At Last!

At last! Back from California, where, if you think it's hot here, it was 107 degrees in the East Bay Area!

Finally got around to the minutiae of all the patches... Actually, while photographing for this post, the painting took a tumble and broke a reinforcement strut on the canvas stretcher, along with a very minor scrape in the stripes of the background flag... Art is fragile!

Harkens back to a painting I was doing for a cowboy when I was a 19-year-old student that fell victim to a very large speaker attached to a wall. Apparently, loud music can cause speakers to come lose from their moorings, and well, suffice to say, my cowboy friend really didn't believe my story of the 10-inch rip right through the center of the half-finished canvas!

So here's the final, awaiting curing for varnish. If you know this guy (Papa Bear?), give him a holler for me. I can imagine somehow raising a few bucks for veterans with a cameo appearance of him and his best friend! I'd even spring for a giclée reproduction as model compensation!

UPDATE: I found Papa Bear! Jack B. had friends in the Tampa Bay area that knew him from church.

In the Meantime...

So, while I wait for the paint to dry in different regions of the biker-guy-and-dog, something else needs to be ongoing! Held up a just little on the hand study -- reconsidering background options. Undecided. Bored?

In the meantime, here's a new start from old reference images of a few years back, combined with the Italian countryside outside of Florence, as photographed from a moving bus by a traveling companion. The sheeted-figure-image is from a photo shoot back when I was only considering painting again, but still invested my creative time into journals with ideas, sketches and photo concepts.

Premise behind the painting: An homage to Kit Williams, an English illustrator/painter/author. Trying to invoke the same feel as his beautiful children's book imagery, along with an Italian Renaissance fresco-feel for good measure!

A Dreamer Lies on Tuscan Sheets...
Life-size canvas; first layer of underpainting.

Oh, and an update on a partner to the green Sweet Gum Ball painting; an autumnal version of one.

Hard to Be Soft

Went to watch a friend in a band play on a Saturday at a biker bar. This vet biker kept his best friend close by. Turns out to be a great chick magnet, too.

A few more hours into this painting, and the first wash is complete...

 

Next pass will address the fine lettering of the patches — a task for sure, that will challenge old sign painting skills. Oh, did I not mention that part of my work history? After the lettering, my final pass will comb the canvas from various perspectives for any visual snags. Not long now! Ah, but summer is getting in the way! Must. Enjoy.

Spring's sprung. That means summertime in Florida. Working with a completely different mindset for the time being; feeling a little more contemporary and masculine for some reason, and it shows through in the artwork.

Have just a few hours sunk into each of these so far.

This writing follows in the wake of my first showing. Believe me, craft and jewelry booths outnumbered artworks 10-to-1! Upon watching and interacting with folks who stopped by, in the end I believe the simple centered compositions attracted the eye most. I was glad to add that familiar, art-history-book feel to newer paintings, and to witness instantaneous positive reaction. I had a slight feeling, though, that NASCAR car number abstractions would've been a hit. Watch that copyright, now.

I had my own three favorite paintings (For Annie, Sweetgum, and Spring Nymph) — and prints of these sold best. A 40x30-inch painting, Spring Nymph, also sold. So I can feel a little better about trusting my own instincts. However... Ain't I the guy that painted all the others, too?

Best sellers:

The best part about this learning experience (and it truly was an learning experience because I no longer had to imagine it) was the camaraderie exhibited by its participants — as well as the kind public in general. It also helped that it was great, mild weather — and shady!

Now I'm retooling; rethinking... But not reconsidering.

Showing Soon...

My first art showing will occur March 14 and 15, 2015 at Art in the Park, in my hometown of Brooksville, Florida. Here are some works recently added to those posted already.

Not sure what will come of this event, or what I even expect from it. It will be strange to cross over from “that guy in the woods, upstairs, painting” to “that guy under a tent, hocking wares and mixing with curious strangers!”

Sweetgum Ball (30x40 in)

Aldbro Beach (36x48 in)

San Giminano Tabletop (Tuscany, Italy) (60x48 in)

Ample Resources

Working with my live-in model (and lovely wife), I've got ample resources to explore and stretch my skills. The morning we began this, we had just learned of a friend's passing. I mentioned we would title the work, “For Annie.”

Progression of painting...

For Annie (36x36 in)