"Stand Aside"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I really appreciate taking a break from painting larger pieces for a show, a show taking place four months from now, and painting these smaller ones - working out some ideas rolling around in my head.  It also helps me earn a living while I'm working on paintings no one will see until August.  So thank you for considering a bid or two on these smaller pieces.

You see the right half of a large painting by Henri Matisse, Bathers by a River.  I love this Matisse.  It hangs in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago.  Matisse considered Bathers by a River "one of five most pivotal works of his career."  You may remember my past post regarding Dance and a Russian art collector commissioning Matisse to do three large pieces for his mansion - this was one of three presented to the man and also the one that was rejected.  The collector settled for Dance and Music.

So Matisse held onto this painting for about four years - a time when he was really getting into Cubism.  With renewed ambition, he made changes in composition, the faceless, oval heads of the figures, divided the canvas into four panels of color and loved the results.   He essentially simplified four nude figures besides a river (the blue panel) and positioned in the tall grass (the left half you don't see here) with a snake appearing as a threat - reflecting Matisse's concerns about the climate of war going on around him.

Next, I am going to paint a companion to this one - including the left half of Matisse's wondering painting.

"Join the Party"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I was enamored with At the Moulin Rouge from the first time I saw it at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was that haunting face on the far right, as if she was looking at me through a window seemingly inviting me in to join the party.  

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painted Paris' nightlife like no other.  Caricatures who he knew well, like Jane Avril in the center with the flaming-red hair or the dancer May Milton who stares at you with her painted face.  The painting is two joined canvases, said to have been severed by Lautrec's dealer after his death - hoping the separate canvases were more saleable.  The entire composition was eventually restored.

"Waiting Room"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

On the third floor, in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago, you'll find the Picassos.  And a bench to rest on.  I happened to know where all the benches are.

The Red Armchair depicts one of the many women in Picasso's life - Marie-Therese Walter was 28 and married when she met the artist and he was smitten with her.  Notice her face is both the frontal view and profile in one shape, a new motif of Picasso's, maybe hinting at the double-life the model was leading, carrying on with the man.

Notably, Picasso used an industrial house paint which he had first used 10 or so years earlier.  The colors are brilliant and almost enamel-like, and here he mixed the paints with oils and produced a wide range of surface textures which you can see up close in The Red Armchair.

"The Picasso"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

In 1963, the great Pablo Picasso was commissioned to create a public art sculpture by the architects of the Richard J. Daley Center in the loop in Chicago.  Picasso completed a maquette, or a small-scale version, featured in my new painting.  The cost of the 50-foot sculpture was $351,959 (equivalent to $2.7 million in present day) - paid for thru foundations and gifted from the artist himself to the city of Chicago.  The maquette resides in the Art Institute of Chicago, also gifted by Picasso.

The Chicago Picasso, known as The Picasso, was dedicated in 1967 by the Mayor Richard Daley ...

... and met with mixed reactions.  The famed journalist Mike Royko ripped it to shreds in his newspaper column, saying "The fact is, it has a long stupid face and looks like some giant insect that is about to eat a smaller, weaker insect.  Its eyes are like the eyes of every slum owner who made a buck off the small and weak.  And of every building inspector who took a wad from a slum owner to make it all possible."  Quintessential Mike Royko.

Mayor Daley responded, at the dedication, saying "We dedicate this celebrated work this morning with the belief that what is strange to us today will be familiar tomorrow."

And it is familiar to anyone who lives in Chicago or has visited - or has watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off or The Blues Brothers.  It's a well-known "meet me at the Picasso" spot, enjoyed by the public with a farmer's market surrounding it in the plaza and many seasonal affairs.  So there Mike Royko.

"Pondering"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

In the Art Institute of Chicago, there are two paintings and three sculptures by the French artist Jean-Leon Gerome, much to my delight.  Most of Gerome's paintings are crisp, exact, realistic scenes from Morocco and northern Africa locations, many are based on Greek mythology and if there is a more perfect example of Orientalism in art, Gerome is it.  Featured in my new painting is Portrait of a Woman.

~ Don't miss my earlier post below - my 2019 Mini-Wall Calendars are now available.

"Dawning On"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

The Song of the Lark by Jules Breton is near and dear to many who have seen it in person at the Art Institute of Chicago.  It's also one of those paintings that speaks to nearly everyone, in some way.

Breton was a French realist artist during the second half of the 1800's, known for painting classic scenes of what was familiar to him - the French countryside, the workers in the fields, rural life and some pretty cool religious festivals added in the mix.  Breton found greater success in the mass production of prints of his paintings, along with other French artists of the time. The subject matter was wildly popular in his native country as well as England and the United States.  

