Two-point stance, 2011, monotype, 8x6in.

Head of a Woman

2010, pastel, @11x15in.

Two works in progress

Staircase, 2012, oil on canvas, 18x60in.

 



Untitled, 2012, oil on canvas, 16x60in.



Continuing to play with images in sequence, and also slowly expanding the palette.  The second image uses titanium white, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, and ivory black.  The first was started with a paletter of alizarin crimson, pthalo blue and titanium white, then continued with ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and titanium white.  Both paintings, as the heading says, are works in progress, and I'm pleased with the start, but expect to be working on them for a while. 

Work in Progress

 

Double staircase, 2012, oil on canvas, 18x60in.

Countdown to Halloween, 2012

I am firing up Caramel Apple Day again this year to have some fun posting Halloween images and take part in Countdown to Halloween. Come take a look spookrockers....

Hallway, monotype, 2012, 10x12in.

GO has gone and went

The nominations will be announced next week.  I don't expect to be one of them, of course, but I'm glad I took part.  It was generally a real feel-good experience through and through.  We had a sparsely artisted neighborhood, and weird tornado weather on Saturday, AND no F and G train service that whole weekend, but still got enough visitors to feel respectable.  And the visitors we did get were kind and thoughtful and enthusiastic.  And the whole thing was not a major disruption of studio time either, as I was able to spend a lot of time there, not painting, but looking, which is just as important.  And was able to work on preparing several canvases, too.  More visitors would have been nice, but those times when we were busy, it was hard to imagine having more and being able to talk to them. So, thanks to the little chick for all her help that weekend, and thanks to all who came by to take a look and chat a bit.  I really appreciate your time and your thoughts.

Comic book poster

A poster I designed for my job because apparently, somewhere deep inside, I still want to grow up to be Jack Kirby....

That Day

Posts about 35 Candles, a 9/11 Memorial. 

Travel advisory for GO!

The F and G trains are not running to Church Ave this weekend, damn the luck. There will be shuttles running along those lines, though.  But I recommend the B67 bus as an alternative.  It runs on 7th Ave in Park Slope, south to 20th Street, to MacDonald Ave, and makes a stop at Church Ave, the same spot as the subway.  Also the B67 runs to Downtown Brooklyn.

At any rate, no matter where you explore, I hope you get up and GO in Brooklyn this weekend....

See previous post for my GO page, and the graphic link to the right for the GO website. 

My GO! page

Less than a week till GO!  Here's my GO! page. 

Sequence

Conversation (work in progress), 2012, oil on canvas, 60x24in

 

Another experiment with sequential imagery.  Not sure if it's successful, or even finished yet, but I've gotten some positive feedback on it.  I just have some reservations about it as is that I can't quite put my finger on.  I will continue to play around with images in sequence, though, and have a good start on another canvas with a horizontal orientation.   

GoGo Brooklyn!

oil on canvas, 2003, 54x60in.

Borough-wide open studios, Sept 8 and 9!  Homeric! 

http://www.gobrooklynart.org/

Red

How about a shot of red for a little change of pace....

Red Burlesque Dancer, 2012, pastel, @10x12in.

Red was my favorite color when I was a little kid.

Corner of the studio with palette. About a month till borough-wide open studio weekend: Go!  See the graphic and link at the top right.

Double

each 2012, oil on canvas, 16x18 in.

On using acrylics

2011, acrylic polymer paint on paper, @ 10x12in.

Looking at these again, I realize something I like about acrylics, which is a medium I've never been entirely comfortable with.  But right now, that discomfort is a good thing.  It gives something to push against, clogs up my facility as a painter and draftsman.  I like the clottiness of these two little paintings, which comes of the quickness with which the medium dries.  It's not as sensual and quick as oil painting, not as fluid and greasy.  I love oils most of all, but maybe I'm finally figuring out better what acrylics can give me.  They make me slow down, they bog down my hand a bit.  The plasticness (as in cheap toys, not malleability) of the medium needs to be guarded against, but a limited palette helps that (less chance that the colors go candy tinted).  All in all, i like the crusty, clotted sootiness of these two little things. 



Monotypes

2012, each approximately 10x12in.

Back of a Woman

2012, oil on panel, 24x24in.

Gouaches

2012, each is @11x14in.

Magician's Assistant

2012, oil on canvas, 36x36in.

