"Wyeth"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

I easily chose Jamie Wyeth for my series ArtistZ - although I worship the three generations of the Wyeth painters, N.C., Andrew and Jamie equally.    Something about growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with a mom who painted - many Sunday drives through nearby Delaware County where the Wyeths lived and painted - all of that must have made an impression on me.  They made my want to be an artist.

I also chose one of my personal favorite paintings by Jamie Wyeth titled 'Pumpkinhead  (Self Portrait)'.  It has always spooked me, even when I was painting my piece.   In a past interview, Jamie told this story - 'I had been elected to the National Academy of Design in New York, and one of the requirements was that you give a portrait, a self-portrait of yourself.  Well, I didn't want to do myself in a self-portrait, but I love pumpkins.  It's the sinisterness, the Halloween I've always loved.  It's a bit edgy. So I did it and of course they were furious and rejected it.'  Imagine anyone rejecting a Wyeth painting?

The Wyeths were known to be very fond of Halloween,  N. C. was the famed illustrator of great stories like Treasure Island and loved to round up costumes for the kids and get lost in imagination.  His studio would be decorated for family parties complete with pumpkins, Indian corn, candles and symbols of autumn and Halloween.  Taken from Andrew Wyeth: A Secret Life,  Andrew,  the son of
N. C., developed the same love for Halloween.  'Wyeth has made Halloween a personal Walpurgisnacht, an annual reconnection with the unearthly, with witchcraft and hidden meanings. On that day he is electric with fun.  He picks the deformed pumpkins and carves them into jack-o'-lanterns, a long lineage of fantastic death masks summoned up from childhood by the remembered scent of candle-heated pumpkin flesh.'   I read that the family had a long tradition of wearing their costumes for dinner on Halloween night - here's a photo where you can see Jamie on the right.

I gathered up just a fraction of those wonderful paintings by the three generations, expressing their love for the images of autumn and Halloween, starting with three of my favorites....

Treasure Island illlustration by N. C. Wyeth

Automaton by Jamie Wyeth

The Witching Hour by Andrew Wyeth

 and more .....

and a Happy Halloween to you.

"Van Gogh"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

I took a little break for a road trip to visit Brett's family - it was and is always a pleasure getting together.  Now I'm back to painting and added to my series ArtistZ - choosing Vincent van Gogh for the letter V.  It was a toss up between Van Gogh and Vermeer,  I love them both, but really, to see a Van Gogh in person is an experience everyone should enjoy in their lifetime.

His colors are as vivid and saturated as the day he painted his masterpieces, the oils are laid on thick in most, adding to the movements and textures of the landscapes or still lives.  There's great emotion is his paintings, especially my personal favorite 'Wheatfield with Crows', the piece I featured in my painting above.

'Wheatfield and Crows' is considered Van Gogh's last painting by most, proving color was his greatest means of expression.  When I had my frame shop,  I always had this framed print in the gallery.

Two Paintings Going on Auction

Just a head's up - these two paintings are in my studio and need a good home.

'The Reel Thing'

7 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

'The Chapel at Palmetto Bluff'

7 x 9"

oil on panel

sold

"Uglow"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

I absolutely love the figurative paintings by the British painter Euan Uglow - an easy choice for the letter U in my series ArtistZ.

Uglow's painting method involved a lot of measuring and mathematics, and those markings could often be seen on the finished paintings.  Taken from a biography of Uglow "his measuring process was laborious and time consuming to the point that Uglow himself joked that one model he began painting when she was engaged, was still painting when she got married and did not finish until she was divorced."

What I particularly love is how he painted color in blocks or areas, surprising any viewer with skin tones that include greens, violets, golds, reds, greys, etc.   He, like Lucian Freud,  has taught me so much about painting skin in a bold and realistic way. 

"Thiebaud"

6 x 8"

oil on panel 

sold

I don't remember exactly the first time I saw a Wayne Thiebaud painting - I'm guessing years ago I framed a print and it was love at first sight.  It was probably one of his fabulous dessert paintings - wedges of pie or decorated cakes.   It stirred up my creative juices, it made me want to paint again.   It made me want to paint with oils.  

