the last two paintings for the show, and after that I'm dedicating myself to C. K. Contemporary Gallery in San Francisco. They've been extremely patient, and it's time to repay their kindness. 

Hover

Hover  |  24 x 24  |  Oil on canvas

I was really in the mood to paint something with lots of colors, so I went searching for one of my vintage tin toys. This tin top was just what I was looking for. This piece went rather quickly and I've still got about a week before the printers deadline for images to go into the catalog for the Tree's Place Gallery show is up. I think I can squeeze in one more small(ish) painting for them before time runs out. Then I've got to get going on the Pool Bowl painting for Rehs. 

Vintage

Vintage  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on canvas

Tree's Place Gallery is producing a catalog for the show they are having for Karen and I in August, and their printer needs as many images as he can get before the end of the month in order to have the piece ready in time to promote our show. I've got two weeks left and I'm hoping I can get one more done by the deadline. Once this printing deadline is past, I need to get a couple of paintings to Rehs Gallery before I return to work completing the show for Tree's. When that is done I'll start to work on paintings for C. K. Contemporary. They've been incredibly patient and have earned some serious attention. 

Heinz

Heinz  |  24 x 24  |  oil on panel

So, this isn't a Pool Bowl painting. I received word from Tree's Place that they were producing a catalog to advertise our show there this fall. They needed to have as many images of paintings as they could get, as quickly as possible, in order to meet their printers deadline. I knew they would be printing some type of promotional material, but I didn't realize that they would need the images so soon. The deadline is the end of June, so I had to re-think my painting plans and get back to work for the show. 

As if the deadline wasn't enough pressure, this piece proved to be a real bear to paint. Some paintings flow along smoothly as you and the canvas work together as a team and others, like this one, fight you every inch of the way. I'm claiming victory, but it was an epic battle. 

Pocket Knife with Cherries

Pocket Knife with Cherries  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on canvas

This is the second painting slated for my summer show at Tree's Place Gallery. As I mentioned before, this will be the first time Karen and I have shared the spotlight since 2007, and we're both really looking forward to it. As always, I'm behind, and producing a shows worth of paintings plus getting new work to my other galleries as well means a busy spring and summer. Howard Rehs at Rehs Galleries, Inc. has requested a pool bowl and I'll be starting that today. Haven't done one of those in a long time. It'll be a relatively large painting, so I'll probably post some in progress shots along the way.

Coke for Tree's Place

Coca Cola  |  24 x 36  |  Oil on canvas

The Delta commission has been delivered and is making its' way up to New York with all the other artwork and photography slated for the Delta Sky Club at JFK. Susan Nicole-Gibbs head of Twinhouse Art Advisory, Inc. who arranged the job will be there to oversee the installation has promised me that she would take a lot of photos so I can see how the paintings look in their new home. 

Now I'm back working for the galleries once more. Coca Cola (above) is the first piece for the two person show Karen and I are having at Tree's Place Gallery this summer. 

Delta Sky Club Commission: Painting No. 5 - Tail

Delta Commission: Tail  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on panel

The completion of the tail section brings the commission to a close. I won't be able to fully relax until these are in the hands of the client, but overall this was a really fun, albeit stressful endeavor. I love painting aircraft, and this commission got me cranked to do a large warbird painting sometime this year using one of the images I got at the Reno Air Races last fall. 

Now it's time to get working on a two person show I'll be sharing with my wife Karen for Tree's Place Gallery at the end of August. I also need to get new paintings to my other galleries as well. Karen and I haven't joined forces for a show since 2007 and I'm looking forward to it. We're thinking of including another visit to NYC either before or after the opening on Cape Cod. We had a great time there last year, and it would also give me a chance to visit my little brother again. 

Delta Sky Club Commission: Painting No. 4 - Wing

Delta Commission: Wing  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on panel

In the final stretch. I've been going back and forth with the last two paintings, working on various parts of one while various parts of the other were drying. Number five will be completed today, which coincidentally is my deadline day to finish. Whew! This commission took every minute of my allotted time. Now all I have to do is let them dry, varnish and deliver. If these are in the hands of the client on the 9th I'll breath a huge sigh of relief. I might even take a day off and go see a movie.

Delta Sky Club Commission: Painting No. 3 - Nose

Delta Commission: Nose  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on panel

Moving along, here is the third painting for JFK. Although this seems to be a less complicated composition than the previous two, for me, it was the most difficult to paint. The reflections in the body of the aircraft were a real challenge. I think I achieved my goal with this piece, but it was a real bear. The next two paintings will include the tail section, and so will add a bit of color. I'm really looking forward to putting in that blast of red in the Delta logo.

Delta Sky Club Commission: Painting No. 2 - Engine

Delta Commission: Engine  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on panel

This is the second of five commissioned paintings for the Delta Sky Club at JFK. It's funny, when I was in tech school working towards my Airframe & Powerplant license, my classmates would often comment on the notes I'd take in class. They were usually embellished with little drawings and they would say, "man, why are you here, you should be an artist!". My hope, at that time was that I would upon graduation go to work for Delta Airlines. That didn't happen, but now 30+ years later I'm actually working as an artist, and will have my paintings hanging in the Delta Airlines Sky Club. 

