Another Day

I painted quite a few little "daily" paintings back in the late '90's, but this image is the only one I took from it's 9"X 12" version and repeated it on 30"X 30" canvas. I can no longer remember why this seemed important for me to do at the time, but I'm happy that I did.
The larger version has a kind of surreal quality to it with the apple smack in it's center and appearing as if it's floating above the surface.

Artist Taking A Break

Painting has fallen to the wayside since purchasing my new iMac a month ago.  It's not that I mean to ignore the half finished canvas on my easel.... 

No, it's more like this new machine has taken possession of me as I discover all the cool and wonderful things I can do with it.  I'm sure the novelty will wear out at some point.... ????

"Marbles In A Black Box" oil 9"X 12"

In the mood to paint something fun and colorful, I looked around my studio while still drinking my first cup of coffee, not fully awake, but determined to turn the morning into a productive one.

A single marble sitting on the window sill caught my eye and before long I had several more marbles piled into an empty slide box, fresh paint squeezed out on the pallet, and a clean canvas on the easel.

By the time I poured my third cup of coffee, the painting was well underway with music playing in the background and me finding that special rhythm that makes for a good painting day.

More On The Daily Painting

A simple pomegranate on a wooden plank table becomes a bit extraordinary.

Painting A Day

  Ten years ago a few artist friends and I started a small art group in NYC where once a month we'd gather for an art critique night with one of our members.  It was a "art social night" each of us really looked forward to and always felt a little nervous about when it was our own turn.  We were a mixed group of realist, conceptual, abstract, and minimalist painters all viewing each others work with the most critical eye and sometimes the harshest of comments.  But, we all loved the inspiration gained through these critiques as it offered the most honest viewpoint of both weaknesses and strengths in our work and the challenge to improve.

I've always been a fussy artist, taking great pains in the detail of my work, as realists often do, and spending weeks... even months to complete what is often a large and very  intricately detailed painting.  I still love that kind of challenge.

But,  the years I spent with my art group pushed me to explore a not so fussy side to my work... to find a more painterly quality to my brush strokes and "freshness" in the finish.  

I took up this challenge by starting a painting a day project that lasted several months... ending when I had to prepare for my first solo show in Manhattan.  

But, the "daily paintings" brought a new life to my work...  a certain sureness of stroke, an added confidence in my abilities as an artist.  Certainly, the discipline to keep me focused enough to create twenty five new paintings in six months time.... most of which were 48"X 48" still life paintings.  

Now, recently completing four very large, complex landscape paintings for Bay Pines Veterans, I long to return to those little canvases where each painting day results in a finished, not so complicated piece of art work.  

A new challenge in deed!

Painting Large

Three phases Completing three 70"X48" landscape paintings has left me hungry with the desire to return to working on smaller... less time consuming... canvases for a while. Perhaps even a few "one day" paintings with my portable easel at some favorite locations.
Not that I didn't fully enjoy painting the "Bay Pines" series or the opportunity and challenge this commissioned work offered me, because I loved every single hour of working on it.

Intricate Architecture and Landscape

This is by far the most intricately detailed painting of this series as it focuses on the heavily decorated facade of this 1930's building at the edge of a large courtyard.
The photographic references of this site show a courtyard filled with umbrellaed tables and quite a few people moving or sitting throughout it.
Obviously, much of that has been eliminated, along with trash containers, ugly signs, and everything else that would detract from the beauty of the building and the fountain ( which wasn't yet installed when I was there with my camera). I painted only what was necessary and important to maintain the architectural elaborateness of this structure and its surroundings without getting too "busy" with superfluous elements that would draw away from its central focus. Still, this painting was never simple to work on and took nearly five months to bring to completion. Even now, as it dries and waits for the framer to pick it up later in the week, I fight the urge to brush in a few more details. But, I won't.

Bay Pines Landscape series

I completed this painting back in September but never got around to posting the finished result as I found myself immediately beginning work on the third painting of this series.
All of the paintings are done on stretched canvas, 70" X 48" , and are in oil paints.
The accuracy in scale and architectural interest is achieved by first laying out a grid and then using colored pencils to carefully measure and draw in key shapes and the most prominent aspects of what I need to focus on.
With this particular painting, I spent a good week or so measuring and drawing before even starting to block in any color. And nearly a month went by before I managed to completely cover the canvas with it's first layer of paint. It's an anxious time I feel reaching this stage of the painting where I can really stand back and see how the composition is working..... or isn't.
Usually, I've done enough small preliminary sketches to visualize how the composition of the painting will look on a larger scale, but I'm never fully certain until I can see it in actuality.
I was elated to see how the strength of the composition transformed itself so well on the large canvas, enabling me to move forward and concentrate on taking this painting to its completion.