Thiebaud's distinct style is paint laid on thick, as if he's really icing a cake with his paint brush.  You can almost see in your mind his process of outlining and swirling the brushstrokes.  I love that.  Besides his recognized plates of foods, pies, cakes, candies, ice cream cones, shoes, lipsticks and figures,  he has painted the most stunning bird's-eye-views of California landscapes, laying on the paint and colors in patterns that just perfectly harmonize.  He has painted cityscapes that defy perspective rules,  stretching San Francisco-like streets and shadows to an almost vertigo-causing image.  Just genius.

Wayne Thiebaud was born in Arizona in 1920, grew up in Long Beach, California - as a teenager, worked at Walt Disney Studios - essentially becoming a commercial artist until he was influenced to go the fine art route, like many artists I know.  In the 60's, an art dealer in New York grabbed on to him - during the Pop Art movement of Warhol, Lichtenstein, etc.  I read somewhere he didn't define himself as a Pop artist - he referred to himself as a 'traditional painter of illusionistic form'.  Thiebaud is nearly 95 years old and I think still paints.

If I could personally meet any living artist,  it would be Thiebaud.  I regard him as one of the most influential, brilliant painters of our time.  My great admiration for Wayne Thiebaud was an easy choice for the letter T in my series ArtistZ.

As for my painting, the young man is viewing 'Three Machines', which hangs in the de Young Museum in San Francisco.  I tried to paint in the same swirly, free, ebullient style as Mr. Thiebaud.

Check out more of Thiebaud's paintings here.

Hilton Head Art Auction This Saturday

I have two paintings in the Hilton Head Art Auction, held this coming Saturday - I'll include details below.  Auctions can be a rare opportunity to get an original painting for a really good price, you just never know.  The best way to play it, in my opinion, is to name your top price and roll the dice.

Here are my pieces in the auction,  both are framed....

'A Lot To Juggle'

8 x 10" oil on panel

sold

 'A Big Thumb's Up'

10 x 10" oil on panel

sold

"Fashionable"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

When I was working on the letter S for my series ArtistZ  and chose John Singer Sargent, I came up with a couple of compositions and started both paintings to feel them out.   When I sat down this morning, I felt compelled to finish the other one I'd begun and put it on auction.

A young woman viewing John Singer Sargent's 'Mrs. George Swinton' in the Art Institute of Chicago, both wearing the fashion of their time.

"Sargent"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

I'm not sure there is a more perfect painting other than 'Madame X' by the American artist, John Singer Sargent.  His painting debuted in 1884 in Paris - critics freaked out and deemed it scandalous and immoral - too 'erotic' for their delicate (prudish) eyes it seems.  Even the family of Virginie Gautreau (Madame X) was outraged, particularly because one of the dress straps was originally slipped off her shoulder.  Sargent appeased the family by repainting the strap and kept the painting for 3 years - meanwhile moving to London and becoming one of the most sought-after portrait painters of the times.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City purchase 'Madame X' in 1916.

I am quoting a portion of the Khan Academy's summary about 'Madame X', because I think it's so very well said -  'The painting - which debuted to severe disparagement but is today treasured as a masterpiece beloved in the history of Western art - is but one example of an artwork that gradually evolved from epitomizing the condemned to the celebrated.  Much of a work's initial reception is based upon society's tastes, standards of etiquette, and values of the era, and as these attitudes shift over the decades, the public may begin to look at older paintings with new eyes.'

There isn't a single painting that Sargent created that doesn't bring me to my knees - so it was an easy choice for the letter R in my series ArtistZ.

                         FYI - 

 

When Forgery Isn't a Crime

I watched a fascinating documentary last night about the art forger, Mark Landis.  It is part of the series POV on PBS - titled Art and Craft.   Artists should find this story and documentary compelling, but I think anyone would really.

The synoposis as described on PBS's website:

'Mark Landis is one of the most prolific art forgers of the modern era — and he isn't in it for the money. In the last 30 years he's copied hundreds of pieces, from 15th-century icons to works by Picasso and even Dr. Seuss, then donated them to museums across the country. When a tenacious registrar discovers the ruse, Landis must confront his legacy and a chorus of duped professionals intent on stopping him. But Landis is a diagnosed schizophrenic, driven since his teens to escape "the life of a mental patient," and ending the con isn't so simple. A cat-and-mouse caper told with humor and compassion, Art and Craft uncovers the universal in one man's search for connection and respect.'

