Engine # 6

Every once in a blue moon, we make something that I step back and see and say "that's exactly what I had hoped to do". I finished a piece this week that was one of those. She's called 'Steam Engine' (oil on linen, 36" x 48"). Mine and Genna's layers married just right here and I think additionally I broke some new ground with my treatment of the foliage in the upper right quadrant. It's also a lot of intricate work that I think reads as easy and whole. Yay!

I just looked up how often a blue moon is and it says approximately once in 3 1/2 years. So, maybe I make something that really tickles me two or three times in a blue moon!

Here's the last piece that made me really happy:


'New Truck', oil on linen, 36" x 36"

I made it about a year ago and have it hoarded up hanging in my living room.

patterned couple, (couple a day #2)

Hi guys,

Here we are with my 'couple a day' numero dos...counting down to Valentines Day. I've been sitting on the reference photo for this one for ages and finally felt like I was up to the challenge of her striped dress (which is really the whole point of the painting). I'm into the patterning thing right now, reference yesterday's "Beautiful Music".

This is "Patterned Couple", oil on masonite, 16" x 12", framed in black, $400 (sold).

See you tomorrow!

coming up for air

We're entering winter...usually the time when Genna and I both kick into coast mode, slow down our travel and rest after our fall season. Not so this year! Genna is still up to his eyeballs in pots 12-13 hours a day (540 down, about 90 to go) and I'm still going full steam in preparation for Telfair in Savannah, the Christmas commission season, and our solo show at 16 Patton.

Speaking of which, thank you to everyone who sent in submissions for our second installment of the "Inspiration Project". My fave image so far (above) was made from my friend and fellow artist Steve Frenkel's submission. I'm calling it 'Railmen'. It's a 20" x 30" oil on linen. Voting for everyone else's faves will begin in a few weeks. Here's one of Steve's fantastic acrylics that I'm proud to say is part of my budding collection:



It's a 12" square called "Hourloupe Dry Cycle". Steve and I met while we were both showing at Opus One Gallery in Atlanta. He is an incredibly talented and dedicated artist. Check out more of his work online at www.stevefrenkel.net.

I have so many more things I wanna tell everyone about...Nastiya's first commission, Genna's pot progress, my first festival experience without him (I hope it was also the last!)...but right now I have to get back to work. Cross your fingers for me.

variations on a theme

I have been a professional painter, working within the same basic thematic parameters for the last dozen or so years. While I am constantly looking for new found photos to treat as paintings, there are a handful of images I have returned to over an over during this time. I've come to think of these as 'touchstones' for me...familiar compositions within which I can concentrate purely on new techniques or palettes.

I was looking through the 'archived' (read: sold) painting files on my computer today and decided to visit one of my 'touchstone' lines all the way back. Wow. I can't believe how much my work has changed. I suppose it's like watching your children grow. Each day they're a little bigger, so you don't notice so much until you see a picture of them 5 years before, or maybe try to put on their winter shoes from the year before.

Here are some of my "Communion After Confirmation" paintings, in roughly chronological order, oldest first.

I believe the first one was made around 1999? The most recent was just made withing the last two months (she is the still available "Dinner on the Grounds", oil on linen, 24" x 30", $900!). Genna's participation kicked in around #5.

As you can see, there is a huge stylistic shift between #'s three and four. I think the main reason for that is that I changed from sketching with paint and a brush to sketching with charcoal, allowing for a much more accurate and angular drawing.

Working with Genna also brought on another big change in my working habits as I went from creating texture and interest with brushwork to 'harnessing' the visual texture already there with the busier underlayers. My technique has become much crisper and cleaner overall.

There are techniques in the earlier works I sometimes wish to have back, but I suppose it makes better sense to look ahead to what's next. "Communion After Confirmation" 2015 will likely be a much different animal!