time . . . . less.

Today is a reminder to get painting and keep painting until things are done. . . . . . and new ideas are explored.


There will be a few new paintings and some sketches up on the blog later in the week, so check back.

I have three new still-life paintings on the website.

Also, don't forget to peruse the November Issue of Southwest Art Magazine.

New Representation

As another month seems to fly by, and the Fall gives way to Winter, I have been getting a few new paintings prepped for two new galleries that will represent my work.

I am happy to have my paintings in The Peterson-Cody Gallery in Santa Fe,NM.



The Peterson- Cody Gallery, LLC specializes in fine contemporary realism.

At any given time, the Gallery represents the work of 25- 30 high quality North American artists working in a variety of media including oil, acrylic, gouache, pastel, bronze and hand-forged steel.

It is nice to be working with the great folks at The Peterson Cody Gallery. I will be participating in a series of shows through 2010 and will be detailing those here on the blog.




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In Raleigh, I will have new still-life paintings this month at Adam Cave Fine Art.



Adam Cave Fine Art is an exhibition gallery representing a select group of regional and nationally known painters, printmakers & photographers. His approach to keeping a tight-knit group of artists with a diverse subject matter (and mediums) should always be fresh and interesting. I feel it is important to play an active role in my 'new,' local Arts community and I am glad I will get a chance to show my work in Downtown Raleigh.



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I thought this blog was to show the inner mechanisms of my creative process and the art I wouldn't put on the website?
Sadly, I have to inform you that that is false. All I am going to do is put on news bulletins. . . . the art will cease to exist as I constantly tell the Internets about my events taking place. Which will actually become my new form of 'conceptual' art. I won't actually use oil paint let alone produce a tangible object. I'll become a celebrity artist and have other people paint my work. Then take credit for it.

So, check back and see what my new "staff members" crank out for me, while I fly around the world and have one man shows in Shanghai, London, and New York all at the same time!

Southwest Art Magazine Cover, November Issue.

I know the image is tiny so I will explain what it is below.

Southwest Art Magazine has chosen me as the first prize winner for a feature on:

' 21 Artists Over 31' - Talented Artists You Need To Know.

It is a tremendous honor to be showcased with a host of artists who are all very accomplished. I have seen a few images from the feature, however, I have not seen it in person, so I can't speak anymore about the greatness you will witness from the other artists. From what I have seen, it should provide a breadth of variety and different perspectives on art. In all honesty, I don't know how I was chosen above 2000+ artists who sent in their paintings. I'd just like to say thank you to the good folks over at Southwest Art and those putting the feature together.

Along with being in the feature and having an interview in the interior, my painting was also selected for the cover. The image is a cropped section of a more horizontal and panoramic interior of Grand Central Station. It comes as a great accolade and holds significant personal meaning for me. Here is a preview for the article:

http://artistsblog.artistsnetwork.com/Southwest+Art+Announces+21+Over+31+Winners.aspx


I look forward to flipping through the feature and see a wealth of other talented artists.

It's been too loooooooooooooooooong . . . . .

The new studio is up and running which has given me the space to paint, paint, paint. I had to dive right in on three commissions that collectors up in the PNW were waiting on.

Here is the first. It is oil on board at 8"x24". The long vertical format was a challenge. To fit the differing elements in there to make it feel like a real place in Grand Central I had to tweak things. As I have progressed through this series I have come to prefer changing, exaggerating, and faking the interior architectural layout. If you visit the station you will be able to tell that I move things as needed to fit my idea, first, and the design, second, or is it the other way around. Hmm.


I have settled quite nicely into my new southern lifestyle, and there will be more paintings coming soon.

Plus I will put up on the blog something real soon about purchasing sketches and small watercolors for a project that is in the works. They will be cheap and have plenty of variety in subject matter. More to follow.

Studies

Here are studies in gouache I have done in prep for two 15"x15" commissions. Each study is four by four inches roughly.

They will sit to one side of a larger painting I had done previously for this collector. The perspective has been skewed and exaggerated to follow the style we set up in the first painting. I'm trying to make a super-hero out of static buildings and objects.

Normally I would have done a few monochromatic studies but after the move all I had available to me was the gouache at the time. Although the colors don't directly translate to oils, these will give me a good idea of how the finals will look.

I'll post the finals when I get them completed.

Now Live! from the the East Coast . . .

Well, finally I am getting back to a routine after moving 3000 miles away, and starting again with my art in beautiful Raleigh, NC. I could do without the massively large, like carry your small children off large, bugs, however, I am even getting use to those. From what I understand the state bird is the mosquito.

I would like to thank those of you who have been leaving messages on the blog. They have been brilliant and I will get to respond to those of you, now that I am getting settled.

Illustration is my first love. Last fall I was teaching a gouache painting techniques class for the illustration department at PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) in Portland. I have always liked gouache and have posted numerous examples on the blog. I tend to treat the medium much like I treat oils. It's good for going on location or working from a model where I am looking for shapes and color relationships. I don't necessarily ever come to a "finish" with these things, or they are just so quick that I never spend more than a couple of hours on them.

I recently read an article about Van Gogh and his famous ear, or lack of one. Although, he was mentally unstable and did untold number of weird things, like eating cigarette butts while out painting on location, there is a new theory on what happened to his ear. Gaugin did it! He lopped it off in a scuffle over a prostitute, that they both apparently were courting. The two were roommates above a brothel and Gaugin was well known for carrying a little saber with him at all times. If you want to read more I have included a link below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/may/04/vincent-van-gogh-ear

I thought it was good subject matter to explore and I felt I could provide some foreshadowing to the article with my treatment of the image. A final would have to be done in oils but this got me mostly to my initial idea. As with all preliminary work it has a few small things to iron out.



The following two image are simply two ten minute color studies. Where I have pushed some more brilliant, pure color is where I noticed reflected light really influencing the flesh tones.





Again I'll get this blog thing rolling more regularly now and thanks for showing up.

OPA Western Regional

2009 OPA Western Regional Show
My painting "Dreams of Near and Far" was juried into the Oil Painters of America 2009 Western Regional Show.

This year the showcase gallery is the Howard Mandville in beautiful Kirkland, WA.

Howard Mandville Gallery
120 Park Lane, Suite D
Kirkland ,WA 98033

Show Preview: Aug. 6th
Exhibition Dates:
Aug.8th - Aug. 30th.

www.howardmandville.com

There are always a lot of very good artists in these shows, please stop in at see the work.