"Back Alley Light" accepted into Juried Exhibit "Surface and Depth"

"Back Alley Light"

Encaustic on Panel

18" H x 14" W x 3" D

 "Back Alley Light" was accepted into the juried exhibition "Surface and Depth" at The Golden Thread Gallery in West Hartford, CT. Tomorrow is the drop-off and the opening is next Saturday, September 13, 7pm - 8:30pm.

This painting is one of three of my "Back Alley" New London cityscape series. I wanted to create a look and feeling of gritty urban textures when they're "washed" by the late afternoon light from the intense late afternoon sky. The light in the city along the waterfront can make everything beautiful.

"Surface and Depth" runs from September 13 through November 1st at Golden Thread Gallery, 303 Tunxis Road | W.Hartford, CT 06107.

The Armory Show in NYC

The 2014 Armory Show :

My first time going to the Armory Show in NYC and here are a few of my favorite paintings I viewed.

                                                       

"Still Life with the White-Red Tomato" (2013) by Raimonds Staphrons, oil on canvas.

Looking at this painting in person I could see all the rich textures, subtle and not-so-subtle colors which activated the surface. I wish I could of gotten a better photo but actually seeing a painting always engages more of the senses.

"Half Salmon" (1961) by Wayne Thiebaud, oil on canvas.

 I am drawn to the physical plasticity of Thiebaud's paintings, how he juxtaposes chromatic grays and complimentary colors to create a vibratory effect. The surface becomes more than surface and has a life of its own.

A Day in NYC

8" x 6"

Oil on Paper

My goal here in this painting was to simplify my composition and stay away from detail.  I enjoyed my time in New York City but  I enjoyed pushing paint around more, sorta like the saying "I 'd rather be fishing"!

Park in the Park

Finally getting back to photographing my paintings after recovering from a house fire in August.  It has been slow getting stuff organized but I am getting back into the groove.  Being that it is winter now, I am painting inside using sketches and some photo reference with a lot of memory of how summer felt.

11" x  8" oil on paper

Not Always Artful

What do I mean? Well, surviving a fire, moving, throwing out paintings, clothes etc has not been the artful life I expected, but I have been creative in my dealing with it. And that is still going on with how to have a more mobile studio.

Now it is a focus of mine to paint and draw as often as possible. I got to take a break from all the fire damage and go to my planned painting workshop with Stuart Shils at the Truro Center For The Arts at Castle Hill.  He suggested doing fast paintings to develop my "visual musculature" as he would say, to learn how to see and respond to what I see. What a challenge to do 22 minute paintings about  9" x 12"  or so. Now to do the work: "to do one punch, one must do a million punches."