I just had to tell you about it.

Read about Art and Craft here, where you'll find your television schedule or the link to stream it.

"Rousseau"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

My choice for the letter R for my series ArtistZ was well thought out because there are many painters I admire - Rodin, Rembrandt, Rothko, Renoir, Rivera to name a few.   In the end, I chose the French painter Henri Rousseau and his brilliant 'The Sleeping Gypsy' as an Ode to the Full Moon, which takes place tonight.  The bonus is it is the super moon and a lunar eclipse, if you're lucky enough to witness the beauty taking place.

Rousseau was Post-Impressionism, self-taught which explains his distinctive style that is unmistakable when you see a Rousseau hanging in a museum.  He was born in France in 1844,  his family was middle-class, he worked real jobs and painted in his spare time - he taught himself to paint mostly from copying works of art in the museums of Paris and at the age of 49, not unlike many of us, retired from his job and dedicated himself to art.  

Rousseau painted 'The Sleeping Gypsy' in 1897 and described his subject this way, "A wandering Negress, a mandolin player, lies with her jar beside her, overcome by fatigue in a deep sleep.  A lion chances to pass by, picks up her scent yet does not devour her.  There is a moonlight effect, very poetic."

The painting hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City,  I always stop and stare for a good while - it has a peaceful, compassionate feeling about it that moves me.

"Qi"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

A new addition to my series ArtistZ - and I will say, the hunt for an artist for the letter Q wasn't easy.  I narrowed it down to three painters and chose the one that spoke to me - Qi Baishi.

Qi Baishi, a Chinese artist, born in 1863, is one of the most famous contemporary Chinese painters who could paint nearly every subject matter and is best known for his flowers, birds, insects and fish.  It is said 'he mastered the ability of suggesting the essence of his subject with a few, brief strokes.'  Which is why it appeals to me - it is very Zen.

"Picasso"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

I chose Pablo Picasso for the letter P in my series ArtistZ - how could I not?

Picasso is the most-recognized, most-influential painter of the 20th century - I could devote an entire week's worth of posts talking about him, his work, his fame, his womanizing, his long life.  Rather than do that,  I'll tell you why I chose Picasso and why I chose 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'.

Picasso was born in Spain but spent most of his life in France.  He was a painter, printmaker, sculptor, ceramicist and stage designer.  He lived to the age of 91, spent 80 of those years devoted to creating art.  He is known for his 'blue period' and 'rose period' by many - he was co-founder of Cubism, with his fellow artist and friend Georges Braque. 

Which brings me to why I chose, what some consider, the most-influential painting of the 20th century - 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon', which hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  Originally titled 'The Brothel of Avignon',  it depicts five nude prostitutes in sharp, geometric shapes, distorted, broken apart in places on a large 96 x 92" canvas.  It's considered the precursor of Cubism - it freaked out the art world in 1907, if you can imagine.

My mom, as I've mentioned, was a painter - she loved Picasso.  The cubism style fascinated her, his influence of African/Primitivism appealed to her and carried into her paintings and carvings.  She had tons of books on Picasso, always open, often cut up and pinned on her easel.

My favorite paintings are Guernica, 

which I've never seen in person, and 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon', which I've seen several times at MOMA - both are immense, powerful works of art.  If you are inclined to want to know more, here's a good article, written in 2007 in Newsweek, 100 years after Les Demoiselles was presented to the world.

"O'Keeffe"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

I was introduced to Georgia O'Keeffe as a teenager, my mom, who went through a period of painting abstracts, had numerous books of O'Keeffe's work.   A few years later, I saw an exhibit of Alfred Stieglitz, which included many photographs of Georgia O'Keeffe and I was more intrigued.

She was born in Wisconsin in 1887, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago mostly - Stieglitz fell in love with her work, and in 1916, held a show at his New York City gallery without her approval.  She attended the opening, walked up to Stieglitz and said 'Do you know who I am?' which he replied 'no' which she replied 'I'm Georgia O'Keeffe and you are to take all my artwork down now'.  But, he smoothed talked her into 'showing the world her beautiful art' and she married Stieglitz 8 years later.

In the Art Institute of Chicago, one of my favorite paintings of hers is 'The Shelton with Sunspots, NY' which hangs in a different spot than the two you see above - many people don't know this painting was done by O'Keeffe.