Delta Sky Club Commission: Painting No. 1 - Fuselage

Delta Commission: Fuselage  |  16 x 16  |  Oil on panel

Here is an image of the first of five paintings slated for the Delta Airlines Sky Club at JFK. Each of the five represents a specific component of the aircraft, starting with the nose and yes ending with the tail. These will not be completed any particular order, but hopefully will be presented on site running nose to tail. I'm starting on the second pass of the engine composition today, and when it's complete I'll post its' image. I've got two weeks to complete the next four paintings. Long days ahead.

Delta Commission: First Pass

The Delta Commission is coming along. I'm really working like a dog to get these done in the timeframe I've been given. But they are fun. At this point I've got the under painting done for each of the five pieces. Each composition has taken two to three days to complete its' first pass. 

*I didn't put much time into color correcting these images since they are each still very rough.

This first pass has been spent basically blocking in the components. The colors are close but need work and the highlights and shadows will be enhanced in successive passes. The sky also needs to be blended and grayed down a bit. 

At this point in the process I essentially want to see all of the components of the aircraft working together as a single unit, and have the sense that the structure has mass.

Since painting at this stage is mostly mid-tones they do look a little boring, that's why I really love the second and third passes. When you start to refine the detail and enhance the colors, shadows and highlights the piece really starts to come alive.

One of my favorite compositions of the group is the view of engine number one. I don't know, I just love that crop.

So now it's on to the second pass. Two passes will probably be sufficient for some of these compositions, and others may take three. I'll most likely hold off on any more in progress shots and wait to reveal all of the completed pieces at one time. 

Photography and a Commission

One of the five panels with the first pass of the sky laid in.

It's been a very long time since my last post, but I've had a lot going on. The bulk of my time has been spent doing photography of some new items I picked up on ebay. I've shot close to a thousand photos, which will eventually be whittled down to around thirty images that are deemed paintworthy. I've culled out most of the chosen, and am looking forward to  getting them onto canvas, but they'll have to wait a bit longer because I've picked up a big commission with very short time frame.

The five panels ready to begin the aircraft component.

I'll be doing five 16 x 16 paintings for the new Delta Sky Club at JFK. The subject will be various aircraft views (oh boy). My work will be presented on a wall comprised of seven wood panels. One painting will be centered in each of the five middle panels. I've done the photography, picked my favorites, had them approved, transferred the drawings and got the first layer of the sky painted into each panel. Now it's time to begin working on the actual aircraft. 

This commission has to be done very quickly but I may post "in progress" shots. It all depends on how it goes.

Sunbeam Mixer No.2: Complete

Sunbeam Mixer No.2   |   24 x 24   |   Oil on panel

Well, it took more than a few days to finish up the mixer. It took nine more days to be exact. Some days I'd cover a lot of ground and on others I'd spend the entire day working on a section about 3 inches square. It was a fun painting, and honestly I wasn't in a hurry to be done with it. I think I'll flip it around and paint the other side one day. The opposite side is a little different with a cool cap on the end of the body. When this has dried and been varnished I'll be sending it up to Rehs Galleries Inc in New York. 

My wife Karen and I will be sharing the spotlight this fall in a two person show at Tree's Place Gallery. I'm looking forward to doing a show together again. I plan to have some of my standards, but I've also been busy scouring ebay for cool props, and have acquired a bunch of new stuff to paint. I hope some/all of them prove to be popular subjects. I'll be spending the next week or so working on  photography, so I won't be posting much to Blogger or FaceBook. 

See you when I get back to my easel.

Sunbeam Mixer No.2: in Progress Day 7

Sunbeam Mixer No.2  |  24 x 24  |  oil on panel  |  in Progress: Day 7

Moving along. I finished up the first pass yesterday, and worked a little on the second pass of the handle. I'm still not sure how I'm going to treat the background. I thought I liked this pale green, but it looks a bit washed out, so I'll probably play with some different colors until I come up with something that works. As with the Coke in progress updates, I'll probably stop here and then reveal the final painting when it's complete. I think the images from here on in will look so similar that they will all tend to meld together. Be back in a few days.

Sunbeam Mixer No.2: in Progress Day 5

Sunbeam Mixer No.2  |  24 x 24  |  oil on panel  |  in Progress: Day 5

A couple of days later, and I've moved horizontally across the body of the mixer and down into the stand. Basically blocking in the structure with very little refinement. I hope to finish the stand and begin working on the blade attachment and mixing blades today. I think I can complete the first pass within the next day or two. Then it's back to the top to start all over again with the first of (probably) two refining passes. 

Sunbeam Mixer No.2: in Progress Day 3

Sunbeam Mixer No.2   |   24 x 24   |   Oil on panel   |   in Progress: Day 3

There was some re-scheduling done with the last planned Coke commission, so I decided to move on to what I had intended to paint next. I had done this mixer once before in a full frontal version, but wanted to paint it again in profile to take advantage of its awesome reflectivity. 

I figured I'd go ahead and post "in progress" images of this piece. I got a pretty nice response from visitors to the in progress photos I posted of the Coke commission, so I thought why not try it again. This is the third day of painting.