Blue Spoon No.2

24"x24"

Another take on the spoon with blue drops.

Pointing Robot

24"x18"
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Close up of a wind-up toy tin robot.
This may be the last post of a painting for awhile. Since Saturday(the "big gallery day"), I have received four commissions. All are larger than I normally paint, so they will certainly take longer than my usual 2-3 days. I will be posting those as they are finished.

Gallery

Yesterday morning, I had a meeting with a gallery in Dallas. I took several paintings for the director to look at and hoped for the best. This was my very first time to ever meet face to face with anyone from a gallery, so I was a little anxious. However, he seemed to like my work and I ended up leaving everything I took(except for two small army men paintings..thanks again Patrick for letting me hang on to those for the meeting!) After filling out some paperwork and deciding prices...they were preparing to hang my work as I left! I was almost in a state of disbelief as I was leaving...thinking about my paintings hanging in an absolutely beautiful gallery space surrounded by amazing art. I was slack jawed all the way home.
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Yesterday afternoon, I received an email from the gallery director wanting to know if I would be interested in a commissioned piece. It seems he had a client come in, see my work, and want a 48"x48" version of one of my paintings. Now that's a GOOD day!
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A few people have emailed asking about the paintings that were on eBay. Those were among the pieces I took to the gallery yesterday...I never dreamed they would want to keep any, I thought they just wanted to see them...but I was wrong! I was actually happy to come home and find that there were no bids on my eBay paintings, so I just ended the auctions. My apologies to anyone planning on bidding. I will list more paintings on eBay in the future, but I'm not sure exactly when.

Blue Spoon

18"x24"
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Drop, drip, drip, drop, drip, Spoon, drop, drop,drip, drop.

Spoon in Water No.2

24"x18"

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A spoon, glass, and water all coming together to create a sense of distortion and refraction.

Blue Brushes Soaking

18"x24"
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Two brushes refracted by red water in a green glass.

Green Jar...again

24"x18"

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Detailed rendering of a small green jar and satin.

Spoon in Water

18"x24"
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Can you believe it?.. this new piece is not a toy! I went back to reflections and distortions in this painting of a spoon in a glass of water.

Eleven Bravo

10"x12"
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Another toy soldier painting. "Eleven Bravo" is the Army's designation for a standard infantry soldier. These little plastic toys are based on really old soldiers, like around the WWII era. This particular one seems to be holding a M1 Garand rifle. Along with his buddy(previous painting) tossing pineapple grenades, they are using really outdated weaponry.

Chunkin 'Nades

10"x12"
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Yet another toy painting. This little plastic soldier is a deviation from the previous toy paintings, void of the cuteness factor.

Blue Sheep

10"x12"
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Another modified toy portrait from the farm set.
I thought this color scheme was appropriate since 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the Smurfs, who were first introduced in Belgium, 1958.

Orange C Horse

10"x12"
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Another small toy painting. This little plastic, wheeled horse is not part of the farm set, but I thought it would be fun to paint anyway..I was right! Once again, eyes have been "upgraded".

Spotted Cow

10"x12"

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Another take on one of the small toy animals from my son's farm set. Like the pink pig, I gave spotted cow some enhanced peepers.

Pink Pig

10"x12"
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One of my son's toys. This little plastic pig goes to a toy farm set. He's only a year old, so he really didn't miss it while it was in my studio being painted. The actual toy has little black, beady eyes...I decided to give it more "appropriate" eyes.

Blue Drops

10"x10"
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Small prone amber bottle dripping blue water.

Bulbs in Water

10"x12"
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Two light bulbs floating in a purple glass container.

Blue Jar on easel

Blue Jar, 18"x24"
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New piece just completed.
Small glass jar overflowing a rich green satin fabric.

Green Jar

12"x10"
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Small green jar with satin.

Bloom

10"x10"
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I thought I would try something a little different with this piece. This is the first time I have ever painted a flower. I was thinking back, and I can only remember one time that I have even drawn a flower: 7th grade art class(the only reason I remember is because I still have my portfolio from way back then).
I wasn't too sure about this painting as I started it, but it was actually quite enjoyable to paint. Many of the same characteristics I love to explore in the reflective and transparent objects I paint, were present in this flower.

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I have been "tagged" by Joanne Giesbrecht to list 5 random things about me. So, here they are!

1. I prefer flapjacks to pancakes.

2. I have an Italian Mastiff named Bolan.

3. Jackson Pollock is the artist that has most inspired me, ironically. I even convinced my wife to name our son Jack, he's 10 months old now.

4. I was in the Army.

5. I never get tired of watching "The Life Aquatic"

I was originally tagged by Ambera Wellmann, but I posted my 5 random things on her blog...I guess I didn't read the instructions..who knows how these things happen. Anyway, I now know that I am supposed to tag 5 others. However, it appears everyone has been tagged already!

Blue Brushes No.3

10"x12"
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Another composition featuring an old orange bottle with brushes in water.

Blue Brushes No.2

10"x12"
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Two blue brushes soaking in an old orange bottle.

Overturned

10"x10"
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Small green bottle on it's side.

Blue Brushes

18"x24"

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Close up of a small green bottle with two blue paint brushes.

Chrome Horse

18"x24"

This is a really neat old hood ornament I have painted a few times now...four to be exact. I think this came from an old firetruck. I'm not sure how old it is, but it's been around awhile. Amazingly the finish is in great shape. Reflections slip and slide all over the surface!

Use your Imagination

I started this yesterday as an example for a lesson in one of my advanced classes. I rarely have students draw from imagination, focusing mostly on more traditional drawing and painting from life while effectively utilizing the elements and principles. Anyway, this is a fun break that they seem to enjoy. They start with a few small pieces of watercolor paper each. The surface of the paper is misted with water, and then a few drops of concentrated watercolor are dropped on the surface. More water is misted, and then a piece of plastic(dry cleaning bag, grocery store bag, etc.) is mashed on the paper and placed on the drying rack. After the piece is totally dry(next day), the plastic is removed and a totally random mixture of shapes and color are left. Students immediately start to "see" things...much like seeing things appear in big puffy clouds. They then work into the piece with prismacolors, sticking to basically an analogous color scheme to allow the watercolor base to still be seen and create an overall sense of color harmony.
This piece will more than likely never go beyond what you see, just thought I would post something a little different.
What do you see?

Faded Glass

22"x18"


Top and bottom pieces of a broken bottle rendered using black and white along with a realistic color scheme. I typically do not create paintings layered with meaning, but I suppose this one could be an exception...I'll let you decide what it means to you, if anything.

Green Pieces

18" x 24"

Top and bottom pieces of a green beer bottle. Open. Drink. Smash. Arrange. Paint.

Reflect

18"x24"

This is the first time I have ever used a mirror in a composition. I have always wanted to give it a go, so I finally did. This is most definitely a nod to the amazing Photorealist painters that have inspired me over the years. I tried to create a balance of my own style with the inclusion of the reflections to stay somewhat true to my own vision of what I think makes an interesting piece...which isn't necessarily a picture plane full of "stuff".

Betrayed Again

24"x18"


New piece that explores reflection and distortion of these two small jars.

A New Grip No.3

24"x18"

Tight crop of a pair of chrome canvas stretchers.