Getting Back On Track

As the title of this post implies...I'm trying to get back on track with blogging, as well as painting. Anyone who has ever been in the position of managing an elderly parent will understand the emotional and logistical complications of trying to keep up. Or maybe it's a convenient excuse. Or maybe a little of both. Enough of this topic...

I was contacted a few days ago by one of my favorite collectors (you know who you are), telling me that a gallery in Maine wants me to send them more paintings. I'm trying to think of the name of the gallery. Van something...Van Dyke? Van Winkle? Van Johnson?...no. That's not right. Oh, that's right...Van Ward. They want paintings of lighthouses, etc. from that area. Unfortunately, I only have a few photos from that area.  Anyone out there have any good photos of landscapes, seascapes, lighthouses, etc. from Maine?

As a topic of possible interest, having nothing to do with painting, blogging, or old people in nursing homes. Recently I was a temporary refugee from my home, when a fertilizer storage facility caught fire a couple of short blocks from my house/studio. We were all evacuated and couldn't return until late the next afternoon. Very exciting. Very annoying. But I won't complain, since the facility could have blown up, and I would probably not be writing this right now. I would be vapor, I suppose.

I guess this ends my vacation from painting. At least for a while. Back on track. Maybe. Definitely. Hopefully. (please feel free to comment...)

OPEN HOUSE

"Winter's Hope"

9X12

oil

(collection of Dr. Robert Stevens)

As the title of this post states, I will be having an event at my studio/house this Saturday, January 25th, from 4-7. My host will be Dr. Robert Stevens, professor at UT Tyler and avid art collector. Hopefully the weather will be much more hospitable than the painting above might suggest. 

I always say that winter is my favorite season...until it gets below 40. Then all I want to do is curl up under the covers and long for the next sunny day. But ironically - no, make that paradoxically...hmm. Which is more fitting? I'll go with this...ironically and paradoxically, I very much enjoy painting winter scenes. In complete collusion with my personality, I enjoy painting snow in the comfort of my warm, cozy studio.

I apologize for the shortness of this post, but I have lots to do...have to make my studio/house presentable for Saturday...hope to see you there! (Contact me through Facebook or email for directions)

New Year Coming

I've been absent from this blog for a while. Maybe you've noticed. Maybe not. There are quite a few reasons for my absence, the biggest of which is that my laptop has not been working for a while. Thankfully, I'm back on track. I think. I hope.

Some of you are already aware that I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions unless they are easily attainable...such as "I resolved to have more fun"...or "I resolve to sleep more"...that sort of thing. Of course, this is relative to one's own peculiarities. If you don't like to have fun and prefer being wide awake (if you're three, for example), then obviously you would need to adjust accordingly. 

That having been said, I have been giving some thought to possible changes in direction this year...both in my art and in my life. I'm participating in a show at the Panhandle-Plains Western Art Museum in Canyon, Texas. But other than that, I'm wide open.

Part of this mid-life upheaval (okay...I admit that "mid-life" may have actually passed me by, but humor me) is the result of having moved out of my downtown studio/gallery and into an actual house which is big enough for a studio space. So I'm not longer open to the public and consequently, I have more freedom and flexibility. 

I do plan to write more, assuming my laptop doesn't bail on me again. And I hope to publish a book that I wrote a few years back as an e-book, if I can ever figure out how to do that. Feel free to advise.

I'm glad to be back online. I hope that you're glad to have me back online. I would love to have your comments and feedback. By the way, the above painting is available. Contact me for info. Now go out there and have some fun...and get some sleep!

Art Show This Week-end

"Red Kimono"

9X12 oil on canvas

 

As the title implies, I'm going to be in Ben Wheeler this week-end with quite a few small, unframed paintings for sale. If you're interested in collecting, this is a good place to start. Most of the paintings I'm bringing are what I would describe as "studies".  Studies are generally small, and more times than not, unframed and less expensive as the larger framed pieces.

 

I will NOT be in park with a tent. I will be either inside or just outside the "Walking Horse" gallery. For those of you not familiar with Ben Wheeler, it's the blue building across the street from The Forge. If tomorrow's weather is similar to today's...I will probably be inside. I don't care for sweating. As you know...I am a delicate flower.

 

In other news...I'm hoping to take a little trip to New Castle, New Hampshire in July for a private showing. I hope to meet a lot of new people - whether collectors or not - and get lots and lots of photo references for future paintings. And I'll freely admit that the cooler temperature is not without significance.

 

If you've never been to Ben Wheeler (that seems an awkward sentence to say...too many "ben"s for my taste), this would be a good week-end to check it out. And for those who enjoy a nice meal and relaxation (that is to say drinking), there are two nice restaurants in town, both of which have a nice selection of beers and wines. I hope to see you there!

"Shelby January Morning"

9X12

oil on canvas board

 

Lately I feel pulled in many...many directions. Hopefully I'll be back on track with my blogging. I hope you've missed me.

