Thursday, January 31, 2008

Hula Girl #2 (private collection)


Hula Girl #2, oil on canvas, 4" X 4", 2008
(private collection)

You should learn something from every painting. I've tackled this subject before, and what I should have learned then, was what I learned this time: this figure is too small (for me anyway) to paint actual size. Next time, I'll paint it a little larger...

(note: the image you see here is actually larger than the painting itself...)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Butterfly on the Wall (sold)


Butterfly on the Wall, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008

sold

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Done (sold)


Done, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Monday, January 28, 2008

Box (sold)


Box, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Popcorn


Popcorn, oil on canvas, 4" X 4", 2008
$100 USD

e-mail me for purchase information

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Foo Dog Vase (sold)


Foo Dog Vase, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Friday, January 25, 2008

Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Braeburn (sold)


Red Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Braeburn, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold

I've been in a kind of funk (painting wise) for a good part of this week. Painting this felt like breathing a little easier...

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Clementine #3 (sold)


Clementine #3, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Painted on request, this piece revisits the subject seen here. It's always interesting to paint a similar subject/scene again-- you strive to learn something new, and to not copy, but instead to rediscover.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Icon (sold)


Icon, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

This was a struggle. I started it yesterday, and chased the light. So I was a little more prepared today-- but still found myself chasing the changing light. Much like an earlier painting (rose hip) I think this looks better in person.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Coffee (sold)


Coffee, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Monday, January 21, 2008

Tailor's Shears (sold)


Tailor's Shears, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

These are really hefty antique tailor's shears, worn with age, but still in good shape.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Fishy (sold)


Fishy, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold

Saturday, January 19, 2008

O'Keefe's Bones too (sold)


O'Keefe's Bones too, oil on canvas, 8" X 10", 2008
(sold)

Silvina Day has been really into skulls as of late, and asked if another would ever appear on the blog. Which inspired me to pull a goat skull off the wall and give it another shot. This is the last for a bit...
The paint's still a bit shiny, so I may repost another pic later.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Kitchen Knife (sold)


Kitchen Knife, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Rosehip (private collection)



Rosehip, oil on canvas, 4" X 4", 2008
(private collection)

Very weary. Long day, and here's the tail end.
I'll probably re-shoot and repost tomorrow. I don't think the real thing looks as bad as the image I see here does...
On a happier note, the show went well-- the ladies at Queen Anne Books are dears. I highly recommend the store. Thank you to everyone who came by!

(updated 1/18/08: I got a better image and posted it. Still not crazy about the painting...)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Papier Hygiénique (sold)


Papier Hygiénique, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Mix Tape


Mix Tape, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2008
$100 USD

e-mail me for purchase information

I hate
ellipses. Awfully hard (for me).
Therefore, I have to paint more of them...

Monday, January 14, 2008

Seattle Show Alert...

For those of you in the Seattle area, on Thursday, January 17th, I'll be at Queen Anne Books standing next to a very small wall with some of my very small works on it.

This opportunity came by at the last moment, so there wasn't much of an opportunity for a shout out to everyone, but please stop by if you get an opportunity!

Digging up O'Keefe's Bones (sold)


Digging up O'Keefe's Bones, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold

I'm a Santa Fe boy, bred true (alright, I was actually born here, but, whatever) so there are skulls up in a couple of rooms here in the house.
Also, painting skulls may soon be in fashion again, so I wanted to get my oar in...

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Fisheye (sold)


Fisheye, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold


The gang at World Famous sent me a great New Year's gift, a 35mm fisheye camera. I haven't taken any photos yet, but I will...

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Shell (sold)


Shell, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2008
sold

Friday, January 11, 2008

Thai Chiles #2 (sold)


Thai Chiles #2, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold

They're shriveling under the lights, so this is likely the last chile painting for awhile. One of the little buggers turned orange overnight! They others are starting to go too...

