Silverplate No.2

6 x 6 oil on hardboard panel

Before I tackle the "big cow", I wanted to get in another week of ebay paintings. I've got five going up this week, and I was thinking of doing another theme. I have a lot of metal in this weeks selections, but in the end I wound up throwing in a painting a bowl of pool balls, which pretty much put an end to that idea.

Yesterday I toned the canvas for the cow, with it's dimensions of 48 x 60. To put it mildly, I'm freaking out! This will be, by far, the largest painting I've ever done. If I can actually pull it off. No reflections with this one, just a whole lot of fur. Do cows have fur, or is it referred to as hair? Anyway, I'll keep you all posted on it's progress.

If you'd like to bid on the painting above, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Coke No.3

6 x 6 oil on hardboard panel

Again with the coke bottles. I just can't resist these colors, and the perfect complimentary pair. Red and Green. To bid on this painting you can access the auction by clicking here.

Flatware No. 3

6 x 6 oil on hardboard panel

The second painting going up this week is a new entry in my Flatware series. This time a full place setting. I love the patina on these old eating utensils. Great colors. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here.

A Christening Dress and some Watermelon

6 x 6 oil on hardboard panel

I wanted to work in a week of ebay paintings before I dove into the big cow I plan to do for Mason Murer. This first piece is a move away from my usual hard edged reflective type subject matter. Karen did a painting similar to this some time ago, and I thought it would be fun to try something with some texture for a change. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

12 x 16 oil on canvas

Speaking of Karen, she's decided to return to her roots, and do a few ebay paintings. She's been working on such large scale paintings for so long, she thought it would be fun to work on some smaller pieces for a change. Karen wasn't sure at first if she could scale down her vast library of reference photos to such a small size, but I convinced her that with some creative cropping, it was very possible. She quickly found this to be the case, and has had a great time this week working on these smaller compositions. She will be listing three paintings this week. One tonight, one tomorrow and the third on wednesday. If you'd like to participate in the auction for her painting, you can bid by clicking here.

just a couple of things

I'll be posting some new ebay paintings starting tomorrow, but in the meantime I wanted to mention a couple of things. A little while back I wrote how my online friend and art colleague Paul Coventry-Brown had his work used on the packaging for Winsor Newton canvas's. Well, I was visiting his blog yesterday and saw that one of his paintings is on the cover of the new Dick Blick catalog. He's an amazing artist, and it's not surprising that they would choose his work for their catalog. Congratulations Paul.

I was on the Elliot Fouts Gallery website the other day, checking the dates of the Still Life Show I'll be participating in in October, and realized that in addition to Paul Brown and Chris Stott, two more of my online art friends will be taking part in the show. Alvin Richard and Otto Lange will also be showing their work. Four great guys, and four top notch realist painters. I'm really excited to see what they all create for the show. There are many more artists involved, and I've put up a page on my website with links to all the participants. I think it's going to be pretty impressive. Click here to see all the artists websites.

And last but not least Karen has entered into the blogoshpere. I helped her get a site up (which still needs a little tweaking), but has two posts, and many more to come. If you'd like to visit her blog click here.

Dumbo: Completed

24 x 24 on hardboard panel

I feel like I've been working on this painting for ever, but Karen reminded me that I had spent much more time on other paintings I had done in the past than this. It was a labor of love, in that I had been saving this image, waiting for the right moment to paint it. I think it turned out pretty good. I could have futzed with it for a while longer, but decided to let it go as is. Anything else I would have done would probably be lost on the vast majority of those looking at it, and I didn't want to overwork it. I'll be shipping this out to Elliot Fouts Gallery in October for a still life show he's putting on. Two of my online colleagues, Chris Stott and Paul Brown, will also be part of the show. I can't wait to see what they will contribute.

Now it's onto some ebay paintings, and a small commission. When those are complete, I think I'm going to tackle a large cow. Something in the range of 30 x 48. If it happens, my largest painting to date. Yikes! I think it'll be fun. I love painting things with eyes.

