The Bank Job, part I

Resplendent, 2009. oil on canvas 40 x 50 sold

I have been working on a series of commissions for an agricultural farm credit bank for the last six months. This is the first of three paintings that I have finished, I have one more large painting be finished in the first quarter of the new year. I am honored to have my paintings in their work space.

They said they wanted agricultural paintings with Big intense color....and I said, "Um...I'm your man."

Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

A New Day, 2009. oil on panel 20 x 24. sold

I'm excited by what the new year will bring...its going to be an interesting ride.

It's time to start getting some work done!

Playing around

Springtime, 2009. oil on panel 6 x 8.

Trying new things is not always easy.... I think it is human nature to be lazy and not want to try to do something differently. In the studio it is equally true. As anyone grows as an artist, they can fall into only doing things a certain way, because frankly, it works. And this becomes a habit. I mean who want to risk making a bad painting? If I know a way of doing something well, why would I want to change?

I believe that without risk the work can began to lose its spark and become boring or worse, mechanical. The thrill of painting for me is not knowing how things will turn out. To this day, I'm still astonished when I finish a painting...how did I paint that?

It is so important to remember to try what may seem as strange or different, even if it fails. Sometimes it will work and that will lead to important breakthroughs. It all starts with being willing to play around in the studio and not worry about the immediate results.

I'm ready for 2010.

Mixing and Shaking

A Brilliant End, 2009. oil on panel 5 3/4 x 9 3/4 sold

This is a small painting that I just finished and took to the holiday show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery.

This little study was, I hesitate to say, was almost effortless to paint. Everything went so smoothly. That doesn't happen often; maybe a hand full of times a year. Every decision I made was the correct one. There was very little correcting of the composition or color as I painted. Mix color. Put color down. Mix next color. Continue. I can remember as I was working on this piece, I began to actually shake, out of excitement or nervousness, I'm not sure which, I just knew I didn't want to screw it up.

Enjoy.

The post show lowdowns

Monday Afternoon, 2009. oil on linen 14 x 20

Two shows. Two receptions. Six days.

Yup, it was a busy week! And I got sick in the middle of it. I lost my voice on Wednesday and still do not have it totally back. Despite not feeling great, things went generally well...

The reception at Elliott Fouts' was good, with little red dots appearing all evening long and the show continues to through the end of the month. The miniature show at FSG was a big success. I think we had over 250 people at the reception and sales were fairly strong.

Now I am scrambling to finish things up for a group show next month and also trying to wrap up a commission that's overdue.

Whew!

I'm gonna take some time off...Maybe in 2010.

The Big Night

Jack's View, 2008. oil on panel 12 x 15 sold

Well, tomorrow is the reception at Elliott Fouts Gallery from 6 - 9 pm. I look forward to meeting many new people and seeing some old friends. It should be a fun night...but I always seem to have irrational fears going into these things, "Is anyone going to show up? What will I talk to people about? Will anything sell? How will I make a complete fool out of myself?" But generally things seem to go well at these events once I am there...someday maybe I can learn to relax in the days up to the reception...

I doubt it.

Hope

Hope, 2009. oil on canvas 36 x 46. sold

This is a painting from my show in Sacramento. I had a very hard time photographing it because the camera could not read the green. I'm not sure why, but maybe it was because I used an unusual blue in the green. I can't remember which Gamblin blue it was, but it was not one of the blues that I use a lot. Strange.

The painting is part of a continuing series of paintings called Hope. I enjoy when landscape painting can tell a larger story than of just the land. I don't know if it's important to the viewer, but when a visual idea connects with me on a deeper level I believe I make stronger paintings.