Given the chance, I could go on and on about this amazing woman and painter.   I easily chose O'Keeffe for the letter O in my series ArtistZ - featuring my two personal favorite paintings 'Cow's Skull with Calico Roses' and 'Black Cross, New Mexico'.

I wanted to include my favorite photograph of her, during her later years living in New Mexico.

And last - you see my painting has sold.   A very valued collector of my work has offered to buy the remaining paintings in my series, an offer I couldn't refuse.  So they won't be auctioned,  but I hope you understand, and I thank all of you who have participated in the auctions (there are 2 still on auction) and purchased those paintings.

"Neel"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I discovered the artist, Alice Neel, when I read her obituary in 1984 - then proceeded to find any books I could on her life and her paintings.   She was born in 1900 and is known for her many portraits of friends, family, poets, artists, celebrities and even strangers.

Alice Neel started painting in her 20's and didn't receive the recognition she deserved until her late 60's and early 70's.  She had a fascinating life that's worth reading about - she had lovers and husbands and children mixed with tragedy, nervous breakdowns, travels all over the globe - she connected with people, loved and lost, had numerous, life-long friends - a full life.

Her self-portrait was a five-year process, completed on her 80th year - painted in a truthful manner.  She was in an art world when Abstract Expressionism was hip, yet she carried on with these bold, expressive, sincere portraits that spoke to people.  Including me.

I admire her for living her life as she wanted and painted what she desired.  My favorite quote of hers - "You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is, because this is all part of experience, and the more experience you have, the better it is... unless it kills you, and then you know you have gone too far."

Alice Neel is a new addition to my series ArtistZ, truly a personal favorite.

"Laid Back"

8 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

A new painting - all around elegance of a woman standing before Henri Matisse's 'Apples' and his bronze sculpture 'Seated Nude' beside her.  From the Art Institute of Chicago.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Matisse"

6 x 8"

oil on panel

sold

For the letter M, in my series ArtistZ,  I had so many choices it frazzled me.  Top of my list is Magritte, Modigliani, Matisse,  Michelangelo - then there's Miro, Monet, Manet, Millet, Motherwell and on and on.  I could do a whole series of M's.

I chose Henri Matisse for this reason - his 1909 version of Dance, which hangs in the Museum of Modern Art, New York.   It is one of the paintings that is widely recognized, it is one that really moves people.  They stop, they sit on the bench in front of it for a good while - I think they feel the movement, the joy.   This 1909 version was a study for a commission, his 1910 Dance II is a bit more defined and richer in skin tones but with the same composition.

"Leighton"

8 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

First I want to tell you I was sure the artist, Jacob Lawrence, was to be my L for my series ArtistZ.  I've long admired Lawrence ever since I saw a fraction of his Migration Series at the Phillips Collection years ago.   I was a framer for 33 years and I framed countless prints of Jacob Lawrence's work, even framed a napkin he signed for a collector.   And please go to MOMA to see his entire Migration Series if you're able.

Back in June, I read an article in the New York Times about Frederic Leighton's now-iconic 'Flaming June' at the Frick (this is the last week of the exhibition), and that image brought back memories of, again, framing this glowing, stunning image many, many times.  It was a favorite of mine, much like Klimt's work in that I could really go wild with beautiful, carved mouldings to enhance these pieces.

I will also add that my desire to paint 'Flaming June' was fulfilled - and it was my pleasure to mix these rich oranges and golds and swirls the oils to the folds and curves of the fabrics in the painting.  

"Daily Exercise"

8 x 6"

oil on panel

I intended to post this new painting on National Dog Day a few days ago, but in my life, every day is dog day. 

Don't forget to take your dogs for a long walk.  It's good for everyone.

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

"Klimt"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

Choosing a favorite painter for the letter K for my series ArtistZ was tough - I love Frida Kahlo, Wolf Kahn, Kandinsky, Klee, Franz Kline.  But there's something about Gustav Klimt's works that blows my mind.

The famous portrait of Klimt's close friend and patron 'Adele Bloch-Bauer' (also known as 'The Woman in Gold') took 3 years to complete in 1907.   There's a current movie titled Woman in Gold about the true story of Maria Altmann, the niece of Adele Bloch-Bauer, who fought to reclaim the ownership of the painting that was stolen by the Nazis during the invasion of Vienna.  A remarkable story.