On the Road Again: Asheville, NC

the front window of 16 Patton with Karen's painting on display

It's been hard to get any "work" done lately, because Karen and I have been on the road. We definitely consider ourselves homebodies, but now we've been on two short trips, out of town, in as many weeks. I think I can safely say, we're developing a taste for it. Tuesday morning we headed up to Asheville NC to deliver some of Karen's paintings to her new gallery 16 Patton. We've been to Asheville in the past to attend two opening night reception's of our friend Karin Jurick, who also shows her paintings at 16 Patton. Danna Anderson the owner of the gallery could not have been more welcoming. After a couple of minutes we felt like we had known her for years. She immediately put one of Karen's paintings in the front window, and seemed genuinely excited about showing her work. It was a good start to our visit.

the bicycling nun

We planned our trip to get there as early as possible tuesday, to maximize our time for wandering, since we would be leaving the following morning. It was a fun day. I have to say, Asheville is a wonderful place. For a couple of old hippies like ourselves, it really feels like we've gone back in time. Laid back would be a accurate word to describe the attitude of the place. Not a lot of suits and high heels. But, lots of vegetarian restaurants, street musicians, beards and tatoos. If we could swing it, Karen and I would move there in a heartbeat. Where else can you see a guy dressed like a nun riding a whacky bicycle down the main street. I saw him too late to get a good shot. It would have made a terrific photo.

facade of the S & W Cafeteria (possible painting)

We walked all day, stopping for food, iced coffee, and to visit most of the galleries in town. The artwork there was exceptional. Karen and I would occasionally pop back into 16 Patton as we strolled the city. On the first of those visits Danna said she had already given out three of Karen's bio's. At the end of the day we returned to our room at the Haywood Park Hotel to get cleaned up. It's a wonderful hotel that used to be a department store. Then we headed back out for dinner at a great restaurant called Doc Chey's Noodle House.

video of our evening walk around Asheville

After dinner, we hit the streets once more to experience some of the activities that take place in the evening. The weather was perfect, and there was a lot to see. I recently got a new camera that has the capability to shoot video, so I shot some of the night life. This is my first attempt at video, and put this together using Apple's iMovie. It's kind of clunky, but I think you can get a sense of the "life" there.

Now it's time to really get back to work and finish Dumbo.

A Quick Trip to Southeast Georgia

two of the herfords at sandbriar farms

I was talking with Mark at Mason Murer Gallery last week, and the conversation turned to some cow paintings I had done years ago. Mark told me that he really liked them, and that he thought that they could be a popular subject at his gallery. I had always enjoyed painting cows, and thought this could be an opportunity to return to them. I spent a good part of the next day online searching for cattle ranches in Georgia. I contacted those I thought had potential, and who would allow a stranger with a camera to wander around their fields photographing cows.

karen and her new friend

I hit pay dirt when I discovered Sandbriar Farms down in Statesboro. Kyle Knight the owner/operator of the ranch was very agreeable to my coming down, and spending as much time as I needed. We made arrangements to come down monday morning, and he would get us started. So, when monday rolled around Karen and I awoke around 5 a.m., and hit the road. It was a nice ride. We had two hot cups of coffee, Sissy Spacek reading Carrie on the iPod, and the cruise control engaged. I was a little concerned about the weather, there was a heavy overcast all of the way down. I was hoping for lots of sun. Fortunately just as we pulled into Kyle's driveway, the clouds broke.

Kyle showed us the pastures and pointed out all the gates, then set us free. It was blazingly hot, but the beauty of the location, and all those wonderful cows really took our minds off the temperature. There was also a family of burro's in one of the pastures. I've forgotten his name, Karen calls him Duncan, but the male took a shine to us, and was never more than a couple of steps behind. We wandered the pastures for a couple of hours, then felt we had achieved what we had come for. It was a great experience. Kyle could not have been more gracious. After we packed up our gear he took us over to his 1860's era house that he and his fiancé are restoring. It was gorgeous. A beautiful white clapboard home, surrounded by ancient oaks draped with spanish moss amidst 40 acres of peace and quiet. After our tour, we said our goodbyes, and Kyle directed us to the road heading on to Savannah.

view from our room

When we were planning this adventure we noticed that Kyle's operation was only an hour from Savannah, so Karen and I decided to spend the rest of the day there, do some more photography, and relax a little. We had booked a terrific hotel right on the river called the River Street Inn. Our room was beautiful, with a balcony overlooking the river walk. We're definitely staying there again on our next trip. The balance of the day was spent walking the streets and squares of Paula Deen's home town. We finished up the day with dinner at Huey's, and an evening stroll along the river walk. It had been a terrific day.

on the balcony of our room shooting the photo above

Karen and I spent the better part of the following day continuing our photographic tour of the city, then headed home around 3 pm. It was a wonderful little get away, and proved to be fruitful as well, in that we got a lot of good photos. The raw material for many future paintings.

Now it's back to Dumbo.

