Friends, Heroes and Strangers: Nigel Cox at GX

Nigel Cox is an artist living in London, and who is represented there by GX Gallery. We correspond from time to time. Lately we've been comparing notes on the progress leading up to our respective October openings. Nigel's show opened on Friday the 23rd, and was by all accounts a huge success. Attendance was, "full to capacity", and by the end of the evening he had sold nine paintings. All of the paintings shown in the image above. Karen and I are big fans of his paintings, and if you're not familiar with his work you should check out his blog and website. Congratulations Nigel on your well deserved success!

As for me, I've spent the entirety of the last eight days doing nothing but photography, and I'll probably spend a day or two more before I get back to painting. I have to say that I'm really itching to get back to the easel. It doesn't take more than a few days before that "need" to paint reaches the urgent state. I imagine I'll start with a group of ebay pieces, then get back to work for the galleries.

My Interview with Jim Thalassoudis

Jim Thalassoudis an accomplished, and extremely talented landscape painter from Australia contacted me a few days ago to see if I would be interested in participating in an interview for his art blog, In the Real Art World. He wanted to spotlight the work from my current show at Anne Irwin Fine Art, and flesh out the post with an interview. I was more than happy to oblige. If you'd like to read the interview you can access the post by clicking here. Thanks Jim!

Anne Irwin Debut

some of the paintings from the show at Anne Irwin Fine Art

The debut show of my work at Anne Irwin Fine Art was friday night. Anne, Tiffany and Sybil had done a beautiful job hanging the paintings. My loyal cadre of intrepid friends, and family braved a rather cold drizzly night to attend, and show their support. They were augmented by a modest, but extremely warm, and friendly band of gallery goers. Each of them eager to let me know how much they admired my work. They were all very sweet, and it was great to hear so many favorable critiques. Listening to these positive comments really helps to substantiate ones hope that what you do is working. A constant question in the back of my mind. It's also wonderful to hear that your work affects people in such a positive way. It doesn't get much better than observing an art patron walk up to one of your paintings, and react with a smile.

p.s. I also sold a painting that night. The Half Perc.

Coke Crate No.2

coke crate no.2

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

. . . and finally this week, the other half of a coke crate I painted a couple of years ago. The crate was sitting on top of a weathered metal cooler embossed with the coca cola logo, just outside a "chuck wagon" style fast food vendor in Seaside Florida. I always liked the first version I painted of this composition, and knew that one day I'd revisit it. If you'd like to bid on this painting, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Cherry Plate

cherry plate

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

Cherries. There is something special about this succulent little fruit. It's beautiful, tastes really great, and it's one of my favorite things to paint. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here to take part in the auction.

Couple

couple

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

Back to the commission themes once again. His shoe, her shoe. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here to participate in the auction.

Blocks No.3

blocks no. 3

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

I thought I'd try the blocks on an ebay auction, and see if anyone bites. I really like this particular subject, and this would give me another reason to paint them. If you'd like to bid on this painting, click here to take part in the bidding.

PB&J No. 12

pb&j no. 12

oil on hardboard panel
6'' x 6"

I've got a new batch of ebay paintings coming up this week. Starting off tonight with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'm very happy with the use of the negative space on this one, borrowing the idea from the half perc below. I love funky crops. Once these five are all up, I'll be getting to work on new paintings for Stricoff Fine Art. The corporate commissions early in the year, and preparing for the show at Anne Irwin Fine Art forced me to set them on the back burner. So the next few months will spent getting them some new work. If you'd like to bid on the painting above, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Half Perc

Half Perc

oil on hardboard panel
12'' x 12"

My plan was to complete two more paintings for the October show at Anne Irwin Fine Art, but alas, "the best laid schemes o' mice and men, gang aft agley". Time just ran out, so this will be the final piece. Eleven paintings is not too bad actually, considering the brief amount of time I had to get ready. I've done this "half perc" before for ebay in a much smaller format. It was nice this time to paint it larger, and include the wonderful deco engraving on the front. Now, I'll get busy on some new ebay paintings, and once those are all on the auction block I'll be working on photography. I've been actively procuring new items from ebay for future paintings, and I'm looking forward to some fresh compositions, and a few new subjects.

Espresso Cup

Espresso Cup

oil on hardboard panel
12'' x 12"

I've been painting coffee cups like this for years now. I've been on a quest to capture that elusive translucent quality of the ceramic surface. I feel I get a little closer with each new attempt, and one of these days I'm going to nail it.

This piece gave me a lot of trouble when it came to photographing the finished painting. I'm still not happy with the final image, but after nearly an hour of phutsing with it in Photoshop, I felt it was acceptable. Photographing the final painting, and producing an accurate likeness is a real challenge. I've been modifying my technique over the years, and have yet to come up with a foolproof method. As with the technique for painting ceramic, I hope to, one of these days, develop a system that consistently results in a faithful reproduction.

Pool Bowl No.10

Pool Bowl No.10

oil on hardboard panel
12'' x 12"

I don't think I could put together a group of paintings for a show, and not include at least one painting of my ubiquitous pool balls. Pool Bowl No.10 will be that one for the October 16th show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. At this point there are still a couple of weeks before I run out of time to add more work. I've got one on the easel now, and I'm going to attempt to squeeze in one more. This will be my first show since the demise of Twinhouse, and I have to admit I'm a little nervous. I think I've put together a pretty good group of paintings, just hope people show up opening night.