Starting to play around a little with sequential images.  Just seems to make sense since I've been using movie images for so long.  Also have been playing around with comic books and zines for promotional info at my job.  So we'll see what happens.  Have had half of an idea for a Kickstarter campaign related to sequential imagery for a little while, too.  If that happens, there will be more info here, of course. 

Hallway

2012, oil on canvas, 28x32in.

GO

I'll be taking part in The Brooklyn Museum's  GO, along with 1860 other Brooklyn artists.  It looks like it will be kinda cool.  Basically, it's two days of borough-wide open studios.  Huge. 

Here's my GO page. 

They're looking for volunteers and voters, so go to the site and look around if you think you might be interested.  I'm not always crazy about opening my studio to the public as it's kind of disruptive and never life changing in a good (or bad) way, but this seemed like something special since it's so damn big, and I thought I'd kick myself somewhere down the line if I didn't give it a try.  So if you do decide to pitch in, I look forward to seeing you in September. 

Here's another Go Go picture to go along with the theme:

Go Go (2003), pastel, 14x15in.

Go-go dancer

Charcoal on canvas, 2011, 22x28in.

And I like Fiction

But seems to me, and stop me if you've heard it before, that the true story of 37-year old, Kiliminjaro-climbing, memoir-writing, abuse-surviving, Star Wars-loving, UCL-shy, knuckleball revolutionary R.A. Dickey is more fabulous and terrific and maybe even more unbelievable than the fantastical made up story of the gangly, one-booted, 168 mph fastball-throwing, Tibet-reared Sidd Finch, written as an April Fool's joke for Sports Illustrated by George Plimpton in 1985.  You just have to love and admire and feel so damn good for R.A. Dickey, who's been through so much to find himself where he is today. 

Who'da thought that on June 20, 2012, the first day of summer or close to it, that it would be so much fun to be a Met fan?  We've got an unlikely no-hitter, a folk hero with a knuckleball leading the league in pitching in just about every stat you can name, and a third baseman chasing a batting title.  Which one gets Comeback of the Year?  Time will tell, sportsrockers.  There are some other damn fine stories going on it Metsland, too, and that's one reason why I love the everyday grind of the baseball season.  Let's go Mets....

Works in progress in the new studio

No Hitter

So it's done.  The Mets have their first no hitter, ever, and it only took, as you may have heard by now, 8,020 games.  And it was worth waiting for.  It couldn't have been written any better.  So many stories.  Santana coming off shoulder surgery, a surgery that's left many pitchers shadows of their former selves. Against the world champion Cardinals, and the best offense in the league. Thole's first game off the DL.  Mike from Whitestone Baxter with the reckless regard for his own body as he makes the catch of Yadier F*(&^N Molina's drive over his head.  The return of Carlos Beltran (one of the Best Mets Ever), now a teammate of Adam Wainwright.  The rain that threatened to delay the game.  Wainwright's stellar first few innings.  Clutch hitting.  CitiField's first BIG moment.  And there's other stuff I'm sure I've forgetting.

But what I want to get to is this: it was also one of the Mets' Little League Nights, where kids get discounted tickets and wear their jerseys and get to walk on the field before the game in a little parade.  My son was one of those kids.  So not only was he there on that special night, he was on the field beforehand.  He's only eight, and he knows it was something big, but I'm sure he doesn't really get it, yet.  I am absolutely thrilled that he was there, that he'll have this memory to share with his own kids, and that he'll have bragging rights about the no hitter for the rest of his life.  Amazing. 

I was not there.  It wasn't my weekend with him, and so, that's just one of those things about divorce.  But I'm so damn happy he was there with his mother and his teammates.  And I watched every pitch, partly because I was hoping that SNY would have a few shots of the kids on the field.  And then, of course, it started to roll along, and I was paying attention to the hits column like I always do, kind of hoping, but trying not to hope too hard, that maybe this was the night. 

So my girlfriend and I sat on the couch watching (and sometimes not watching, because sometimes watching was kind of excruciating), listening to the great call from Gary, Keith, and Ron, trying really hard to believe what we were seeing.  She's a passionate lifelong Met fan.  She loved Tom Terrific as a kid.  We tried to honor our superstitions as the night progressed.  We were nervous wrecks, like so many others, as Johan took the mound in the ninth.  And then we were shouting, laughing, hugging, like so many others in NYC that night, right around 9:50 pm.  Wow.  Let's go Mets. 

