The Blueberry Waltz

I painted this one in December of last year and it was accepted into the 2012 annual juried show at the Ridgewood Art Institute in NJ. The idea of the painting was to try to create motion with still objects. Another one of my paintings where the objects in the paintings are characters on a stage.

The title "The Blueberry Waltz" was suggested by a good friend.

10 x 24 Oil on Panel

SOLD

The Travel - Part 2 (Jensen Beach & Myrtle Beach)

After Maimi, I went back to where I was staying to rest for a night or two. The beach I walk on daily is called Jensen Beach. After visiting many of the Florida beaches on the East Coast, I realized how great Jensen Beach actually is. The only time it was really crowded was fourth of July last year. Never alot of traffic or people, and the water is usually warm enough to walk in.

The shot of the trees is from Bridge Rd on Jupiter Island. Some of the most interesting trees I have ever seen.

On the way back to NY I made several stops. One in Jacksonville to get my oil changed but I didn't feel the need to take any pictures of it.
I had lunch in Savannah, GA, one of my favorite cities, and moved on to Myrtle Beach.
Before you get to Myrtle Beach in NC is a town called Georgetown, which for some strange reason was booked solid. I stopped in about ten hotels between Georgetown and Myrtle Beach...all booked solid.
I took a road west to Conrad, SC and stayed at the Red Hill Motel, which rented rooms by the hour, and had just sprayed for bugs. They used enough spray that I could smell it, but not enough so that it would actually work. Next time I'll check priceline first.....
When I got into Myrtle Beach I found that there were plenty of rooms, at discounted rates if I had only driven a little further! Nah, why make life too easy.

Next stop - Virginia Beach

The Travel - Part One (Key West & Miami)

I have spent the last two months living in Florida. I usually begin my day with a walk on the beach and then paint for about eight to twelve hours a day. On rare days I paint as few as three hours, but have also painted as many as fourteen hours in one day. People have been asking "Have you been to Key West, South Beach?" The answer is always, "I'm too busy"...
I decided to take some time and see a few things on my drive back up to NY.

I started my trip in Key West....

For some reason I had Key West confused with some wonderful tropical island with long sandy beaches and horizontal palm trees laying across them. Instead I got Bourbon St. with a moat around it. I had a burger and a margarita at Margaritaville and stopped into Capt. Tony's which was worth the drive down. Part of my travels include chasing song lyrics.
The drive into town is absolutely stunning but for the most part, if you want to get drunk, look at some bad paintings, throw-up, and buy a T-Shirt to remember it all, Key West is the place for you.....I went to Miami...

Miami is so much fun. The Art Deco architecture in South Beach is worth the trip...and of course the palm trees.

A few Pictures of the beach.....

Next stop on the trip.....Myrtle Beach!

R2 D2 and Apples

A few months ago a friend of mine jokingly asked if I ever considered painting a bunch of toys or hid any action figures in my still-life paintings. I told him I have painted toys, but not action figures. Painting a group of toys or action figures will and would take me months. He said "How about just an R2 D2 and apples"......so here it is.
The R2 D2 is from the original Kenner Toys from 1977. It is a bit beaten up but I think that makes it more interesting.
"R2 D2 & Apples" 6 x 8 Oil on Panel.

SOLD

Standing Apart From The Crowd

I've always been partial to anyone who doesn't quite fit in so I thought I'd make a painting about it. I picked this mustard colored apple and surrounded it with beautiful fruits of red and purple.....

It's titled "Standing Apart From The Crowd" 10 x 20 Oil on Panel.

SOLD

Teacup Of Grapes

This teacup is part of my favorite set. Because all of the objects in my paintings are very close to actual size, I just use the one teacup in a 6 x 8 painting. I painted the grapes one at a time so this one took a wee bit longer that usual.....It's up for auction!

Palm City Painting Demonstration

I recently did a demonstration at the Palm City Library. There was a great write up in the paper on it and a pretty big turnout!

Here are some shots from the demo, the painting is up for auction!

Click Here to Bid

Featured Artist at The Ridgewood Art Institute

This is a great organization and a great building! I am honored to be selected as the first featured artist of the year!

Figs!

The first panel is the "Black Mission Demo" panel. It shows a progression of the painting from the drawing stage, to the finish. The two figs in the middle are one sitting of painting and the last three figs are completed. The second panel is just a fig mini. I titled it "Black Mission Mini" because I thought it was cute. To me, the point of painting a bunch of figs lined up is to show them as small portraits. When there is nothing else going on in the painting, you have to look at the difference between each of the characters involved. I tried to pick the figs that were the most unique in some way from each other. There are several different types of fig. These are Brown Turkey Figs and Black Mission Figs. There is nothing in these paintings but figs. I see so many paintings of a bunch of apples or pears, or figs and each one in the painting is treated the exact same way. I think part of why is that most painters work on the whole painting at once working on all of the dark areas and then all of the middle areas etc.  I painted each fig one at a time and then cleaned my palette, forcing me to see new colors each time and not be tempted to use the same color on all of the figs. The changes are subtle, but if you look closely, you will see many differences in each fig.

Pairs

I painted this one in 2008 for the Salon International Show in San Antonio. It got in, along with two others which have already sold!