recent acquisitions

One of my favorite things about traveling the 'art fair circuit' is the opportunity to add to my own little art collection. I thought you might like to see who I brought home from our last outing. The pictures are not of exactly what I bought, just works by that artist.

In Atlanta I picked up a charming little watercolor of a woman mooning a penguin by Rhode Island funny man Greg Stones. Its title is 'penguin, woman, bum'. This one is 'penguin, sock monkey, death'...



In Birmingham I made two purchases and two trades. My buys were a little drawing/mono print piece by Mark Traughber (this is my actual piece)...



and a sculpture by Joan Rasmussen whose website is beautiful and won't let me steal her pictures.

My trades were a fantastic robot with a spy glass by Anthony Pack (who I couldn't find a website for). His business is called 'Urban Folk Art' if you'd like to google him.



and a large painting by my all time art crush Kathrine Allen-Coleman.



Check them out so they won't be mad at me for using their images here without their permission!

show updates...we won!

Hello everyone! Many thanks to all of our new friends and dedicated collectors that made our 'Dogwood' and 'Magic City' great shows. We were delighted to be honored with awards at both shows...best in category for the former and a merit award for the latter.

Special thanks to our friend David D. in Atlanta who took home my personal favorite from our most recent collection, "Masters of the Universe" (oil on linen, 48 x 36). David is the best.

Magic City was a challenge as Saturday's forecast called for 'strong storms with the possibility of damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes.' Huh. Show director Eileen made the very wise decision to shut the show down for Saturday, so Friday night we packed it all up. Sat. we went to the art museum (excellent) and the movies (date night, also excellent) then Sunday we had to set everything back up again for the day, work the show, and then break down again that night.

I'm tired.

We're finishing up a project today and tomorrow that I can't tell you about yet. It's a secret...maybe next week. Then we're on the road again for a whirlwind trip...Asheville to pick up work, Kansas City for a show, Knoxville to drop off for a gallery show, home for two days, back to Knoxville for the reception, on to Jackson GA that same night to set up for a festival, then home. Holy cow...beer me stamina.

Hoping to see you all somewhere soon!

OH, OH, OH Ps. I forgot to tell you that Genna and I are headed to Sausalito CA this September for our very first west coast show. I have no idea how to do this, so if you're an artist and you've done it before, I'd love to hear any advice.

new neutrals

I know its hard to tease out from our work what is mine and what is Genna's, but if you can you realize quite quickly that my palette is actually quite restrained. Most of the cacophony of color in our pieces emanates out from the underpainting.

In a few of our newest pieces, I am employing an almost completely neutral over painting. For example, here is our new "Upright Tarpon" (48" x 24"), finished day before yesterday:


If you look closely, my layer is almost entirely grey, black, tan, and taupe.

Another new one from this week (Boy Line, Bike Tangle, 48" x 36") sports a brand new color that I don't think I've ever touched before...a soft, peat-y, bunny rabbit brown that I think everyone will be seeing more of:



Have a beautiful day everybody!

reservoir dogs

In Houston at the Bayou City show a few weeks ago, a prospective client told me that my newest piece, "Striding Plaid Foursome" (oil on linen, 36" x 60"), reminded him of Reservoir Dogs. I can't tell you how much I loved this comment as the reference for this work made me think of every cool, slow-mo 'guys walk toward the camera to an awesome song' movie scene. Those get me every single time, from R. Dogs to The Right Stuff to Swingers to my recent favorite, Paul Rudd and his rag tag groomsmen in I Love You Man.

Did I just tell too much about myself?

Anyway, I came back from Houston and had to make another. Here is "Boardwalk" (oil on linen, 36" x 60", $2800):



and here is the progression of the plaid foursome:

back in the saddle

Finally...finally today I had the stamina to get in a full day of painting. I don't know how long this is for other artists, but for me its around four hours. That sounds kind of wimpy when I say it out loud, don't tell my parents.

So, I'm pleased to report that I was able to reconnoiter my 'fig tree confidential' diptych to my satisfaction. As I mentioned in my last post, I thought I was finished with the diptych on Friday but was not happy with the results.

The layering process that Genna and I use doesn't allow for a lot of 'adjustments'. If I lay down an image and it doesn't work, I generally have to re-gesso the canvas and start over. Foggy as I was, I didn't think to photograph my 'disappointment diptych', so here's the verbal gist: I booh-boohed the composition by making up a bunch of shapes in the left hand piece to mirror the forms in the right hand corner of the right hand panel. It was super boring. The beauty of the inspiration photo was in the dramatic amorphous mass of leaves behind the couples.

I considered scrapping the left hand panel altogether and finishing off the right one as an independent work, but Genna suggested 're-underpainting' the background of the left piece and going again. So that's what I did. Here it is re-underpainted,

And here it is completely finished:

I hope I've done Mr. Buchanan's original image justice. My homage is "Fig Tree Diptych", two panels each 36" square oil on linen framed in black, $3500.

fig tree confidential, panel 2

I went to the doctor yesterday for the first time in about 12 years. It was nearly as fun as I remembered. They gave me a steroid shot and a z-pack scrip (which seems to be the treatment for just about everything anymore) and today I would say I'm back up to about 60% of myself. Such a relief after wandering around at about a 30 for a week!

But enough about me, you're here for the 'amish sexy' diptych update, right?

Here are the two underpainted panels, each 36" square linen:



That right hand panel is actually an "underpainting's underpainting". It's the acrylic wash step before Genna adds the oil wash layer. I liked it so much at this stage I snuck in and took it from his studio before he could take it any further.

Here if you click it and look closely I think you can see the drawing:



And then here is the progression of the right hand panel:








I actually finished the left hand panel today, put them together, and said 'bummer'. I think I have the solution figured out but don't want to show you until I fix it! Maybe Monday.

amish-y sexy

Hi all. After a week long struggle with a nasty chest cold, I'm kinda sorta halfway back in the studio. My energy level is around a 5, but I'm level 10 excited about my newest project.

I'm embarking on my third diptych which I'm calling 'Amish Sexy Diptych' in my mind but will actually probably be "Fig Tree Diptych". The inspiration image shown above is from the fabulous book "The Picture Man", edited by my friend and fellow artist Ann Hawthorne. Ann is a talented and much respected photographer who researched and then befriended NC itinerant photographer Paul Buchanan before his death. She obtained permission to reprint his beautiful photos from their original negatives and has put together a stunning book and several traveling exhibitions with the results. Mr. Buchanan traveled throughout rural North Carolina from the 1920's through the early '50s photographing locals for a little money or for barter. While they were not meant at the time to be art photos, their art is undeniable.

Anywho. I find this particular image wonderfully sensual. It's two embracing couples, but they're also posed in front of this mass of fig leaves, mimicing their entwined arms. I google image searched 'fig leaves' and all kinds of sexy stuff popped up...twisted branches and leaves, cut figs (ahem.), naked statue's covered up privates, and for some reason a bunch of ladies in lingerie. But these folks are dressed from head to toe, so 'amish sexy'.

If I can hold it together for a few more hours today, hopefully I'll have the progession of the right hand work for you tommorrow. I wonder why I always start with the right one?