I guess this is kind of living vicariously through my son?  I know I'm not supposed to do that, right?  I'm kidding, of course.  I was at Shea in '06 when Endy made The Catch, when so many of these players were there, spoiling our run.  It was a tough night, but I'll always cherish that night for Endy's miraculous sno-cone, and for the way the upper deck rocked and shook under our feet. I'm just so happy that my son's now got his own little big piece of New York Metropolitan Baseball Magic.  Well, all of us Met fans do, now, where ever we were last Friday.

Discovery Times Square

Took my son to see the Terracotta Warriors exhibit on Memorial Day.  We loved it.  I still remember the first time I heard of the first Chinese emperor's terracotta army -- from an article in National Geographic back when I was a kid. 

Also on view was an exhibit about spying and espionage.  We loved that, too -- very interactive, including a room full of crisscrossed, changing, green security lasers that you have to navigate through in twenty seconds.  No crowd, so my son must have tried it about ten times.  I tried twice.  Some other great interactive stuff, and lots of amazing spy artifacts, especially from WWII and the Cold War.  Turns out you can put a camera in just about anything, from a glue stick to a robot dragonfly. Fascinating stuff, and highly recommended.  Tix are a bit pricy, but well worth the splurge.

A few things

I keep getting talked to on the subway by Game of Thrones fans who notice I'm reading the second book.

The Mets are fun to watch this year. 

Had an open studio earlier this month.  Good times.  Another good thing about the new studio and the studio mates.  Neglected to take pictures, but I'll have some shots of the new space up one of these days.

Hoping to take my son to see the terracotta warriors exhibit soon.  Some other stuff in town looks good.

But money's still tight, so it means I have to pick and choose with museums, art supplies, books, underwear, etc. 

Summer Fridays at my job.  

Passport renewal is tricky. 

Watched part of Larry Crowne the other day, and it really perplexed me -- was it supposed to be so bad?

Re-watched The Great McGinty later that weekend and it really made me laugh. 

Bought my son a bike for his birthday, and we are having fun tooling around Prospect Park.  I love Prospect Park. Governor's Island opens this weekend, too.  And he should be tall enough to ride the Cyclone this year. 

The latest thing that makes me laugh every time I see it -- the Carmel car service commercial on local TV. 

Eight years old!

My son turned eight yesterday.  Crazy stuff!  Above is a collaboration we did in the old studio last year, a hawk and an alligator fighting.  Taking him for his birthday present this weekend - his first bicycle.  Can't wait.

Mets home opener tomorrow.  And a special day coming up next week.  More on that another day.

Am settled and working in the new studio, trying to get a feel for the place and my legs under me.  A great group of people, which is really nice, to begin to be a part of a little community again.

something Bruce said at SXSW

"So rumble, young musicians, rumble. Open your ears and open your hearts. Don't take yourself too seriously, and take yourself as seriously as death itself. Don’t worry. Worry your ass off. Have unclad confidence, but doubt. It keeps you awake and alert. Believe you are the baddest ass in town — and you suck! It keeps you honest. Be able to keep two completely contradictory ideals alive and well inside of your heart and head at all times. If it doesn't drive you crazy, it will make you strong. And stay hard, stay hungry and stay alive. And when you walk on stage tonight to bring the noise, treat it like it's all we have — and then remember it's only rock 'n' roll."

Like the Tom Seaver quote I mentioned on March 25 of last year, this says something to me about what it is to be a painter, and thoughts like these have kicked around in my head for years. 

Group Show

I have three paintings in a group show at LIU Brooklyn's Salena Gallery, March 5-30.

Man and woman with door, 2011, oil on canvas, 14x16in. 

Head of a woman, 2009, oil on canvas, 20x20in.

Walking woman, 2009, oil on canvas, 22x28in.

February

Show's down at DUB, but some paintings will be in a group show at LIU next month.  New studio is all set up and am feeling comfortable there.  And only a few days till pitchers and catchers report. 

4 Paintings at Dub

I have some paintings at Dub Pies Art Gallery, Prospect Park West and 17th Street, Brooklyn.

Walking Woman, charcoal, 2011

Untitled

2012

The move is done.  Will take some time to set up the new studio, but that will be more fun than breaking down the old.  Another beginning.  Happy New Year to one and all.  Spent the weekend with my son. Turned 44 on New Year's Eve; I'm calling it my Hank Aaron year, although it could just as easily be named for Kareem, or John Riggins, or Reggie Jackson.  Or even Chuck Foreman.  Lots of quality 44's.  But Hank is the class of the 44's.  Love and thanks to my sweetheart for all she does.  Till the wheels fall off, kid.