Some Really Big Pool Balls: in Progress

Pool Balls

oil on canvas
24'' x 24"

I'm inching my way up the large scale ladder. I've been dancing around the idea of doing a big pool ball painting for a while now, and at 24 x 24, I believe this one fits the bill. I get requests, on occasion, to include some in progress images of a painting. Since this particular piece will probably take some time, I thought it would be a good one to use for that purpose. The image above shows the painting at the completion of the first pass. I'll post more images as I conclude successive passes.

Mug & Perc

Mug & Perc

oil on canvas
12'' x 12"

I mentioned in a previous post that I had done some bartering with my nephew/dentist for some dental work. This is my half of the bargain. Jason, and his partners are in the process of moving into their new office (a very impressive space) and he asked for one of my reflective percolators to hang above the coffee station that will be included in the waiting area. I completed it a few days ago, and will be sending him an image of it today. Hope he likes it.

After I completed the painting above, I began a really big (really big for me) pool ball painting. The dimensions of the canvas are 24 x 24. Each of the balls is about 14 inches in diameter. It's a strange experience, painting them that size. Essentially six times larger than my traditional compositions. I have to say, it looks kind of cool. Karen really loves it. It will take some time to complete, so I'll be putting up some "in progress" images. I'll post the first image tomorrow.

PB&J No.10

PB&J No.10

oil on canvas
18'' x 18"

Finally finished up the most recent PB&J. It's a little bigger than I usually go with bread, and sandwiches, but I think it still works pretty well. This is slated for a show in the fall at Anne Irwin Fine Art. Now, I'm finishing up my "bartered" piece, for our nephews new dental office. We delivered Karen's piece to the new office yesterday, and everyone was thrilled with it. I think it will definitely put the patients at ease, as they await their fates in the outer office. Once my contribution is complete, it's back to work for Wynne/Falconer.

Cherry Bowl No.5

Cherry Bowl No.5

oil on panel
6'' x 6"

This is a smaller, and subtly altered version of a cherry bowl composition I painted a couple of years ago for my now defunct Atlanta gallery. I always liked this image, and when I saw how much red paint I had left over from my most recent pb&j, I figured that I could use it for a cherry painting. I'll post the image of that pb&j in the next day or two. If you'd like to participate in the auction for this painting, you can bid by clicking here.

Cup and Spoon No.7

Cup and Spoon No.7

oil on panel
6'' x 6"

I have this ongoing quest to paint a simple piece of white porcelain accurately. To reproduce that wonderful milky translucent surface realistically. Duane Keiser is great at it, and I hope to one day approach his level of skill. This is a fun challenge, which has resulted in a large number of "cup" paintings, and I feel that I learn a little bit more with each attempt. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Half Perc No.3

Half Perc No.3

oil on panel
6'' x 6"

Of all my percolators, I think this Coffee Master is my favorite. Partly because it was a wedding gift to my parents in the early 50's, and as such inhabits my earliest memories, and partly because of its wonderful shape. The complete coffee maker is composed of two parts, and as yet I haven't painted it in its full configuration. I just love the look of each individual component on its own. Its Tweedle Dee shape, and mirror like surface combine to give you a terrific distortion of the percolators surroundings. One of these days I'm going to buckle down, and put the two pieces together, and paint a large version of the entire appliance. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here.

Holstein

Holstein

oil on panel
6'' x 6"

Viewing Karin Juricks recent set of blog posts, with her paintings of bucolic Lancaster Pennsylvania, and its famous population of Amish residents, got me in the mood to paint some livestock. It's no secret that I love painting cows, so I dug into my archive of photos searching for a suitable image. Years ago my dad had arranged for Karen and I to visit the University of Georgia's school of animal husbandry for the soul purpose of photographing their cows. We had a great time that day, just walking around the fields surrounded by these beautiful animals. This image came from that visit. I was specifically looking for a composition that had the cow looking directly at me. I thought this was a good one. If you'd like to bid on this painting you can access the auction by clicking here.

