Keeper

While working on these paintings I began to wonder about "extinction", not just of a species but also of technologies, religions and cultures..what happens? I've read, "Thinking is form".."I think therefore I am", could this be it, the world we see being a result of our thoughts? Did the Carolina Parakeet disappear on account of our desire to ponder farm land and decorating women's hats and not the living bird? Makes sense to me.

Top: Keeper Of Fish, 12x14 oil on panel 2012

Bottom: Keeper Of Trees, 12x14 oil on panel 2012 

In The Movies

Seems like everywhere you turn these days you run into a movie crew filming on the streets of Atlanta, all this production provides an opportunity for the locals to participate. I was in two films this summer...wait, let me rephrase that, my paintings were involved in two movies this summer. This is how it works...say the crew is filming in a house or hotel suite and on the wall is one of your paintings, in order for said picture to be a part of the set the artist has to sign a "release" stating it's ok, (how'd they track me down?!). Sometimes you even get paid to just hang there. The two films?..."Identity Theft" ($100) and "Madea's Witness Protection" ($0).

Below: "Golden Age", acrylic on canvas, 1988, used on the set of the the film, "Stars And Bars" (1988),staring Daniel Day-Lewis, a dreadful movie, trust me, don't watch.

 While jogging one morning I turned down a road that looked like a hurricane had just passed, junk in the road and piles of trash everywhere...but something wasn't right, I bent down to inspect the trash and it was a solid mass, coated in a substance that kept it from blowing all over, fake trash! Turned the corner and there were the trucks, crew, equipment and the zombies, I had just jogged through the set of "The Walking Dead".

Dreams Of Milk And Honey

This is one of those paintings that seems to come from nowhere. When I started drawing this one up all I knew is I wanted a painting with a beehive. The sketching took 2 full days with much erasing. Initially the lady was nude, but when I started adding the animals, the mood switched from sensuality to innocence, had to put some clothes on her. What I like about this one is how the warm "honey colors" play off the "coolness" of the landscape/atmosphere, (milk and honey). 

Above:Dreams Of Milk And Honey, 18x20 (24x26 framed) oil on panel/wood 

Mountain had a cool song titled "Dreams Of Milk And Honey" check it out here.

Lilies

"Consider the Lilies of the field, how they grow;they neither toil nor spin..."

Late summer here, so I was in the mood for a "flower painting". The quote above is taken from the "Sermon On The Mount", and having a temperament that leans toward the phlegmatic, this passage has always hit home. Throughout time the lily has been a symbol of purity, innocence, forgiveness and rebirth. The working process while painting was calm and natural, "neither toiling nor..." 

Above: Lily, oil/canvas, 28x25.. yea, this is probably a spiritual picture.

Menagerie

Circus imagery has floated in and out of my paintings through the years. Can't say I'm a big fan, haven't been to many performances but I like the concept. The world of the circus is a closed system, with it's own rules and laws of nature, under the "big-top" the illusion is real and the observer..? a believer. Isn't that also the function of all art/painting? The artist skillfully manipulates raw materials in a confined space and comes up with an alternate reality. The viewer is engaged in the scene and maybe, for a brief moment the outside world, mentally, slips away, no small task there!..but that is the goal.

April 7th at the Red Line Gallery in Knoxville TN, I will be showing a group of paintings called "Menagerie", really enjoyed working on these, more next time, see ya.


Above: The Rehearsal, 16x13.5, oil/panel, 2012 

Send In The Clowns

"Where you been man?"
"I Know, it's been a while, here's what's happened."

Holidays...blah, blah, blah, painting prep, new track lights (I can see), TEW "Top 25 show", WI-Fi in the studio (Pandora radio and distractions galore), charity event at Hahn Ross Gallery (4 small pieces), "Cake" commission,"Oxford American" magazine illustration (Southern Music issue pg. 15), more prep, etc..."You know?, stuff"... Now?
Working on an April show, which will be held at the Red Line Gallery in Knoxville, TN. More on that next time.

Checked the stats for my blog and noticed an uptick in page views since Nov. (550 last month), I would say 75% of those were "accidental". The other 25% were interested in what was happening here in the studio, so for you folks, I will attempt to be timely with my updates. Thanks for looking.

Stephen Sondheim, flipping genius, is there a bad version of this song? Don't think so, try this one.

Top: Arrival Of Fun (Part 2) oil on panel, 12x14", 2012