The Song of the Lark stands out as a symbol of life's challenges for many.  The pheasant girl, with the sun rising behind her, dirty clothes, bare feet - her shoulders back with her chin up, determined to face whatever lies ahead.  It says life ain't easy but it's worth living.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Larger Than Life"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold 

Andy Warhol created many versions of the Chinese leader Mao Tse-Tung, from small to enormous.  In the Art Institute of Chicago, his Mao, 1972, which measures nearly 12 feet wide by 15 feet tall, can't be missed.  

To understand why Warhol painted Chairman Mao is to know the artist and his fascination with celebrity and fame.  He created silk-screens of Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy and Elvis to name a few. He contemplated what it meant to be famous and what it could possibly be worth to the world.

Warhol had read in Life magazine that Mao was the most famous person in the world and the forced ubiquity of the Chinese leader's image throughout his country inspired Warhol - also considering his image would lend itself to silk-screen.

Mao is said to be Warhol's first political portrait, even though he never openly stated his political views.  His widely known works had a focus on condemning the relentless consumerism of an American capitalism and the advertising giants who hammer these images into our brains - think Campbell soup cans, Coca-Cola, etc. - and his Mao portraits virtually said the same thing.  Controlled propaganda selling Communism in China. 

Please click here for a larger view.

"Matchy-Matchy"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

A woman viewing one of my personal-favorite paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago - Portrait of Juanita Obrador by Joan Miro.

Please click here for a larger view.

"High Noon"

8 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

It's been my observation that men really like this Portrait of Balzac by Auguste Rodin.  The sculpture stands in the large French Impressionism gallery in the Art Institute of Chicago, strikingly bolder than the oil paintings by Renoirs and Degas, to name a few.

The Portrait of Balzac was one of several bronze sculptures commissioned by a literary society in the 1890's, in honor of the famous French novelist Honore de Balzac.  Rodin immersed himself in studying the writer - reading all his books, visiting his birthplace and studying all known existing portraits.  It took Rodin seven years before he created this particular one - intending to stress Balzac's 'vitality and candor' in a full nude portrait that was immediately rejected by the literary society and the public at large.

This rejection, among others, didn't prevent Rodin from becoming the most famous artist in the world at the beginning of the 20th century.  He is best known for the marble sculpture The Kiss and the bronze, The Thinker.   Not to mention there's an entire museum in Philadelphia, the Rodin Museum, devoted to the man. 

"Hearing Aid"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

A Rembrandt painting is always recognizable.  Often a portrait, often dark, warm tones and dramatic light cast on the face - and in the case of his 1631 portrait Old Man with a Gold Chain, a repeated, favorite sitter.  The unidentified man, often mistaken for Rembrandt's father, is ennobled in an outfit of all the trappings of the wealthy - a steel gorget around his neck, a dark-purple robe, a plumed hat with peacock feathers and a gold chain and medallion over his cloak.  This is what he did. He simply wanted to portray a straggly, old man appearing more interesting and colorful.

Old Man with a Gold Chain hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Matching Set"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

This new painting is a smaller study of one I'm thinking of doing larger.  I wanted to test out the woman's skirt.  I like her skirt.

She stands in front of a crowd-pleasure in the Art Institute of Chicago - Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Two Sisters (On the Terrace) which hangs in the French Impressionism gallery.  Renoir named the painting Two Sisters, the first owner of the painting titled it On the Terrace.

Like Renoir's famous Luncheon of the Boating Party, the setting for Two Sisters was at a restaurant with outdoor seating.  In 1925, it was sold to a woman from Chicago for $100,000.  She requested the Renoir be donated to the Art Institute after her death where it has hung since 1932.

You may remember Donald Trump had a reproduction hung in his jet, before he ran for President.  The New York Times reporter Timothy O'Brien interviewing Trump was told it was the real thing.  O'Brien replied "Donald, it's not.  I grew up in Chicago, that Renoir is called Two Sisters (on the Terrace) and it's hanging on a wall at the Art Institute of Chicago. That's not an original."

"Rain Delay"

8 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

Anyone who has been in the Art Institute of Chicago knows when you walk through the lobby and up the marble stairs, you walk straight into the large, open French Impressionism gallery and see the huge painting by Gustave Caillebotte Paris Street, Rainy Day front and center.  Most likely, there's already a dozen people standing in front of it.  It's one of the museum's prized possessions.

