Working at the Gallery

Today I have been at the gallery all day. It is a beautiful day and there has been lots of foot traffic walking by. Not many have ventured into the gallery but enough to keep it interesting. One woman and her young son saw the alley painting, and asked me where it was. They were going to ride their bikes over to Harvard Gulch to discover it! And she wants an alley painting! She just can't afford this one... Still, it is refreshing to see the enthusiasm she showed for my work and how excited they both were.

I also recieved a call from an old friend of mine. I have not heard from him or seen him in 25 years. He saw the little article that was printed in the Washington Park Profile for my opening and called the gallery. What a coincidence that I just happened to be working here today. His name is Sal Ruibals, and he is an amazing stained glass artist. If ever you need a window, let me know and I will hook you up! I own 5 or so, myself.

This past week, my daughter and I were in Taos for one night. I went out early to do a painting before breakfast, wiped it off, had 20" left so did this sketch. I took it with me to the gallery today but didn't get a chance to work on it. So be it.

Chickens revised

The lower image is a painting from 5 years ago. The photograph was done "professionally" at a time when slides were still the way to present your work and I had asked for digital images as well. I never liked this photo thinking it harsh, but it is all I have. As usual, I got started with "fixing" it without thinking to photograph it first. Anyway, there is so much wrong with this piece other than the photograph. In the painting, I was not clear on whether the white chicken is in the light or in the shade of the tree, when obviously, she is in the shade. The same can be said for the foliage of the tree. There were leaves that were lighter within the shadow, but they should not look like they are in the light when they are not. All in all, very confusing. I also defined too much of the foliage. I think the dappled light and the fallen leaves on the ground only distracted from the whole as they did not "read" correctly as to what they were.

What I did to "start" over was to block in the tree as a unified object, and not have the darkest dark so dark. I lightened the shade under the tree, and warmed up the dirt in the sun. I added the chicken to the left to fill that empty space. I think she helps to keep the viewer under the canopy. I gave the three original chickens more form, and darkened the white chicken to look like a white chicken but in shade with just a little highlights where the dappled sun is filtering onto her. I also thought more about the direction of light instead of blindly using the reference photo. I haven't decided if I want to add more to the big shadow shape yet, ie more texture and light.

The Aftermath

Here I am yesterday working at Bell Gallery. I look like something the cat drug in and that is about how I felt as well. It is draining to have an opening, even an easy one like this one was. Jeanne Echternach was kind enough to send me these photos this morning. It gives a good feeling for how my walls looked. I must take down the one I am standing in front of today. That is why I kept it simple.

The Opening in conjunction with First Friday went well. I was impressed with how many people actually took the time to look at my work and talk about it and who wanted to talk to me about it. I was even compared to Burton Silverman (my "portrait" in the upper right hand corner), which is a huge honor. It is always fascinating to find out what people relate to. It is so different for everyone. My artists friends tended to like the same pieces. A favorite for them was the little landscape to the right of the mangos.

I thank everyone who made this event possible. My family has always been there for me, and my friends and coworkers are so supportive. You keep me going.

2010 PAAC Annual Show

Recieved the email acceptance letter this week. Hopefully, all my friends who submitted had something accepted. Four of my paintings were juried in this year. The fifth one I submitted is a painting I like but no one else does, and according to Scott Christensen, that means it is NOT a good painting. So there. I had to test the theory.
The following paintings will hang at Saks Gallery in Cherry Creek from June 25-July 10. Opening reception will be June 25, 5-9 p.m. I will post this again when the invite is printed.

Greenland Ranch Outbuildings 11x14, $615

Quiet Sunday at the Bail Bonds 12x24, $865

Urban Serenity, 9x12 $425

Iowa Street Alley in Fall, 11x14 $615

Ten of Zen - Painting from Life

More than a few years ago, I was painting in Spain. A woman I had met on this trip told me about the 10 of Zen. Something recently triggered that memory, and I thought it time to revisit this way to approach a painting outdoors, or any time you are painting from life.

The essence of the 10 of Zen is to use all your senses for 10 minutes and write them down BEFORE you start to work. I didn't do this enough for it to become "habit" but subconsciously, I still make mental notes of what my senses are recording. When you are working with light, 10 minutes can be a luxury you don't always have. But when you get back to the studio and bring out your study or painting, it all comes back to you. I found some notes from over the years with my thumbnails and it is fun to look back; like a mini diary.

P.S. A note on shipping paintings. I heard from a few friends via email that ABEND Gallery will box and ship paintings very reasonably. I don't know what the definition of "reasonable" is, but I will check it out and let you know when next I need to ship a painting.

You are Invited...Two Weeks and Counting

Getting Ready for Summer Art Market

In between working on the larger paintings I want to highlight at my opening that is fast approaching: May 7 at Bell Studio and Gallery, I have been working on resurrecting old paintings with the Summer Art Market in mind. Here are a few before and after’s:

This painting, an 8x10, is from my “plant portrait” phase of @2003. I had decided I wanted to grow orchids and I should paint them as well. This is a rather plain little portrait (I was lazy and afraid of backgrounds, relying instead on being “graphic.” It really did not need much. Keep it simple but tone down that garish orangey earth color that was competing with the magenta. That was a huge lifesaver. I then corrected the drawing of the flowers and the pot, changed the leathery leaves from a warm green to a cool green and then added more warmth to the background and also added some gradation to it. Not having any reference available, I long ago killed off my orchid collection; I just went from my memory.