Paradise lost

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Me at Cap's Lighthouse Point, FL

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Higgins Beach Resort

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I was just down in Florida for a few days. It's off season and my buddy Jim Higgins had a room for me before things start picking up down there. We did the usual folky scene. Higgins is an old So. Fla. folkie. We saw a old singer, Panama Red, at Cafe Luna in North Miami. An odd little 'coffee house' atmosphere right out of 1960s Harvard Square. Red was great a unique character and musician.

We went to the South Florida landmark restaurant Cap's Place in Lighthouse Point. When I live in Boca for a short while back in 1975 we were there a lot. I did a painting of the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse back then. I hated it and left it behind. Higgins took it to Cap's and paid a bar bill with it. It still hangs in the dining room 40 years later. Its a pretty good painting. The food at Cap's is still outstanding. The key lime pie is the best I've ever had. www.capsplace.com

I was posting a few thing on Facebook and my old studio mate and publishing partner messaged me that he was just down the coast in Ft. Lauderdale. We had lunch the next day. Hadn't seen him in more than 20 years. He is now a renowned international yacht photographer. Check him out at jimraycroft.com.

The fishing sucked and the the weather was chilly and damp but it was 10° in Wayne County so I didn't mind. Everything was nice and green and the ocean was beautiful and blue. 

Higgins Beach Resort
Deerfield Beach Florida

Repost for Another little oil sketch

This is in a little show this Month 

ART IN SIXES 10th anniversary

At the DVAA Gallery 
Narrowsburg, NY
11/15/14 - 12/23/14
A show of piece no bigger than 6" in any direction

Piece is listed at $125

This is a small, very small for me, oil sketch of some clouds rolling over the fields in Bethel NY near my home. This would be part of Yasgur's Farm off rt NY17B.

I need to loosen up and I figured what better way then painting small. No room for detail just shape and tone and color. Takes about an hour and a half and I've made a painting. Way better than typing away on my blog...

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Clouds Over Yasgur's  Oil on linen panel  6 x 4

A painting of Mary

This week at Johan's long pose life daw/paint session we had a new model. Mary. She turned out to very, very good model. It was a brightish day so the light in the studio was good but at time a bit of and on from the clouds. I've posted my images of Soha that did at Johan's where I started the painting in session and finshed in the studio. In this painting of Mary I thought I'd cram that process of probably 6 to 8 hours into one 2 and a half hour session. I had to work fast and make decisions instinctively. No time for a lot of ifs ands or others.

I had prepared a canvas ahead of time on which I had applied a gray 'stain' (thanks Mark Carder). Once we had chosen the pose from a half dozen or so 2 minute poses, we got to work. The we is a group of three very talented and accomplished artists from the Upper Delaware area, and me. One day I will make a post showing off there work. I don't carry a lot of colors with me to this weekly session. Every Sunday 12 to 3. Go Pats. I had Burnt Sienna (BS), Ultramarine Blue (UB), Cad Yellow (CY), Cad Red (CR) and Alizarin Crimson and of course Titanium White. Just a few brushes medium sized to big synthetic filberts. I had only my portable tin of OMS (Oderless Mineral Spirits) to use a thinner, medium and brush cleaning. I started out with a washy sienna and blocked in the figure and got some quick tones in. I super roughly sketched in some indication of the pillows and fabric pattern on the sofa. 

Over the next hour and three quarters with model breaks, one of which included a piece of spinach knish, I glazed on the flesh tones very thinly lightening as I built out from the darker mid tone stain. I have to say the time constraint help force me into a zone. The only thing that stopped me was sore feet. At the end of the session I looked at the other artists work. Everybody's work was outstanding. Judy had done  a charcoal  drawing that was precise and beautiful. Gloria a mixed media oil and charcoal(?) that would be at home in a story book. Dianne did an acrylic that was wonderfully colored. Johan was well into a giant canvas of a beautifully foreshortened viewpoint in his immediate and whimsical fashion. I feel privileged to be working with such a fine group.