Gustave Caillebotte was a French painter and member of the Impressionists, distinctly different from the others with his more realistic manner of painting.  He was also known for having an early interest in photography as an art form.  Notably, he was a generous contributor of his fellow artists and friends - paying their rent if they needed and purchasing their work in support, largely due to his large inheritance after his father and mother's death when he was in his 20's.  Caillebotte also used his wealth to pay for various hobbies - stamp collecting, growing orchids, yacht building and textile design.  

"Girlie Magazine"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I took a break from a larger painting and enjoyed a looser, more painterly scene in the Art Institute of Chicago.  Edouard Manet's Woman Reading is in the company of other French Impressionists in a very popular gallery at the museum - frequently mixed up with Claude Monet, another famous Impressionist.

Woman Reading was painted in Manet's later years, a very quick-brushstroke, almost plein-aire quality of a young, modern woman taking a break at a cafe with a magazine and a beer.  If you're ever standing in front of this painting, look close, the brushstrokes are numerous and somewhat frantic - as if he was trying to capture the woman before she gets up and leaves the cafe.  And multi, multi, colors layered on top of other colors - the definition of Impressionism.  I tried my best to let loose - loving the form of the woman viewing the painting.

"Matinee Idolizers"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold 

My new painting features Edward Hopper's New York Movie which I last saw at the Art Institute of Chicago, on loan from the Museum of Modern Art in an exhibition titled America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930's.  The exhibition included my very favorite painters - Hopper, O'Keeffe, Grant Wood to name a few - depicting scenes during the Great Depression.  It was unforgettable.

The Art Institute has several fun facts about New York Movie:

- Hopper painted the work in 1938 after a long dry spell of not painting anything.

- The location is the Palace Theater, now the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, chosen after scouting out the Strand and others.

- The woman on the right was modeled after Hopper's wife, Jo.  He had her stand under a hallway light in his building for sketching and studies.

- The outfit Jo is wearing was based on the wide-legged jumpsuits actually worn by the Palace Theater's staff.

- The theme on the movie screen was thought to be from a 1937 movie Lost Horizon by Frank Capra.

- The poet Joseph Stanton wrote an ode to the painting. 

Please click here for a larger view.

"Purple is the New Black"

8 x 10"

oil on panel

sold

The new painting was to be included in the Shain Gallery's  Small Works Show coming up, but it sold on the day it arrived.  Yay.  

A woman viewing Henri Matisse's Daisies in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Top Dog"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

This Thursday evening is the opening for the exhibit
titled Cats vs. Dogs 

This exhibit will be held at The Vendue in Charleston SC.  Thirty artists from around the world have each created one piece that identifies the artist as either a 'cat person' or a 'dog person'.  The Vendue calls it a tongue-in-cheek competition to finally determine the better species.  It's the dog.  Of course it's the dog.

A portion of all sales from the exhibit will be donated to the Charleston Animal Society and The Vendue will match the donation dollar for dollar.

My contribution to the exhibit is Top Dog - featuring a portrait of Ludovico Madruzzo by the artist Giovanni Battista Moroni, admired by a man of cloth in the Art Institute of Chicago.  Madruzzo was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal during the 1500's, the portrait includes his loyal hunting dog by his side, a symbol of privilege.  

Please click here for a larger view of my painting Top Dog.

To view all the artworks in the show, click here.

"Listen Up"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

A small study - two young ladies grooving on Interrupted Reading by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot in the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Daisies Like This"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I hope you've enjoyed your Labor Day weekend.

I've been painting studies all week including this new piece I finished this evening.  A woman viewing a painting in the Art Institute of Chicago - one that always makes me smile - Henri Matisse's Daisies.

"Overheads"

6 x 6" 

oil on panel
sold

From the Art Institute of Chicago, museum patrons waiting in line to an exhibit underneath one of Ellsworth Kelly's The Chicago Panels.

The Chicago Panels were commissioned specifically for the walls on the floor above the American Art sculpture court - consisting of six painted, monochromatic, curved aluminum panels. 

Please consider donating to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army to help people affected by Hurricane Harvey.  You can donate here to the Red Cross and donate here to the Salvation Army. 

"Call It a Night"

10 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

If you have a bucket list, add seeing the painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper in the Art Institute of Chicago.  

Hopper's iconic painting done in 1942 is one of the most recognizable paintings in American art.  Hopper and his wife Jo attended an exhibit of paintings by Henri Rousseau at the Museum of Modern Art - about a month after Nighthawks was hung in a New York gallery - and in attendance was Daniel Catton Rich, the director of the Art Institute of Chicago and Alfred Barr, the director of MOMA.  Jo told Barr he just had to go see Edward's new painting Nighthawks.  It was Rich who went to see it shortly after and purchased it for $3000 and the painting has hung in the Art Institute ever since.

Please click here for a larger view.