"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.