Golden Icon - Marilyn Monroe

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

I think I will just use this text from the MOMA on this painting: Redolent of 1950s glamour, the face in Gold Marilyn Monroe is much like the star herself—high gloss, yet transient; bold, yet vulnerable; compelling, yet elusive. Surrounded by a void, it is like the fadeout at the end of a movie.
NOTE: I looked at this painting again this morning (Nov. 1) and did not like it... the floor was wrong among other things. So I reworked it a bit and I am much more pleased with it. That is one problem with painting and posting. No time to live with the work and be certain I nailed it.

Considering Cubism

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

A young lady viewing "Bathers in a Forest" by Picasso in the MOMA.

Christina's Crowd

6x8 oil on panel
$150 + $11 s/h - sold

I've always been drawn to this painting by Wyeth. The young woman appears to be in distress to me. Such a mood he created. But here I've painted her some friends who are as eager to understand her as I am. It was particularly serendipitous that Christina's windblown hair and belt matched the style of the young lady viewing her in the MOMA in NY.

Red Barn

6x6 oil on panel
$110 + $11 s/h

Trekking across Indiana last week I had plenty of time in the car to sketch the passing scenery. This is one of many barns and cornfields I saw along the way. Most of the corn was still not harvested, but dried, and the trees were just beginning to show signs of turning. This is a bit of a switch for me. I can't think of the last time I painted a landscape, but my desire was to mark the trip, practice painting my impressions from pencil sketches and memory and to announce a new gallery representing me - Castle Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Its a really wonderful space, so if you are in the area, you should make a point to go see them.

Besides getting back home and back into somewhat of the normal routine, all my time has been spent framing and shipping works to Georgia, for my OTHER new gallery. Hopefully they will have a website up soon, but I will certainly share opening info here.

Morning Music

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h

The morning that I painted in Central Park, a guitarist and violinist were playing under the arches near Bethesda Fountain. The music was so lovely.
Thanks to a friend in the city, I have some more info on that special place in the park:

"At the southern approach to the Terrace Bridge from the Mall a visitor will see the seven arches of the Arcade, a columned passageway with walls on either side forming a blind arcade adorned with trompe l'oeil paintings. The large ceiling, which is part of the original design of Central Park, was first installed in 1867 and originally contained 16,000 brilliant encaustic tiles, weighing about 50 tons and handcrafted in Stoke-on-Trent, England."

Table Setting

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

This was in the elegant "Del Posto" restaurant in NYC. We had a magnificent dinner there and I felt like royalty with all the attention and little extra samples they brought from the kitchen. Very nice meal. Very nice atmosphere. I liked the serene and somewhat severe drama of this painting.

Beach Baby

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

This little baby was so fun to paint in a larger work that I decided to do him again small.

This week is turning out to be very hectic. Artwise, I need to paint larger works for galleries, and frame and ship. And then I am traveling in Oct. So my small works will be a little more sporadic. But I will post my larger works and give you all a preview of what will be in my new galleries. (Yes, there probably is another new one for me! shh - don't tell yet, I don't want to jinx it!)

California Dreamin'

12x12 oil on panel
Available at Gallery laPlace

I did this on Wednesday actually - before my difficulties yesterday. And I am really, really pleased with it. I am not sure if I have a favorite subject (location, rather, because people are my favorite subjects) but the beach would rank right up at the top. Then probably cafes. At any rate, these two young men were walking back to their cars late afternoon. It being a scene from Rockport beach (Texas gulf coast,) I thought that the title might be what they are thinking. Rockport can offer little excitement for boogie boards or body surfing.

This painting will be available at Gallery laPlace in Georgia in a couple of weeks. Its framed in an antiqued black with a gold lip. Stay tuned for the opening information.

Morning Walk

5x7 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

This is actually from my first day in the West Village now. I was frankly amazed at how many dogs were in the city.
I left off Central Park rather quickly and am skipping around some since I want to work on some cafe's. But to be honest, the two I began this morning did not work out so very well. I am going to let them sit until tomorrow or Monday and revisit them. I think the trouble was that my heart was not quite in it. I really want to work a little larger but tried to do something small to warm myself up. It didn't work. I felt trapped in such a small space for a really neat cafe scene. And now I am out of time!
Better luck tomorrow!

Walkies

5x7 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h

An outing in the park for these two dogs and their human.

My approach to this painting was somewhat different and the result is kind of dark - or rather "strong contrasts". Artists really have many choices when creating artwork depending on the mood they want to convey and I thought about the different ways I could have approached this scene. So I practiced on some paper with some different options.

The first two I limited my palette to just two complements (plus white):
blue/orange


purple/yellow


And the final one I decided to try for a high key effect.

Me Time

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

Moving on to Central Park. A young lady taking some time out in the "Sheep Meadow". This is one of my favorite past times, as well. I often drag a blanket out in my backyard and sit with a book or magazine on a gorgeous day. We have a lot of them in central Texas... but I bet soon, Central Park will be too cold for basking like this.

Night Fall

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

Another fun night scene in NY. Dusk is such a great time of day in the city and so fun to paint. I think I could keep doing this... and rain scenes... forever.

I suffered for my art this morning; in my excitement, literally, to get upstairs and paint, I slipped and smashed my toe and shin and so had to sit and prop my foot up to paint. But I have something for you, so I hope you all like!

On to some GOOD news: I have been invited to exhibit my work in a new gallery opening in the historic town of Washington, Georgia. So I will be focusing on getting paintings framed and ready to ship out in early Oct. this week. I'm very excited about this location and will keep you posted on the opening. The gallery is called Gallery laPlace.

City Lights

16x12 oil on panel
Available at Castle Gallery

The city at night is so spectacular. There is so much color - all moving and changing continually. The Chrysler building is such a unique shape also, really drawing your eye up to its glowing top.

Waldorf Hospitality

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

A cozy corner in the luxurious Waldorf Astoria. No, this was not my hotel...but it was a beautiful place to rest for awhile. I felt classier just being there.

Night Shift

6x6 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

I'm still working on some night scenes from our first walkabout in NYC. Perhaps because it was all so new and grand to me, it had the most impact

There are so many spotlights in the city that any small area just glows. Esp. in the rain. But more than anything painting these scenes is forcing me to practice with values. Subtle values in some cases. Like most of the background of this piece. I've also begun to realize that small works like this need to be rather bold and dramatic. In looking at many other blogger artist's sites, I've begun to see what gets the most attention and it usually comes down to drama. A high contrast in values and simple design work best on a small scale I think.

Atlas

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

Continuing from Grand Central, we walked on to Rockefeller Center and rested awhile in the gardens. The dramatic lighting made Atlas seem alive in his struggle to uphold the heavens.

Midnight Train

5x7 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h via Paypal - sold

Continuing our walk on the first night of our arrival, I saw this neatly lit and somewhat lonely scene in Grand Central Station.

Park Avenue Rain

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h - sold

I am not a miniaturist! And this was a lot to fit into such a small format. I think that is why city scenes have always daunted me. The buildings are often many different colors, the traffic, the layers upon layers of things... all have to be simplified or it looks a mess.
I am not sure I managed to get past "mess" with this scene of a rainy evening in NY. There are parts I like very much, but, as usual, I can't quite get a good photo of it.
BTW - have I ever mentioned that if you were to buy one of these paintings and hate it, I will gladly take it back, in the same condition it left me, and refund your money.

Five o'Clock Rush

7x5 oil on panel
$100 + $11 s/h via Paypal

I think I am back to work finally! Life is resuming a more normal routine and I hope very seriously to work on scenes from my NY trip, recreating my days there. I have so many ideas, I almost feel overwhelmed about them and have to remind myself... one painting at a time!

We arrived late afternoon and after the lengthy ride into town, set out walking and in search of dinner. We were in a great midtown neighborhood and joined the locals as they headed home from work and out for their own dinners.

A Day in the West Village

An overcast day on Sunday in another area of the West Village. The Village Cigar Shop is supposedly a famous spot which has been painted frequently. Whether I did it justice on this 5x7 is unclear.
From the same position on my busy corner I painted the following two also. I figured I'd post them all at once. All were very small and definitely studies.





After these, I took a break for lunch for the first time (I get too absorbed in painting and can't stop), ate in a lovely little French bistro called Les Deux Gamins (can't wait to paint scenes of it) and then went shopping finally for souvenirs! I wandered up to Bleeker Street and found just what I wanted. After lunch break we met back at a park and had a review of our paintings...here is a link to Phil Levine's scrapbook of the weekend.

So this wraps up my paintings on location in wonderful New York City. I understand Phil has booked Ken Auster to teach another weekend next year. I will be signing up for sure.