Oil Painters of America, Eastern Regional 2014

I'm also delighted to announce that my painting, "Treasure", will be included in this year's Oil Painters of America's Eastern Regional exhibition, hosted by Eisele Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio this September. 

Studio workings

Here are a few in-progess shots of things kicking about the studio.  That is all.

So on and so forth

A few new things to report. Sebbie's kite flying adventure painting is finished and all snazzy in its new frame. I particularly like this one as it explores the line between reality and imagination.

 I've also been working away on a commission of a floral still life. I always love painting flowers, and this piece has given me a chance to really develop a floral painting. I'll post a picture of the finished work once it is, in fact, finished.

I seem to get asked a lot what exactly it entails, being an artist. "What does a day in your life look like?" people ask. I never really know how to answer, because, I suppose, everyone's life seems rather ordinary to the person living it. (I try not to throw my alarm across the room when it goes off in the morning. I eat toast with peanut butter for breakfast. I put my socks on before my shoes. I drink lots of tea, and when that fails, coffee. See? Very ordinary.) But some days are particularly exciting, like the day I set up a new still life. I'm starting a new Sebbie painting "Sebbie and the Sky Pirate"--I'm very excited. So my day consisted of rigging a toy boat to hang at just the right hight and just the right angle; making a rope ladder out of twine and headless match sticks; de-heading match sticks; performing surgery on my pirate to remove him from his wooden base which was too big to fit on the deck of the boat; playing with a marionette (Sebbie, of course) to get him to look in the right direction and have the right posture (clothes pins and pony clips required); and so on and so forth. Set up days are usually good days. And I'm super excited about this painting--it's started but not yet share-worthy, but it will be soon. Meanwhile, here's the set up:

Sebbie on a box

The latest Sebbie is almost done.  Here's a (possibly slightly blurry) picture of both canvases sitting on a box:

Also in the news, Incognito and Night Flight have made it safely to Marine Arts Gallery in Salem, MA, after bravely facing some car trouble adventures with me. If you're in the area, it's a lovely gallery to visit.

               Incognito

               Night Flight

               

       

New Sebbie on the way

I've started a new Sebbie piece, and it's a twofer (which, incidentally, is actually a word now--ah, the evolution of language). For me, the edge of the painting is an important element of the composition--I always fit the canvas to the composition, never the other way around, and I've always been drawn to pieces comprised of more than one panel--diptychs, triptychs, etc. Why did the artist cut through the image where she did? What does it do for the hierarchy of importance within the composition? How does it engage the viewer differently? What would be lost if the multiple panels had been one? I don't often work that way, because it isn't something that usually works for my compositions, but for this piece, I felt two canvases was the perfect number.

"These Are a Few of My Favorite Things"

Excited to announce that Sebbie will be participating in "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things"at Principle Gallery in Charleston! I have a feeling it's going to be a fabulous show, you should go, it starts May 2nd.

New Sebbie

Things have been busy in the studio. I'm working on a commission of a large floral still life, starting a full length portrait I've wanted to do for ages, working a lots of little floral studies because it's that time of year and I love them, trying to keep up on the Sebbie demand without losing the joy of painting them, and I'm plotting to get back into etching because I loved it so much. So far all parts are going well--it's an exciting time. Below is an image of the latest Sebbie, I haven't decided on a title just yet, but I was thinking about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry while I was working on it (the baobab tree started it, but something about the rest of the piece kept him and The Little Prince in mind,) so I'm thinking of calling it "Night Flight" as a rather roundabout tribute.