Honey Chair

Honey Chair

oil on panel
6'' x 6"

My schedule needed some modifying this week. I had been working on a larger piece for Anne Irwin Fine Art, but it needed extra drying time because of the quantity of red in the painting. I decided to get started on a small painting I was planning for my nephew, and now my new dentist, as a trade off for some (beautiful) dental work he had done for me. Karen and I are both contributing art for his groups new office space as payment for dentistry. What a great idea - bartering. Anyway, the first pass on that painting was completed before the AIFA piece was ready, so I figured I'd go ahead, and get busy on some ebay paintings.

Karen and I found this little chair in an antique shop here in town, and we both fell in love with its shape and honey colored finish, hence the title. Karen has painted it numerous times. This particular composition was "discovered" as I passed one of the bedrooms at Anna's Veranda, the victorian home we rented at Inlet Beach Florida back in February. The chair had been placed there the day before, and I came across this scene the following morning, just as the sun was clearing the horizon. I grabbed my camera, and started firing off shots. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

PaintBlog

I got an email this morning informing me that my work had been featured on an art blog called PaintBlog. I followed link, and then spent the next hour delving into its' archives. The site is run by Canadian artist Eric Cator. The piece below is one of his urban landscapes titled Alicia Motel. His spartan landscapes, and rooftops are outstanding.

Alicia Motel by Eric Cator

acrylic on wood
16'' x 16"

His site features a different artist each day. The post contains an image, and a brief subjective bit of text, which also includes links to the featured artist's site, and/or blog. The archives go back to January of 2008, and in the limited time I've spent on the site so far, I've already discovered a number of artists I'm anxious to add to my list. This is a well crafted site, and is a welcome addition to my list of other artists sites, such as Charlie Parker's Lines and Colors, Katherine Tyrrell's Making A Mark, and Artist A Day.

I'm approaching the finish line on the second PB&J slated for the fall show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. It should be complete in the next couple of days. After that I'll be working on another group of six by six ebay pieces, and then back to gallery work.

PB&J No.9

PB&J No.9

oil on canvas
12'' x 24"

I had so much fun painting this particular piece that I've decided to stay in this vein, and start another. No loaf this time, but continuing with the theme of the pb&j. It's an 18 x 18 focusing on the sandwich. This subject was requested by the owner of the Wynne/Falconer Gallery, and will be shipped up to Cape Cod. The painting I'm working on now will be included in a show scheduled for October at the Anne Irwin Gallery here in Atlanta.

Hamilton Beach - Model G

Hamilton Beach - Model G

oil on canvas
24'' x 24"

I finally finished up the latest Hamilton Beach Mixer, which I plan to offer to Stricoff Fine Art. I have now moved on to the next piece. Karen had been on my case lately to paint another loaf of bread, and Wynne Falconer recently expressed a desire for another pb&j, so I've got a new composition going which incorporates both of those elements. It's been a while since I've done a loaf of bread in cellophane, and it feels good to have one on the easel. I just completed my second day on it, and so far it's coming along nicely. I think I was biorhythmicly ready to do this particular painting.

Stacked Cups No. 3

Stacked Cups No. 3

oil on canvas
6'' x 6"

The final ebay painting for this week, is the third in what has become a series of stacked coffee cup paintings. Now it's back to the big mixer, which I hope to complete in the next day or two. That one has been a real bear, and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it will work out. If you'd like to bid on the cups above, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Electric Kettle

Electric Kettle
oil on canvas
6'' x 6"

I picked up this electric tea kettle on ebay a while back, and took a bunch of photographs, but haven't got around to painting it until now. I've selected a few good compositions from that lot for larger paintings, but thought I'd debut it here on ebay as a six by six. As you can see the kettle has this great dome shape, perfect for reflecting its' surroundings. Plus it has a wonderful decoesque handle. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. I think this is a good start, and I'm looking forward to painting it again on a larger scale down the line. If you'd like to bid on this piece, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Skull

Skull
oil on canvas
6'' x 6"

