Saturday, March 30, 2013

Finishing Up

I have finally finished all three pieces I was working on for Manna Gallery in Oakland, CA. I will be showing 7 large paintings from my Storytellers series there this April. Here are two of the three pieces:

"Finding Our Way", 40"x30", oil and encaustic wax

"Soaring High", 30"x40", oil and encaustic wax.

I will also be showing in a group show at Gauntlet Gallery, titled "Visions and Reflections", fifty Bay Area artists featuring paintings on 12"x12" panels. The gallery will be showing some of my favorite local artists so I am excited to see this show. Here's my painting, which will be waxed tomorrow.

Since the gallery asked me to be part of this show based on my "Forgotten
Memories" series, I didn't think it would be appropriate to show something
from the new series. 


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Storytellers at Manna Gallery


Please join me for the opening reception at Manna Gallery on April 6th. It will be the first time I am showing my new "Storytellers" series as a group. I am excited to see what everyone thinks of the new work!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

One of My Favorite Faces

People like looking at attractive people. It's a fact that we all know, and when it comes to art, at least my art, this is especially true. I have had a few galleries request "prettier girls" since that's what their clients lean towards. I've noticed that the "pretty people" sell quicker. There's nothing wrong with this. People just like looking at attractive things.

I try to paint interesting people, images that have a story to tell. Sometimes these people happen to be attractive, but every once in awhile I find an image that I am inexplicably drawn to and the person in the photo is not the stereotypical "pretty person". I know that in all likelihood the painting won't sell, but that doesn't matter to me. Sometimes I need to paint an image for me, because I like the photo, and not worry about whether it is something that will sell. My latest painting is one such image. There is just something about this girl's face that I love. The shadows on the left side of the face, the stark whiteness of certain parts of her dress, the scared looking kitten...all of these things add to what makes this image so good. The composition is great too. I kept the composition of the painting pretty much the same as the photo because it was that good. I know she's not the prettiest girl, but this was one of my favorite faces to paint. I hope you can see the beauty of it too.

untitled (for now), 24"x18"
This painting will be shown at Manna Gallery in April.







Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Back to Work

I haven't been painting very much lately. I have been sick and have had some other things going on that have kept me from mentally (and sometimes physically) being able to paint. But I am now back in the studio, painting away. It's a good thing too since I have a few shows coming up in April and three commissions to be working on. I will be in a group show at Gauntlet Gallery in San Francisco and in a two person show at Manna Gallery in Oakland. Both shows open in April and I will post the dates to the openings sometime soon. I will also be showing my work with JoAnne Artman Gallery at the Affordable Art Fair, in New York during the same month. It will be a busy couple of weeks getting ready for all of these events!

Here's the latest painting in progress, which will be shown at Manna Gallery:
You can't tell from this image, but the panel is 30"x40". I haven't decided where I
will be adding the color on this one yet.

Here's a backwards progression of the same painting: