Getting ready for DC

I've been asked to do a mural at the new National Museum of Health and Medicine in DC.  After going back and forth I've come up with an image that is a lot like my "Structural Abnormalities" series of figures with skeletons in them.

This is the final sketch and the color comp.  Final size is 8'x17'.  It will be done in acrylic on panels.  Anna Stump will be assisting me.  Can't wait.

Artwalk is a comin'

This is one of those times with tons going on. curating 2 shows.  Murals in DC, but  first getting ready for the Brewery Artwalk, the big open studios where I live.  The joy of having several thousand people walking through your house.  It isn't too bad but  many people pass all art and just as about my collection of old radios.  Specifically they ask if I collect radios.  My feeling is that anytime you have more than 3 of something you have a collection.  I have 40.

For the artwalk I"ll be showing my new Flower Power series of bodies with flowers in them.  My illustrative, "Love and Animals" series.  I'm serious to see if people are more drawn to the earth tones than the bright cartoonish colors.

This one is titled "Fish loves Chicken".

Next Show at UCLA Med School

Tomorrow I am hanging a show at UCLA with art about aching backs.  I have a few paintings in the show from my Structural Abnormalities series.

In addition, Ellen Cantor is showing her Unorthodox Anatomy series, and NY artist Laura Ferguson is showing her fantastic body images.



Show runs until Mid May.
@ The UCLA Learning Resource Center
700 Westwood Plaza
LA, CA 90095

Working Small - In Progress

About 6 months ago when I started this series of people with patterns I thought I would do a few smaller versions for the artwalk, and just for a break from doing all those larger month long paintings.  I wanted to do a few that I could work on while I was watching TV and sitting at a drawing table.  I stand when I paint and the idea of sitting seemed nice. I do have bad legs after all.

When I first sketched these out I was really unhappy with the shapes.  I'm not sure if they are weaker designs or if I was just used to the larger/longer bodies on the 50 inch paintings.  I was thinking that maybe I should have just drawn torso up rather than adding legs and feet.

With artwalk coming up and my working area covered with large drying paintings,  I pulled these out of storage and went beck into them.  First painting over the smaller floral prints I had started with, then doing a breakdown of the other areas with geometrics and add-ons.

It actually has been nice because the old failed under-painting is adding some nice texture and the process is going much faster then I thought.

These images are 16x20 inches.  They still need all detailing in the flowers and most values bumped.  I'm waiting 2 days for them to dry before I go back into them.  More to come as I finalize them.

Finished

Finally done.  All detailing is done.  Body textures and marbling is all evened out.  Now it is just waiting for it to dry to add gloss.  The big question now arises... do I do more of these happy flower people hoping that the joy of them would make them an easy sale, or head more in the direction of telling a relationship story by having different objects in each body?  Bombs vs. flowers.  Flowers vs booze and pills.

Big flowers

I've been working on this piece for about a week.  I think it is about 75% there.  It seemed like a good answer to the violence of the last rocket painting.  I think the man's hat comes from watching Mad Men on DVD.

Work still to do...  Make dark peddles more irregular both in shape and spacing between individual peddles.  Even out the body color on the right and remove the red.  Maybe add some more blue.  Make sure the overlapping area of the 2 figures is understandable from a distance.

Final should be ready to post in a week or two.

Rockets is finished

Though I might still add some detailing along the edges of the figure the painting portion my "Rockets" figure is all pretty much done.  Once the paint is dry I"ll cover just the figures with a layer of gloss and sporadic glitter.  The glitter give it a nice effect and sparkle when you walk past it, but when you are directly in front you do not see them.  

Even though I am in a great relationship, this is how I see most everyone else's.  So much for the romantic in me.

Final size about 30" x 50"

What I am working on today

I thought I would show my process for most of my paintings.  Normally, I start with a pencil sketch done on tracing paper.  This method is left over from my old days doing logo design by hand.  I can just keep making copies until I get a final image that I like.  Then I scan the image and project it up onto the canvas because I am really crappy at keeping proportions when I transfer by hand.  Then I start painting.  This painting is about 2/3 finished.  I still need to do all detailing.  I'll post final image in about a week.  It is about 50 inches tall.

My Brother

This mage is a new painting I am working on about my brother Richard.  He has developed Parkinson's disease and can no longer speak.  He used to be a singer and song writer.  I tried to imagine his frustration at loosing the vehicle for expression.  He loved music. He loved to write and sing his songs.
You can hear a few of his songs on his facebook page

Brewery artist get some press

A group of us from the brewery were mentioned in this story in "Professional Artist Magazine".  This not only makes us official, it makes us ineligible to play in the olympics, as professionals are banned. So goes pole vaulting for me.

Curating a new show at UCLA

Carol Es show opens January 9th with a reception January 25.
Here is all the info:
http://www.facebook.com/events/158247314279788/