Sorry it's been so long, I've been busy!

I went to a couple of art openings in Orange County, both at Sarah Bain Gallery in Anaheim. The first was for artist Ray Donley. His work is classical in style (and also in content, unfortunately). While he is a good painter, I think I would have liked it more if his subjects looked like real people today - he tries to make them look like they are in the 1500's. Clearly, his models don't really look like that (think: piercings, tattoos, glasses, make up, contemporary hair styles, etc.), so it really made the paintings look inauthentic to me. His models were just basically being actors, portraying models from hundreds of years ago.

The second opening was for Brooklyn painter Alyssa Monks, and it was terrific. I really like her work, and in fact went back a few days after the opening to look at the paintings again at my leisure. Some pictures:

In other news, I finished my painting "Kirk 1993" in October. Ginsu enjoys lying in the sun underneath the new picture.

I hope to post on a more regular basis!

Life drawings

From last night's Meetup session in Costa Mesa. The first one took 1 hour, but I made her hips/torso too large (sorry, Stephanie!).

The second one was 25 minutes, looser, and better. Both with a #2B charcoal pencil and a white charcoal pencil on gray paper.

Even more progress!

I was very busy this past week and didn't have as much time to paint as I would have liked. Still, I was able to make some more progress on the large painting. I worked on the blanket, Annie's shirt, and the background people. Everything still needs work, but I now pronounce it about 1/4 to 1/3 done!

A little more progress

Worked on the painting for about 3 hours this morning, before it got too hot. A little bit here, a little bit there. Trying not to get too fixated on any one thing - yet.

Progress

Worked on the big painting lots this weekend. This is where it was at the end of the day yesterday:

And here is where I ended it today:

Happy.

The big green monster

No, it's not at Fenway. I started adding color to the large painting that I drew on the canvas last week.

And then - I ran out of yellow medium hue light! I've ordered some more paints and other supplies from my online art supply retailer of choice, aswexpress.com (check 'em out, best prices I've found online). I'm using a different yellow for now. I plan to get up early tomorrow before the studio gets too hot and get in a few hours of painting. It was 102° outside today, and hotter than that in the studio.

Life drawings

Last night I went to the figure drawing workshop in Costa Mesa, and did these. The first one is charcoal pencil and chalk (60 min), the second one is b&w acrylic paint (90 min). Kristin was the model, she is actually an artist herself who is usually drawing in the class. She was great, she's very tall (6'1"?) and does very good poses.

New books

It's been too hot to paint the past few days. With the outside temperature hitting around 100° everyday, it's probably been at least 10-20° hotter than that in my studio. I actually went and tried to paint for a little while several days ago and had to give up fairly quickly.

Instead, I've been reading two excellent new books that I got for my birthday:

"The Artist's Guide" by Jackie Battenfield is an inspiring "how-to" book for all those who are dreaming of making a living from their art. More info here: Amazon link

"Inside the Painter's Studio" by Joe Fig is a series of interviews with painters who detail the day-to-day process of how they make art - what time they get up, what kind of paint they use, etc. Really great book for those of us who are curious about how work actually gets made. More info here: Amazon link

(By the way, I don't get any kind of commission on these or anything, I just like the books. Get them elsewhere if you can find them for less!)

New painting

I started a large new painting this morning, 75" wide by 60" high.

I haven't painted this large since about 1990. It's a picture of my family at a picnic.

Art money

Almost forgot to mention it - I got my first paycheck from making art this week! Yep, a whopping $15 from the Orange County Fair, for winning third place in the acrylics division with my portrait of Adrienne. I should have scanned the check before I deposited it to record this momentous event!

Figure drawings

I attended a Meetup figure drawing workshop last night in Newport Beach, at Mark Cummings' studio. The model was excellent (despite the tattoos and piercings), so I stayed until the end. Here is a charcoal drawing that I did (1 hour pose) and a small monochromatic acrylic painting (90 minute pose).

Easel dolly

My son Alex and I built this little 4-wheel dolly for my easel. It isn't attached, the easel just sits atop it. We just used some 2x4 wood scraps and old casters that I had around the garage.

New studio, painting cart

As part of my new studio (i.e., part of the garage) I created a "painting cart" from a set of Metro shelves on wheels. It's 48" wide and 18" deep, and around 40" tall.
Everything I need is right there, except for the stereo, which is on the other side of the garage. Paints, brushes, turpentine, rags, etc.

I also made this "palette box" with stuff from Home Depot: a piece of 18" x 36" glass, some masonite, plywood, and wood strips. I put a piece of gray photo backdrop paper under the glass. I'm hopeful that by covering this "box" with a piece of plywood at the end of the day, it will keep the paints from drying out so quickly, or getting dusty, or making the place smell too oily.


When I used to paint in the past, everything was completely disorganized. All my paints would be in disarray, I wouldn't care for the brushes, everything was topsy-turvy. A mess. Now, after many years working as an advertising art director, I've clearly become very obsessive/compulsive when it comes to my workspace. I have everything arranged neatly, even down to writing the names of the paint colors around the edge of the palette. I know it probably seems strange, but being organized helps me to focus.

Frank Gregory's been painting again...

And as usual, he never disappoints. He did this little beauty today, it's oil on 8-ply ragboard, 10" x 12", of his woodshop in his painting studio in Western Massachusetts. I really like the contrast between the outdoor light streaming in and the interior light. Very nice.

Frank and I attended MassArt way back in the '80's and I'm thrilled that he still paints with such passion. His work is awesome! Here is his website: http://frankidadio.googlepages.com/

Fresno Art Show

I spent the weekend in Fresno helping my friend Laura prep an art gallery for a show she is curating. The show is called “A Studio of Their Own: The Legacy of the Fresno Feminist Experiment,” and will be on display at the Conley Art Gallery at Fresno State from August 26th until October 9th. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. There also will be an artists’ reception and a symposium on Sept. 17 and 18. All events are free and open to the public.

If you are in Fresno during this time, I encourage you to check out the show. It is a very fascinating snapshot of an important moment in the history of art.

Go here for more info: http://www.astudiooftheirown.org/

Last day of the 2009 OC Fair

Today, Monday August 10, is the last day of the OC Fair. My painting of Adrienne comes down tomorrow. Here's a picture of Adri in front of the painting with my Third Place (Acrylics) ribbon.

Art Opening

Alex and I attended the opening of the "2009 Orange Open" last night. This was a juried show at the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University in Orange. My small portrait of Alex was on display, I took a picture of him standing in front of it (above). Unfortunately, they hung it pretty high up on the wall, and since it's a very small picture (6"x6") that made it harder to see. Later in the evening, someone recognized him, which was pretty funny. We didn't stay very long - there were a lot of people there and we didn't know anyone else - but we stayed long enough to see the whole show, which had some really good work. My favorite painting was called "Chet's" by Mark Freeman - pictured below. There are also a couple of photos that I liked by Michael McLane .