Sharing My Art Day #4

Day #4 of this artist chain mail challenge.

“Post three of your works for five days and nominate another person to do the same.”

The Other Paintings – As a middle-aged artist I get to do whatever the hell I damn well please when it comes to my art. So here are some of the random paintings I’ve done that don’t necessarily fit into a category.

But you will see techniques that pull from my other paintings, and influence future paintings as well. Tomorrow, the last day of the challenge, I’ll show three works in my current technique or style.

#1) “Taste” 2007 18″ x 24″ – (after a visit to Times Square I took a stab at painting it. I learned two things 1) Painting real life can turn out pretty neat and 2) I abhor painting real life though. I don’t have the patience and I hate constraint. There were two other paintings in this series, neither of which is likely to ever see the light of day. One will go unfinished and the other is dismal)

#2) “Brazil Flag” November 2010 22″ x 28″ – (one of nine flags I painted on commission for the House of Praise in Lorain, Ohio. These were a challenge to do as not all flags fit nicely into a 22×28 aspect ratio. You can see I tried to stay true to my technique and to the flags themselves. I believe these are still hanging in their lobby along with a piece of my wife’s art as well)

#3) “First Snow” 2008 30″ x 48″ – (A commissioned piece featuring an abstract forest and the dogs of the family that commissioned the piece)

 

Taste

First Snow

Sharing My Art – Day #3

Day #3 of this artist chain mail challenge

“Post three of your works for five days and nominate another person to do the same.”

The Stripe Paintings – what happens when you sit in front of the TV tracing out 1/4″ lines on a blank canvas, and then cover it all up with acrylic paint? These awesome stripe paintings of course. I’m not sure what got me started doing these but I’d never seen anything like them before. Oftentimes people think they are tape, wood or old magazines but alas they’re just paint. That being said, I’d love to experiment with creating wood and paper versions someday. Since I started making them I have seen wood versions on Etsy and Pinterest, so there’s something there.

These are probably my favorite paintings to do because I never know what they’ll look like until they are done. I limit myself to certain colors and use a palette knife to apply the paint. They are very textural. Often times there will be a painting underneath them that never got to see the light of day. Stripe paintings are a good, therapeutic way to cover up bad art.

They have not found much success commercially, but I think they’re awesome. Here are three of my favorites.

#1 – “Stripe #5″ – 2013 48″ x 72” (This huge painting lives in our foyer. It’s likely my favorite piece I’ve ever done)
#2 – “Strip #6″ – March 2014 36″ x 36” (Sits in storage in my studio. Another favorite of mine)
#3 – “Rainforest” – May 2009 ~16″ x ~20″ (one of my earliest stripe paintings)

Stripe #5

Stripes #6

Rainforest

Sharing My Art – Day #2

Day #2 of this artist chain mail challenge

“Post three of your works for five days and nominate another person to do the same.”

Tile Paintings – These abstract pieces are inspired by the geometry of rural landscapes, as well as simple floor or wall tiles you’d find in your home. Each section is painted individually with a brush and it’s always fun to see how they turn out when they’re complete. Sometimes the strokes seem to cross over from one section another adding another layer of interest. As will all my paintings, I try to keep your eye moving, and also make them interesting when viewed up close as well as from afar.

#1 – “Tiles” – June 2008 15″ x 30″ (I still have this one)
#2 – “Seven” – June 2008 22″ x 28″ (this one lives in a box in my studio too)
#3 – “Tile Painting #1″ – July 2010 16″ x 20” (one of a series of 9 tile paintings)

Tiles

 

Seven

Tile Painting #1

Sharing My Art – Day #1

On Facebook there’s a chain mail challenge going around for artists:

“Post three of your works for five days and nominate another person to do the same.”

So I accepted the challenge from a fellow artist and starting today will be sharing my artwork with everyone. I’m posting on this blog as well, in case you find it of interest.

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I’ll present my art over 5 days in the general order that is was created. The reason being, my hope is you’ll see how earlier works evolved into my current pieces, namely my cityscapes. When you look at a current piece, you can see techniques from early pieces being used.

The Originals – Many of my abstract pieces are inspired by the geometry of rural landscapes. I would look out a plane window and found the patchwork of farm fields to be an interesting pattern. I hope to come back to this subject matter and explore it further someday. These early pieces are about keeping my eye interested; constantly moving. Creating visual interest and balance. They are also about painting without any preconceived plan. This is a key to my work to this day. I prefer to have the painting “talk” to me and tell me when it’s done. Worst case scenario, it’s paint. I can always paint over it (and often have). Enjoy.

#1 – “Beginning” – 2004 30″ x 40″ (I still have this one, sitting in our dusty basement)
#2 – “Cityscape” – 2006 18″ x 24″ (One of the first paintings I ever sold, and certainly the first cityscape I ever did. It was a paint over of another painting gone awry underneath)
#3 – “Barn In The Woods” – 2005 22″ x 28″ (Sold in 2006, it’s one of the first geometric paintings where I attempted to have a real focal point, the “sun” is rising in the sky, with a “barn” and trees in the foreground.)

Beginning

Cityscape