I have to admit that this particular painting was done strictly for pleasure, with no regards as to its' marketability. This little skull was used in one of the Chicago commissioned paintings, and I just wanted to paint it again. Skeletons are so beautiful to me, and as I have found out, really fun to paint. This is the third one I've done so far, and it was a real treat. I inherited this skull from Jeff and Leslie Cohen a number of years ago, and it resides on our bookshelf with my modest collection of artifacts from the natural world. I can't say for sure what animal it came from. I'm tempted to say that it was an Opossum, but I'm not positive. If there are any zoologists out there that can identify it, let me know. So, if you are one of those who is drawn to this type of subject, and would like to bid on this painting you can access the auction by clicking here.

Pears in the Sun

Pears in the Sun
oil on canvas
6'' x 6"

Working on this little painting took me back in time to my early days on ebay. While updating my website recently, I rediscovered many of my early ebay pieces, and they made me realize how much I missed those brightly lit pieces of fruit on the bench near our bay window. So, I decided to return to my roots, and paint a couple of sunny pears. I had forgotten how much fun it was to sink your paintbrush into a juicy pear.

Click here to bid on this painting.

Sack Lunch

Sack Lunch
oil on canvas
6'' x 6"

I decided to hang the big mixer up on the wall for a week. Let it dry following the second pass, and while that process is taking place, do a few ebay paintings. I know that I'm taking too much time on this mixer painting, but I want to get it right. After the first layer was complete for each of the five ebay paintings, I picked up on a subtle running theme. All but the final painting used the same color palette. This may be a good thing, or it may not. Nonetheless, that's how it worked out. I'm really drawn to "earthy" colors, ie. variations of olive green, browns and dark reds. I hope this weeks posts won't appear too redundant. I believe the variety of subject matter may help tone down the accumulative effect of those repetitive colors. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Dis-Connected

Vintage Percolator
oil on canvas
12'' x 16"

It's not unusual for me to go a week or more between blog posts, but this week scheduling was totally out of my control. Earthlink, in an attempt to correct some billing errors originating at their end inadvertently disconnected my internet service. I knew that "disconnection" was the most likely cause of my troubles, since the loss of service came about minutes after Earthlink took care of my problem. Having no other recourse to regain my service, I entered into the bowels of intercontinental tech support. Five days, multiple calls over seas, hours spent following cryptic unintelligible instructions, and several "live chats", accessed via the free wi-fi at my local coffee shop, they came to the conclusion that I needed a new modem. I was convinced that this was not the problem, but having reached the end of my rope, I agreed to have the modem shipped. The following day I received a call from tech support stating that they had discovered the problem. They had accidentaly disconnected my service at their end, but they were happy to report that our account had been reestablished, and that we should be back online. We were. The next day our new modem arrived.

While all of this was going on I took a break from the large mixer I've been working on to let the first layer dry, and returned to the painting above. I had started this well over a year ago, but never completed it. I thought, "maybe this would be a good time to finish this up". I hadn't worked on one of the old percolators in a while, and it was kind of a blast from the past to do one again. I haven't decided where it will go just yet. I'm trying to build up a store of paintings then figure out where they all should go.

I've also been working on some new ebay paintings. I've got the panels cut, primed and the drawings transferred. Once the big mixer is complete I'll get going on them. I plan to follow those with a pb&j slated for Wynne/Faconer. We'll see how it goes. This is my plan, as of today.

My Right Foot

My Right Foot
oil on canvas
12'' x 24"

Vacation is over, and it feels good to get back into the groove once again. I finally finished up this painting of one of my "dress" shoes. The right one I believe. It's from a batch of photographs I shot for the recently completed Chicago commission. While I was in the midst of composing the image for the theme of "Family" I took a number of shots of my shoes alone. I came up with quite a few compositions that work pretty well, and depending upon how this one is received, I hope to return to that folder of images, and paint more along this line in the future.