Return to Soha

SO I did the series of Soha posts earlier. A life sketch improved in the studio from a iPhone snap. The result was a burnt sienna under painter that was okay for painting over. The problem was that in fifty year of painting I'd never done that before. Oh well. So I printed the photon canvas from my epson printer. Put it un a drawer and forgot about it. I had a complex painting ready to go on the easel . I didn't want to be hung up for a week so I started putzing around an d found the print.. I taped it to a board and painted it. It's not done but I'm gonna sit on for  couple of days to see if I can find any more boo boos. I like it but I have to give most of the credit to the model Soha.

A little of me

I thought I'd try my hand at smalls a while ago. At 4 x 6 this is about as small as I can get with this type of image. Back when I was doing a lot of illustrations for text book in Boston I did a lot of teeny tiny heads in pen and ink. Some with just a few pen scratches. The most important thing I had to represent was the ethnicity of the pen scratches. I used MGraham walnut oil based paints on this and good sized brushes. Not giant not small. Good size. It went quickly got pinned on the wall and forgotten. Here it is no longer forgotten.

A guy name Denis

I've finished the portrait. I took about a week and a few false finishes but it's done!

Bill Oil on linen 11 x 14

It was done for the now annual portrait swap challenge on the DMP forum. A group of realist painters and want to be painters. Beginning painters to very accomplished painters from around the globe. This is Denis who is from Australia. He will be painting a portrait of me. When they are dried and safe to ship we will swap the painting by mail. It's a novel but not uncommon thing. Last year I did a portrait of Bill. A woodcarver from Las Vegas.

It's a funny thing to do a painting of someone you don't know and to get a painting back from them. All of a sudden you know them, 

A good weekend all in all

Yesterday the Wayne County Arts Alliance held the annual art auction fund raiser. It was a success. It was held in the Dorflinger Glass factory space in White Millls, PA. I'm happy to say that my painting of a Beach Lake Bakery Rustic Loaf was the first painting sold. That is if you don't count my wife's selection of my friend Ianni's painting that was really first.  We also bought two other paintings that we like very much. All tolled we gave the WCAA $1350 in donations and value. 

We also went to the Metropolitan Museum to see the Cubism show on the last day of the members preview. It was mobbed but what a great exhibit. Simply put it show how the heavyweights, Picasso and Braque developed and evolved the style what so many other have emulated. It also focused on Leger and Gris. Two of the better practitioners. Great great exhibit. 

To see that show we had to leave early to drive to the city about 120 miles. It was a beautiful ride. the light was just grand. We got to eat in the members only dining room not as pricy as one might think and way better than Honesdale's best. Sorry. The ride home was equally splendid as the sun set over the Borscht Belt of the Catskills. Oh and I can't forget I all but finished a portrait on Saturday morning.

Oh yes I now have  full sized giclee prints on canvas of the loaf available for $125.

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A Guy Named Denis  12 x 18 Oil on linen

This is a painting done for the annual portrait swap on the Draw Mix Paint forum. A loose group of artists from around the country and globe who share an interest in realistic painting. This is Denis who is from Australia. He is doing a painting of me from an image that I selected and sent to hime. There were about 12 participant that so far have produced some stunning painting. When the painting are dry we swap our paintings. Great fun.

Drawing with the brush

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1973 Beacon Hill, Boston

This week i decided to retire my charcoals and pastels for a while in favor of the brush. I've been trying to figure out how to make  my life drawings more expressive and at the same time begin to add color. It's been a very long time sine I painted from life. In fact the painting is hanging in my studio. 1973. 

That was awhile ago. 

A goal of mine since i started drawing from life again was to be more natural in gesture. To have a more immediate feel to the markings. I believe that drawing is a physical activity. You probably don't burn many calories at it but it take all the body to express the moment.

By working with simple cheap materials, canvas paper, laid finish printing paper, bristle bond and painting with a limited color set of oil paints Ive opened up my drawing style. There's something about the brush. Standing. the speed that it offers. It's a great tool. This is a great exercise for developing brush control and technique.

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Milanville PA 

So, here are a few pieces I did this week painting at Johan Sellenraad's studio and Ianni's studio. I have to thank that them and the other artists in the groups for letting me struggle to this point. Don't let me forget the models.

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Milanville PA

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Milanville PA

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Honesdale PA

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Honesdale PA

New Giclee Print available

End of Day Pine Point

Boats dance at anchor to the music of an outgoing tide. While the last of the evening light kisses the harbor.