Red Shoes

Red Shoes

oil on hardboard panel
12'' x 12"

As with the painting of the blocks below, this portrait of a woman's red shoes, also comes from a batch of photos I created for a recent corporate commission. I shot hundreds of images for that job, but only used four. That left me with a surplus of really good compositions, that I still wanted to paint. Red Shoes, as well as an earlier painting titled My Right Foot, will represent shoes in the October show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. If they prove to be a popular subject, I'll be happy to return to them again. If they don't, I'll shelve those images in hopes of returning to them at a later date. Now I'm onto another 12 x 12 also planned for the fall show. In fact most, if not all, of what I'll be working on during the month of September, will be headed to Anne Irwin. Opening night is scheduled for the 16th of October, so I've still got a little time to flesh it out.

Blocks

Blocks

oil on hardboard panel
18'' x 18"

I knew when I created many of the images I used for the Chicago commission I would be returning to them for gallery work. I'm not sure how they will be received by the art going public, but I'm very fond of many of those compositions. These blocks in particular are one of my favorites. It's headed to Anne Irwin Fine Art for the October show along with the cherries below. The Dick Blick panel I painted this on was wonderful. I only wish they came in larger sizes. I think if I could find all of the sizes I need, I wouldn't use anything else. Ampersand makes a pre-primed panel called "gessoboard" that does come in a wider variety of sizes, so I'm going to give them a try, and see how it takes paint.

The first pass on the ladies red shoes is done, and while it's drying I need to get going on my next painting. One of the most difficult aspects of this career, for me, is deciding on which composition to do next. Occasionally it's necessary to bring in an outside source to break a tie. Karen and I usually provide that service for one another.

Cherry Bowl No.6

Cherry Bowl No.6

oil on gallery wrap canvas
12'' x 12"

I finally finished the cherry bowl, along with a second, larger painting, which I'll post an image of tomorrow. These will be part of an October show I'll be sharing with another artist at Anne Irwin Fine Art here in Atlanta. I'm currently working on a pair of ladies shoes, and have drawings done for a number of other paintings to be included in that show. The opening is scheduled for October 16th, and I'm working quickly to get as many pieces done as I can prior to that date.

Pool Bowl No.7

Pool Bowl No.7

oil on hardboard panel
5.5'' x 5.5"

. . . and last but not least a bowl of pool balls. This completes the weeks ebay offerings. I recently did a tally of all my pool ball paintings, and this will be number 26. It's been a joyful run, and I think a subject that still has some life left in it. I'll be shipping the large pool balls up to Wynne/Falconer on monday, where I hope a collector will give it a good home. I'm also nearly done with the first pass on my next gallery piece for Anne Irwin Fine Art. I should mention that I am delighted with the surface of the Dick Blick pre-primed panel I'm using for that piece. It's wonderful. If you get the urge to bid on the painting above, you can take part in the auction by clicking here.

Half Loaf

Half Loaf

oil on hardboard panel
5.5'' x 5.5"

Karen has made it clear to me that I should have a bread painting in the works at all times. She's a fan of my bread paintings, so I've done a small one for this weeks auction offerings. I cropped this one tight, diving right into the heart of the loaf. It's an unusual composition, but I believe it really works. In fact I'm thinking of doing it again down the line in a larger format. If you'd like to bid on this painting you can access the auction by clicking here.

Milk Jug

Milk Jug

oil on hardboard panel
5.5'' x 5.5"

This little milk jug pops up from time to time. It's been a while since I painted it, but thought it was time to visit it once more. There is something about the convoluted top of this glass bottle that really excites me. The patterns of light, and color produced by the shape of the glass is so beautiful. Bidding for this painting can be accessed by clicking here.

My Shoe

My Shoe

oil on hardboard panel
5.5'' x 5.5"

Next up this week is a spin off of one of my commissioned paintings. I liked a lot of the photography I did for those, and planned at the time to eventually incorporate some of those images in future gallery and ebay paintings. One of my favorite themes were the shoes, and so I've come back to those. I love painting them, and I'm hoping they prove to be popular, so I can do more. You can access this auction by clicking here.

PB&J No.11

PB&J No.11

oil on hardboard panel
5.5'' x 5.5"

In between passes on my current cherry bowl painting I've been working on five new pieces for auction on ebay. Up first this week is the eleventh in a series of peanut butter and jelly sandwich paintings. A favorite theme of mine, "borrowed" years ago from a piece I saw painted by Duane Keiser. Hopefully, by the time these are all listed I'll have completed a version of the cherry painting I'm happy with. This one, for some reason, has been really kicking my butt. I've also begun a new painting slated for the October show at Anne Irwin Fine Art. I'm using a 16 x 16 pre-made panel from Dick Blick for that one. I'm curious to see how this surface takes the paint. If you'd like to bid on the painting above, you can access the auction by clicking here.

Pool Balls No.6

Pool Balls No.6

oil on gallery wrap canvas
24'' x 24"

I finished up the big pool balls a couple of days ago, and I think the painting turned out pretty nice. It was encouraging to complete an over-scale painting, and be pleased with the results. I haven't decided exactly where it will be going just yet, but it will probably wind up at Wynne/Falconer. The cherries painting is still a work in progress, and I'm wading into my next five ebay paintings. I should begin listing them next monday evening.