Painting in Progress: First Pass - Dumbo

24 x 24 oil on hardboard panel

As promised here is an in progress look at a painting I'm currently working on. I rarely post images of my work at this point in the process, because I'm usually not very happy with the painting at this stage. This is a fleshed out version of a similar painting I did at 6 x 6 some time ago, and always wanted to do again in a larger format. I came across this ride at one of those nomadic carnival's that pop up in shopping center parking lots. The little elephant was very reflective and in pretty good shape compared to most of the other rides. He also just looked so colorful and happy. I don't know how much appeal this subject will have with collectors, but I decided to do it anyway.

At the completion of the first pass, my under-paintings are always a bit muddy, and tend to be mostly in the mid-tone range. It usually takes two to three passes to "get it right". I was intending to send this to Elliot Fouts Gallery for a group show he's having in October. My problem is, he is planning to put an ad in American Art Collector showcasing the art of the participants, and the deadline is August 7. As slow as I paint, I'm not positive I can get this done by that date. Hopefully it will be done in time.

Miniature: Tomato

2 x 3 oil on hardboard panel

. . . and last but not least to finish off my week of miniatures, a gorgeous vine ripened tomato. This was selected from a bag of tomato's given to us by a good friend from his garden.

I've also just completed the first pass on a larger painting I've been working on. It's a 24 x 24 inch version of a six by six I did about a year ago. Every thing is blocked in, all in mid-tones. The first pass is always tough for me. The second and third layers, I have to say, are much more satisfying.

I'm also always convinced that I'm going to screw up a piece like this somehow before it's done, so I rarely post "in progress" images to my blog. I figured this time I'd take a chance, and put up the first stage. I've been putting off this particular composition for some time now, because I wasn't sure of it's mass appeal. I finally made the decision to go ahead, and just do it. For no other reason than I wanted to. This kind of attitude has come back to bite me in the arse in the past, but I figured what the hell. I'll post the image tomorrow.

If you'd like to bid/buy the Tomato, you can find it's listing by clicking here.

Miniature: Glass Sphere

2 x 3 oil on hardboard panel

Tonight it's a little crystal ball. These small paintings are a bit of a challenge, but I have to say, a little freeing too. I'm enjoying creating them. If you'd like to bid/buy this painting, you can find the auction by clicking here.

Miniature: Percolator

2 x 3 oil on hardboard panel

Wednesday's listing is one of my vintage percolators. Two more to go, then I think I may post an in progress image of the larger piece I'm currently working on. I haven't decided. If you'd like to bid/buy this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Miniature: Pool Balls

2 x 3 oil on hardboard panel

My second entry into miniature paintings this week is four pool balls. I hope this experiment works out, because my mind is really clicking away conjuring up new subject matter for these small paintings. If you'd like to bid/buy this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Miniature: Cherry

2 x 3 oil on hardboard panel

I'm borrowing an idea from Duane Keiser this week, and depending upon how successful it is, may continue to utilize it in the future. Duane's been doing a series of paintings he refers to as "oddment's" for sometime now, and I thought it was a great idea. I make a lot of my own panels from larger sheets of stock, and always have a bunch of pieces left over. These were too small to do anything with, I believed, then I discovered that Duane was using his "odd" pieces for very small paintings. So, I'm going to see if I can make use of my remnants as well. I've got five little paintings ready for this week, and we'll see how it goes. It was a nice break from the larger piece I'm currently working on, but now, it's time to get back to it. I'll be listing these small pieces a little differently than my usual 6 x 6 inch paintings. These small works will follow an auction style format, but with a smaller reserve, and the option to buy them outright for $150. To access the auction for this painting, you can bid/buy by clicking here.

Crystal Sphere

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

To cap off the week, a self portrait of sorts. This is my hand holding one of my little crystal sphere's. I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out. It's an image I've been hanging on to for a long time, and felt it was the right moment to finally paint it. I'll be starting a larger gallery painting tomorrow. It's pretty big (for me), so I'll be out of the loop for a while. Depending on how things go, I may post some in progress images along the way. If you'd like to bid on this painting you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Converse Hi-Tops

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

I've been wearing Converse "Chuck Taylor All Star's" for well over thirty years. As soon as one pair wears out, it's out to find another one. One day I was working up some new still life compositions using a new chair that Karen had just purchased. I decided to put my shoes on the seat, and found them to be a worthy subject. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Goblet

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

Tonight I've got one of my little silver goblets, sitting on the wrapping paper it came packaged in. They have the perfect shape for getting the reflection of the entire room. I have three of these goblets, the other two are visible on the right-hand side opposite the window. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Milk and Cookies

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

Next up this week is a bottle of milk with a few chocolate chip cookies. Those ole timey milk jugs had such a great, iconic shape. I've had this jug for quite a while, and painted it numerous times, but I never get tired of it. If you'd like to bid on this piece, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Coke No.2

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

I'm currently gathering images for gallery paintings, and in addition to that, I have also been working on another group of ebay paintings. First up, a Coke bottle. The paintings this week will have some familiar subjects, and some new stuff as well. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can click here.