I just made this painting available in a Giclee reproduction print.  The reproduction is the same size as the original painting. Printed on archival media with archival inks the print should stand up to moderate daylight for years.   

Original painting 20 x 10 oil on linen

Giclee reproduction 20 x 10 on canvas varnished

CLICK HERE for purchasing information

Giclees are printed on demand please allow 2 weeks for shipping and handling.

Am I losing my mind?

Last week Ianni challenged me to do an abstract painting. I thought for a second and gladly accepted. I occasionally do little abstract sketches on my iPhone. Little finger paintings. This is based on one of those little finger painting. I was a lot of fun and most certainly hard to do. I can't say it's totally finished but may be. There are certainly typographic influences to it yet other things I can't pin point. It's all about edges bumping and interjecting and whats on top. Sort of an internal competition in the space.

It was great fun to do. It was grand to be doing non-representational art again. And a challenge to manage the acrylics.

Soha standing

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Soha Standing oil sketch on linen roughly 20x24

For the second week I attempted an oil sketch. Soha was the model again. This is about 2 hours of work. The proportions and placement are good..ish. I have an iPhone photo that will use to tighten this pose up and hopefully add some color. The paint is applied using OMS (orderless solvent). It show stay open for a few days so I can adjust tones and shapes fairly easily. I'll let the thing go almost dry before adding the color sparingly. This intended as a sketch after all.

This life drawing thing is so important for me. Though it will be finished from a photo I know how the parts sit in space. There is an immediacy that forces decisions and a bit bolder approach.

The second thing I'm going to invent is a camera that takes an image from every point of view at once and lights each perfectly. That is of course after I invent the worm hole from Millanville to Honesdale.

Added some color in the studio using iPhone photo as reference. A nice sketch for a short time... for me at least..

Soha

This is a first at least since the 60s and art school. This is a brush drawing in burnt sienna oil paint. Oil and solvent. It was done starting last Sunday at Johan's Sunday 3 hour one pose drawing session. The model is an Egyptian art student spending some time here in the Catskills. I had an sketch after that and was going to let it lay. I had taken a shot with my phone just in case I might want to finish it in the studio. On Tuesday things were slow and I printed out a biggish print and continued with the sketch. I've spent about another hour and a half over 2 days and I'm happy with it overall. 

I don't know where I was going with this when I started. It was a completely different approach for me. My initial sketch was pretty accurate in proportions so it didn't take a lot to 'finish' it. It it's real finished.

Once it drys hard i might quickly paint over it in color. But not before I get a good scan of it.

the initial sketch

A little touch of home

After a pleasant vacation on the rocky shores of Maine eating lobstahs and oystahs its back to the Upper Delaware valley. Back to the board and easel. I made a few vain attempts at 'plein air' painting I'm glad to be back at my easel. 

We went to Rockland Maine and saw Colin Page's show (as hyped previously). I'm still seeing his beautiful  paintings in my head. A plein air painter by the way.  We walked the Boothbay Botanical Gardens which were gorgeous. But the most fun for me though was crawling around on the rocks shooting with my camera. I was lucky to capture some classic and some dramatic scenes. I now can fake a wave building and crashing in my warm dry studio.

Anyway here I am. The first thing I did was this color sketch of the Delaware River which is just about 800 feet from my house at the bottom of our road. There's a spot just as you start up the rise on River Road across from Bill's chickens that offers up this little scene. The river winding its way up to Skinners falls. Not really a falls  but a ledge that creates a chute that I no longer want to navigate. The time of year, angle of the sun height and color of the water and number of rafters affect the picture. I've been stopping and looking at this for years. I'e even photographed it in magic light.  I could never get it. I decided that I'd better give up the 'idea' of the perfect moment and just do it. Like I said I'm no outdoor painter so I did this quick sketch from a photo and I like it. As I painted it I imaging how a series of this scene in different conditions would be fun and a great study. So here we are Eel Weir number 1.

Just hyping a great painter. Colin Page

I'm up here in Maine and went to see a solo show of an artist I met about 10 years ago. He was good the now he's great. The show is at Dowling and Walsh galleries in Rockland Maine. 

http://www.dowlingwalsh.com/represented-artists/colin-page/

Colin truly paints with light. I want to know where he buys it.