 

This is a very recent painting that's mostly from my head. Those of you who've done time in Texas understand that it doesn't actually snow here very often. When it does, all the artists are out and about taking hundreds of photos in order to capture that rare event. So I've taken one of my photo references and elaborated to the extent that this barely resembles the reference. But that's okay. It's called "artistic license". It's a license to kill...to kill boring reality, that is.

 

I've never been a huge fan of reality. So let's get out there and create the world of our desiring, dragging others along for the ride. If you paint it, they will come. Apologies to "Field of Dreams".

"New Castle Lighthouse"

9X12 oil

sold

 

I know it's been a while since I posted. I have been extremely busy...mostly in a good way. But occasionally in an annoying way (do the words "income tax" convey anything?). But I digress...

 

I've been painting a lot - mostly palette knife landscapes. I'm slightly obsessed, it seems. I find it very freeing...I really feel like an artist when I'm slinging a palette knife with abandon. Maybe it's somewhat like a security guard waving an AK47 around...or a doctor with a new medicine which will cure your athlete's foot, but may possibly destroy you liver. Or maybe the Olsen twins with a brand new bottle of Ipecac. I'm sorry...that was truly tasteless. It seems that blogging has a similar effect, in that once I start typing, I begin to fancy myself a writer...

 

Anyway...for anyone interested, I'm offering a two-day workshop on Monday and Tuesday, May 13th and 14th. We will be exploring creative ways to incorporate palette knife techniques into landscape painting. As always...you'll work hard and learn a lot, but never at the expense of a good time. Hope to see some of you there! Scalpel in hand...ready to dig in...



Portrait Workshop

Ok...this is not a traditional portrait. True. I would call this a non-traditional figure study. But it's close enough, and I wanted to post something new. Which this is.

I'm having a workshop on Saturday, March 30th in Corsicana at the Senior Center (a great facility, btw). Even though it's sponsored by the Corsicana Art League, it's open to anyone. We will have a live model (always nice). Let me know asap if you're interested in joining us.

As a p.s....I don't know what's up with the glare in the lower left side of this painting...maybe I'll take another photo. As a photographer, I'm quite handicapped. I have no left brain. I'm so right brained, in fact, I'm surprised I don't walk in clockwise circles.

This is the first of a series of paintings of New Castle, New Hampshire. Lately, I've been painting landscapes with a palette knife...not a new idea, but new to me. I've found that I really, really enjoy using a palette knife. Maybe it gives me a sense of power...wielding a knife in my hand. Though a palette knife would be a pitiful weapon.

 Hopefully I'll be doing a show in New Castle this summer, if everything goes according to plan. Things always go exactly according to plan for me. (I'm lying...)

Meanwhile, I'm trying to conjure up my muse Aunt Clara for this week's efforts. Come on, old girl...

Figure Workshop

I still have spaces for the figure workshop next week, for those of you who live in Texas. Hopefully we'll have a live model both days. This painting is an example of how I approach a figure, rather than a traditional portrait. Notice that there's very little detail in the face, so that it doesn't look like a portrait of a particular person, but rather it captures a certain attitude and mood. This is what we're striving for in painting. Interpretation. Impression. Mood.

Pertinent information:

2-day Figure Workshop
Monday & Tuesday, March 4 & 5 from 10-4 (break for lunch at the Railway Cafe - awesome)

$75 per day...$50 deposit to hold a spot (you can use your credit or debit card on the PayPal on this site), and there will be a small model fee.

Classes are at the Coop Gallery at 217 N. Palestine, Athens, TX
Please feel free to contact me throught this site, or through Facebook or Google+

Figure Workshop

Figures are difficult. In order for a figurative piece to really work (in my opinion), you have to relinquish some control over the nitpicky details...otherwise it's a portrait. At least this is the way that I make the distinction in my own work. You may have a different point of view. But when I think of a figurative work, I like to think of an impression that captures a particular mood, so that it's not a portrait of Jane (or Joe...or whoever), but more of an emotional response to Jane's mood.

But as always, you can't render that emotional response purely by willing it to be. Like it or not...you have to have the tools to make it happen. And you have to be willing to go through quite a few bad paintings in order to eventually get to that good one.

I will be offering a figure workshop on Monday and Tuesday, March 4th and 5th, at the coop in Athens. The cost is $75 per day (I very much encourage you to take both days, but if that's not possible, you can take one day only). You will be asked to make a deposit of $50 to hold a place for you. We'll work from 10 - 4, with a break for lunch at the Railway Cafe. You'll work hard and learn a lot, but never at the expense of a good time.

FYI...I've also been asked about private lessons. I'm now offering private lessons for $100 for an afternoon session. Let me know if you're interested in more info about this.

You can contact me by email, through this site, through Facebook or Google+, or by phone. Hope to see some of you there!