The painting is a collage of oils and gold-leaf applications and I played with a metallic copper ground color and mixtures of gold and copper oils to bring out the effect.  You can see little bits of the ground color shimmering throughout my painting - a bit hard to see in the image above. 

"Johns"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my series ArtistZ - a young man looking closely at Jasper Johns' 'Flag' in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.

Interesting is this painting is in the top five most-iconic paintings and the subject is, by far, one of the most iconic symbols in the world.   What I love about this piece is the method that Jasper Johns used to create this - called encaustic, a combination of bees wax and pigment, oil paint and newsprint collage on three canvases then mounted on a plywood board.  Look closely and you'll see his selection of newsprint was not random - Johns did not include national or political headlines but in consequential articles.   He created this painting at the age of 24 in 1954, a couple of years after he was discharged from the Army.  He later created over 40 works based on the US flag.

It is one of those works of art that you should experience if you have the chance.

"Born Ready"

13 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

You can tell I'm yearning to go to the beach.

From Hilton Head, a threesome enjoying a beautiful day in the sunshine.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Ives"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I chose an American sculptor, Chauncey B. Ives for I for my series ArtistZ.

His stunning marble masterpiece 'Undine' resides in a dark room in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC.  You can't miss it.  I think my first aha moment as a child, that someone created art with their hands was when I saw a marble sculpture at the Vatican.  I was mesmerized.  This piece does the same to me - the anatomy, the ripples of cloth flowing over the body.  Just amazing.

A bit of info regarding the subject - an undine is a legendary figure, a mortal sea sprite that lacks a soul.  In order to gain a soul, she must assume human form and trick a man into marriage.  Ives' figure is rising out of the water, reaching towards the heavens to receive her soul.  You go girl.

"Hopper"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I'm happy to resume my series ArtistZ  today - and it was hard to choose between Hopper and Hockney for H, my choice came down to the artist who always inspires and blows me away.  Edward Hopper has been one of my most-influential painters - his settings, his feeling of solitude, his color harmonies and his light.  Oh the light.  

To choose a favorite of Hopper's is nearly impossible for me.  I can say I've experienced the iconic 'Nighthawks' a number of times in the Art Institute of Chicago and every time it's a fresh look.  Aside from the numerous parodies done of this masterpiece and the fact it is one of the most recognizable artworks,  it's really a brilliant composition that moves me every time I visit it. 

'Gauguin' and My New Book 'A to Z'

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my series ArtistZ,  choosing Paul Gauguin for G.  I grappled with my three choices - Giacometti, who my mom also loved and emulated in painting and sculpture,  Jean-Leon Gerome who painted the most exquisite, realism I've ever laid eyes on and Paul Gauguin, who had no rules about color other than creating harmony.

Gauguin would win the most colorful life story if there was a contest.  Born in Paris, father died on the voyage to Peru, leaving a 1-1/2 year old Paul, his mother and sister to fend for themselves, eventually returned to France, joined the French navy, was a stockbrocker, got rich, lost most of it in a stock market crash and started painting full-time.  Married, had five kids, after 11 years, kids and mom told him to leave.  Yah-dah-yah-dah-yah-dah, met Van Gogh, moved to Tahiti, painted beautiful paintings,  fell ill a number of times, got an agent to sell his work, returned to Paris, returned to Tahiti and lived there another six years, drank too much, he was thought to have syphilis, painted more beautiful masterpieces, went to prison for libeling a lawyer, took too much morphine and died in 1903.

There is something that sends me when I look at a Gauguin in person and that's why I chose him.

A woman standing before Gauguin's 'Aha De Feii?' (What! Are You Jealous?).

Also... my latest series AtoZ is now in a book available thru Blurb.

 

This new book is 7 x 7" with 26 color reproductions of my daily paintings inspired by the letters of the alphabet.

Click here to preview the book.

A Conversation with Antrese on The Savvy Painter Podcast

I am a huge fan of The Savvy Painter Podcasts and I was honored to be interviewed by Antrese Wood, who is great at hosting artist interviews and she's an artist herself.

If you're interested in listening to my recent talk with Antrese, click here.  You can also subscribe to The Savvy Painter Podcasts on iTunes.