Paper Airplane No. 16

Paper Airplane No. 16, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

$125 USD framed

e-mail me for purchase information

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this is part of a few paintings I prepared as samples for a possible gig with a major home decor company.

Dump Truck (sold)

Dump Truck, oil on panel, 12" X 12", 2013

sold

This painting has two interesting origin points. This toy (it's a Tonka) is from my early childhood-- it still has a sticker on it from Alaska where my dad was posted in his Army days (nearly forty years ago). I've thought about painting it for awhile, but had never gotten around to it.
Which brings us to the second half of the origin story. This is the first of several paintings coming up on the blog that were all created as sample pieces for a large, well known company in the home decor industry. Depending on outcome of an upcoming meeting, you may someday see some of my work in their stores.
I'll keep you posted on details as they develop...

Lacquer Box (sold)

Lacquer Box, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

(sold)

Sketchbook Sunday

Right side companion to a page posted last week, sketching out and about

Sketchbook Saturday

Painting series ideas and cat sketches... how can you go wrong?

Olives

Olives, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

$125 USD framed

e-mail me for purchase information

Hunk of Bread (sold)

Hunk of Bread, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

sold

Beecher's (sold)

Beecher's, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

(sold)

The infamous Beecher's cheese, made locally here in Seattle. Extra sharp cheddar = extra yummy grilled cheese sandwiches.

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at some jewelry pieces I have in progress. I mentioned in my resolutions post that I was inspired by Lisa Gloria's really nifty hand painted pendants, and these are my first go. The center piece was directly inspired by Gloria's eye paintings-- I figured start on ground you're familiar with...


More detail on these in up coming posts over the next few weeks.

Sketchbook Saturday

You can see the comp sketch for Lamy in the upper left corner of these pages.

note/comp sketches for Eldorado Sunset and Eldorado Sunset 2

Here's a peek at some of the prework for the last few landscapes I posted.

Lamy

Lamy, oil on linen, 8" X 10", 2013

$250 USD framed

e-mail me for purchase information

Eldorado Sunset 2

Eldorado Sunset 2, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

$125 USD framed

e-mail me for purchase information

Eldorado Sunset

Eldorado Sunset, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

$125 USD framed

e-mail me for purchase information

I went back to my hometown of Santa Fe over the holidays. The light and vistas are the same that have inspired artists for generations. Certainly gets the creative juices flowing.

I haven't painted from photos for a long time; fleeting moments like lengthening shadows on a winter's evening are hard to catch in the field though. After spending some time with Michael Workman's paintings at a December show at Meyer Gallery East (I bought this one), and finding out that he does paint in part from photographs, I thought I'd give a few I took a try.

I put a painting by Pete Jordan above my easel to help inspire and keep me from being too literal with recreating a photograph instead of the scene in my mind's eye.

Resolutions...

And just slipping in under the two week mark, here are some art related New Year's resolutions/goals for the year. I'd really like to increase my output  this year, and I'd really like to up the quality a bit. So we'll start with a learning goal:

5 copies of another artist's painting

Specifically, I'd like to up my game in the landscape department. My goal is to try and bring a little of the magic I see in Pete Jordan and Michael Workman's art. I own pieces by these guys so I'll have some good stuff to work from directly.

60 9 X 12 or smaller paintings

This equates to just a little over one painting a week, so should be doable. It's also only two paintings shy of my total painting output from last year.

11 11 X 14 or larger paintings

This equates to just under one painting a month. I have at least one show (May) that will require larger work anyway, so I expect to exceed this goal.

80 sketchbook pages

I fell off the drawing wagon a bit last year. Gotta get back in the driver's seat.

10 pieces of jewelry

Surprised?
I saw some amazing pieces by Lisa Gloria last year, and I have been collecting ideas for some work of my own as a result.

 That completes the S.M.A.R.T portion of our post today, but I do have some other goals. I'd like to do more preparatory work before I start, instead of just jumping and finding the piece in the moment. I've noticed some habits developing as a result of that behavior that I'd like to break. I also have an idea for a series of paintings that are as much about the frame as anything. Basically, let the frame serve as inspiration first. The idea of this series is to stretch a bit.

So there you have it: the playbook for 2013!

Happy New Year! (sold)

Crémant De Bourgogne, oil on linen, 5" X 7", 2013

sold

Happy New year! (only a couple of weeks late...)