I'm currently working on another of my large (24 x 24) mixer paintings. I bought a really cool looking Hamilton Beach off of ebay a while back, and have been anxious to paint it. I finished the first pass today, and as always, I'm a little distressed about how it looks. This happens with every one of my paintings, so I'm remaining optimistic that it will turn out to my liking in the end. I haven't decided where I'll be sending either of these as yet. I may just stockpile a number of new paintings, then make the decision as to where to send them.

Out to Sea

The MS Holiday leaving the port of Mobile

I think this may have been my longest time frame between posts, but the Hollingsworth's have been at sea. Karen and I have discussed many times how it seems all we do it work. Pleasurable work, but work nonetheless. Even our vacations seem to always include a lot of time spent working on photography for future paintings, so Karen came up with a plan. The next time an opportunity to do something "fun" is presented to us, we'll stop what we're doing, and participate.

Jeff and Leslie Cohen and Karen the first day at sea

It wasn't long after that proclamation that we got a call from Jeff and Leslie Cohen with an inviation to come with them on a cruise. They got the cruise bug about a year ago, love it, and really wanted us to join them. I never saw myself as a cruise person, but they were convinced that if we tried it we'd be hooked. We had to make up our minds quickly, because they were leaving in like four days, so agreeing to abide by our vow to "do the next fun thing" we came aboard.


Key West from the Promenade Deck

The cruise was a short one. Mobile to Key West and back. The swine flu outbreak in Mexico had forced Carnival to rework many of their itineraries, so this cruise formerly scheduled to dock in Cozumel, was rerouted to Key West. Which was fine with us, since we had already been to Cozumel, and had never been to Key West.

The size of the ship was pretty impressive, but then the Cohens told us that it was one of the smaller ships in the fleet. It seemed big to me. The process of getting everyone on board at the terminal in Mobile worked like a well oiled machine, and in no time we were on board. Karen and I spent the next couple of hours checking out the vessel, tracking down Jeff and Leslie, and getting something to eat. Before we knew it we were underway.

Ernest Hemingway's studio

I must admit, heading out of Mobile into open ocean was pretty exhilarating. The water was smooth, an amazing deep blue, and the weather perfect for our voyage. That night, and the following day was spent doing some of the "cruisie" things, eating a lot of good food, and hanging out on the promenade deck just marveling at the sea. The next morning we awoke in Key West.

The one thing we all wanted to visit was the Hemingway House, so that was our first stop. I think Karen's favorite aspect of that visit were the many polydactyl cats that live on the grounds. As much as I enjoyed the cats, I think his studio was my favorite spot. I haven't read that much of his work, but there is something about viewing the space in which creative people work that intrigues me. We visited the Art and History Museum next, then it was back on board for lunch. After that Jeff, Leslie and Karen wanted to hit the beach to swim, while I wanted to continue my personal itinerary which included the Audubon House, and the Mel Fischer Museum. We all regrouped around five for our departure back to Mobile.


A view of the horizon on the way back to Mobile

The cruise back was very relaxed with a lot of the day spent just "chillin" on the promenade deck. All in all, I must admit that I had more than a pretty good time, and we plan to do this again in the future. It was nice to truly get away for a little while, and just "be". Next time I think it would be nice to head deeper into the Carribean, and do a little diving. Next time.

Relaxing on the way back to Mobile

Now we're back home, and that means back to work. I've got the better part of a small gallery painting done, and the drawing for a second ready to begin. I'll post the image of the first in the next day or two.

Pool Bowl No.11

Pool Bowl No.11
oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

My plan was to post this on Friday night, but it wasn't finished to my satisfaction. So, I decided to work on it some more over the weekend. I'm glad I waited. The additional work made a big difference. In addition to this I completed the update to my website, and also worked on drawings for new paintings intended for the galleries. The problem I'm having now is choosing my favorite compositions. Sometimes I have so many "good" images to choose from, that it's difficult to make the decision of which ones to actually paint. Or at least which one to do first. My internal dialogue usually starts with, does it satisfy my own creative needs, then works its' way into the compositions marketability, and potential to please the gallery. In the end, it's usually a combination of the three. Hope I make a good decision with this current batch. If you'd like to bid on the painting above, you can access the auction by clicking here.