Edible Week: Black Grapes

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

. . . and finally for edible week, a glass bowl filled with black grapes. I know that I tend to use this phrase too much, but "I love", painting these grapes. There is so much character, color and texture in each of these berries, that every one is like a new subject. This will be the end of the theme oriented paintings for a while, but it was fun, and I may try it again down the road. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here.

Edible Week: Red Snapper

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

My apologies to any ichthyologists out there if I've mislabeled this creature, but I'm pretty sure this is a Red Snapper. If I'm wrong please let me know. For most of my life the subject of my artwork was always animals, and always in watercolor, so when I decided to do "edible week" I saw it as an opportunity once again, to paint something with eyes. I found this specimen at the local farmers market, and thought it was really beautiful. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Edible Week: Jelly Cracker

6x6 oil on hardboard panel

White flour and grape jelly twice in one week is a bit much I know, but I used to love eating grape jelly on saltine crackers as a snack. That salty/sweet thing was really satisfying, so I thought for food week I'd do a painting of a treat from the past. Plus I love that jewel like quality of the jelly. To bid on the painting, click here.

Edible Week: Granny Smith's

6x6 oil on hardboard

Tonight I'm traveling way back to my ebay roots. Back to a time before I became so preoccupied with the specifics of things, and produced a more "compositional" type of painting. Utilizing more of the surrounding elements, and not focusing so much on the thing. I'm not dissing what I do now, but I have to admit, from time to time, I get a serious jones to show more of the setting. So, I painted this bowl of apples. I must say, I really enjoyed working on this painting. It offered me a chance to get a little looser, than I usually work, and just have fun with it. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Edible Week: PB&J with Milk

6 x 6 oil on hardboard

Themes have never been a part of my ebay listings in the past, but I thought I'd continue the idea of a theme for one more week. My last group of paintings fell under the heading of glass, and this week the theme will be edible items. I'm starting off the week with a favorite subject, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This piece has the added component of a glass of milk. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Win a Mouse!

Before I get back to my artwork (I've got five new ebay pieces I'll be posting starting Monday evening) I wanted to give Steve Worthington one more plug, and let you know about a contest he's got going. Steve has created three new "mid-sized" turtles, but hasn't got names for them. The person who comes up the perfect name for each of these creatures will win a mouse. My purpose here isn't entirely altruistic, because anyone with a blog who promotes the contest, gets his name put into the hat as well. The image below shows all of Steve's mice, and the winner can choose either Sprightly, Nosey or Chubby. As I mentioned in the previous post, I have one (Nosey) already, and it's wonderful. If you'd like to take part in the contest, you can click here for more info. Have fun, and good luck!

From upper right counter-clockwise to lower right: Natty, Nosey, Tidy, Chubby, Sprightly, Tiny

Nosey

9 x 7 oil on hardboard

I was recently approached by Steve Worthington to participate in a project he was putting together to raise funds for animal shelters. Steve is an awesome sculptor, who creates wonderful bronze animals. You should check out his site, and look for his Sumo Toads their fantastic. His idea was to approach a number of artists (I think he was looking for about 20) to paint some of his mice, then those paintings would be assembled into a book, the proceeds of which would be donated to support animal shelters. So far I've seen the contributions of Michael Naples (scroll to post April 3), Carol Marine (scroll to post April 28), Jelaine Faunce and Jeff Hayes, and they are all terrific. The painting above is my contribution. I didn't give it a title, but the name of the mouse is Nosey. When the book is complete, I'll put up another post with all the information pertaining to it. I can't wait to see all of the other paintings. Hope it raises a lot of cash for the critters.

Frank Frazetta 1928 - 2010

Frank Frazetta died a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge his passing. I don't need to get too wordy, because anyone who is familiar with his work, and appreciates it, already knows all they need to know. On a personal note I do want to say that when I first discovered his work in the mid sixties, it literally hit me like a ton of bricks, and it's effect has never diminished. His imagination, sense of composition, and mastery of painting technique has been an inspiration to me for forty years. Frazetta's work, in the field of fantasy illustration has been imitated ad nauseum, but in my opinion never equaled.

A few more classic illustrations:

Thanks Frank.

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.