A very reflective chrome horse. I have painted this old hood emblem several times, but this by far the largest version. This canvas gave my little easel a workout.
This obviously is not my normal style, but I wanted to do something a little different. I have been painting large pieces lately(commissions and for galleries), but finally had some time to work on something I have wanted to paint for quite awhile. This painting is based on a sketch in one of my many sketchbooks filled with surreal imagery.
I just received an email that my work is the featured post on the blog "lines and colors". It's basically a quick overview of my work written by Charley Parker. If you visit the blog, be sure to browse around...there is an amazing variety of artists and styles to check out from previous posts.
Awhile back, I mentioned that I was sending pieces to a gallery for consideration. I'm pleased to announce that the paintings sent were accepted. The name of the gallery is Diamond-Newman, and is located in Boston, MA. You can find me by clicking on the "What's New" link. The other gallery that I am represented by is called American Fine Art, and is located in Dallas, TX. I am not yet on their website, but hopefully will be soon.
I have been selected to be the next reviewed artist on the website Art and Critique. Honestly, I had never heard of this website until I was nominated, by Vic Vicini, to be included in a poll to choose the next artist. After reading some of the reviews from the site, I am honored to be included and have my work reviewed. You can check the review out and vote for the next artist to be reviewed at ArtandCritique.com Thanks to Vic for nominating me, and thanks to everyone who voted for me!
24"x18" _ 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.
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. _ 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! _ 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.
18"x24" _ _ 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.
10"x12" _ _ 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.
10"x12" _ _ 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.
10"x12" _ _ 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".
10"x12" _ _ 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.