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Thai Chiles (sold)


Thai Chiles, oil on canvas, 7" X 5", 2008
sold

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Clementine #2 (private collection)


Clementine #2, oil on canvas, 4" X 4", 2008

Not a mandarin, not a satsuma.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

It's better in person

I finally went and saw the Celia Beaux show at the Tacoma Art museum.
You may remember that I mentioned here in this post-- I'm so glad I went! I'm kicking myself for not having gone sooner, so I could have gone multiple times. If you get a chance, go.
Words fail to describe how blown away I was. The reproductions of her work in no way do it justice. It is not hyperbole to say that Beaux is on par with Sargent in terms of mastery, especially in regards to temperature changes to model form. The idea that she is not held in such high esteem today is criminal. I recommend this book, but it's a pale shadow in comparison to the real thing.

Oddly enough, her show helped me connect more deeply with another artist whose work looks better in person: Dan Gerhartz. Dan has made a proper study of Sargent, Zorn, Sorolla, et al, and his work shows it to great effect. His video demonstrations very clearly analyze some of the effects used by Beaux and the aforementioned male artists (like halation).

Here's a few other artists whose work I've seen in person-- work I've liked before, but was enraptured by when I got to see it up close.

J.C. Leyendecker
He used to do tons of studies for paintings then piece together a final image. His work is always gorgeous. I am privileged to have a small scrap of one of those studies (most of the canvases were cut up and each sketch sold piecemeal), for the second piece (the two fellers holding the flag) shown on this blog.

That little scrap reveals the poetry of his brush work.

Bo Bartlett
His reproductions are very nice, but it's hard to beat seeing his work in person. The scale is so much larger than you think. It's a different experience.

The drawings of Egon Schiele
I saw a huge exhibit of his drawings at the Met in New York, and I was hooked. The character and patina in the works themselves add a deeper relationship to the subject than is first apparent in a reproduction. That was part of an ongoing lesson for me about the importance of surface.

Kim English
I cannot emphasize how much seeing his work in person adds to the experience.


Fit to be Tied (sold)



Fit to be Tied, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
(sold)

Monday, January 7, 2008

Single Edge Razor Blade (sold)


Single Edge Razor Blade, oil on canvas, 7" X 5" (approximate), 2008
sold

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Red Bottle (sold)


Red Bottle, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2008
sold

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Wishbone (sold)


Wishbone, oil on masonite, 5" X 5", 2008
sold

Friday, January 4, 2008

In Shadow Study (private collection)


In Shadow Study, oil on canvas, 5" X 7" (approximate), 2008
(private collection)

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Mortar and Pestle (sold)


Mortar and Pestle, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Drappier (sold)


Drappier, oil on canvas, 5" X 7", 2008
sold
Happy New Year!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

2008 Resolutions, Goals, and Commitments

A little under two weeks ago I left a rewarding 10 year career in the software games industry to focus full time on painting. One of the especially great things about where I worked was what I've learned about how to set goals and achieve results.

So here's the part of the plan for my first year. I've broken it into three sections, the first is personal stuff (New year's resolutions) and the other two are career related.

Resolutions
1. Paint everyday (1 hour minimum)
2. Create at least two editions of an art journal
3. Meet with family and/or friends at least once every week
4. Get 5 professional massages (this is actually a carryover from last year; I only got one)
5. Read a Dickens novel
6. Take a picture of myself with a stuffed (taxidermy wise) animal (carryover from last year)
7. Walk 2 miles at least once a week
8. Have six parties/get togethers
9. Learn enough to know (and remember) what f stop, exposure, and such mean; get a better handle on my photography skills.
10. Work in a medium I'm not terribly familiar with (linocut, screenprint, etc)

Career oriented stuff.
Remember, goals (and commitments too) should be S.M.A.R.T.

Goals
Have 5 shows (gallery or non traditional venue) in 2008
Get work into 3 new galleries
Sell enough work to support at least 1/3 of my yearly spend

Commitments
Post a new small (8 X 10 inches or under) painting for sale to the blog everyday
Paint 50 16 X 20 or larger canvases
Paint 50 11 X 14 canvases
Draw at least 200 pages in sketchbook
Draw 50 +2 hour drawings
Apply 10 hours a week to learning and development (follow the 70/20/10 model)
Apply to 10 juried shows
Write a post mortem review towards goals and commitments each month

Corazón Caliente #2 (sold)



Corazón Caliente #2, oil on canvas, 5" X 5", 2008
sold

Happy New Year!

Expect a post on resolutions and goals to follow later today...

(inspired by Paul Hutchinson's work...)