From January 2015

It’s Story Time – Why I Paint Books

The first time I started painting books, they were simply used as props. I had very traditional still life subjects (fruit and the like). Books were simply there to add some new dimension to the paintings.

I first started by using my own hard cover books with the sleeves taken off. You can see some of my early book paintings herehere, and here.

My own library of books had no character. They were clean, crisp and new. My mother-in-law has an amazing collection of books in her library. I borrowed some of her antique books and started using them — check the early ones out here, here and here.

Then it dawned on me. Some of the books from my MIL’s collection had these fantastic titles. The books once belonged to a young law student who was studying in 1905. These ethics and philosophy books took my work in an all new direction. The books were not just props. They were the context, the narrative, the reason to paint.

I made my way to one of the antique shops I frequent and stumbled upon a children’s primary reader It’s Story Time. Felt like magic. I was able to juxtapose the book with the lofty legal tomes. An interesting dichotomy. You wait for something like this to come your way when you paint for years. Something that you know is yours, and becomes direction that you can follow for years.

The first four paintings using It’s Story Time were with my MILs antique legal books.

It's Story Time I, II, III, IV
It’s Story Time I, II, III, IV

Then I began collecting children’s primary readers. I’d pop in to antique and vintage shops and pick up the odd primary school book. Slowly adding to my collection. Using them to tell the stories in my paintings. Using the books to add colour, ideas, structure to my work.

Authenticity is something people can feel and understand in an artists work. The few times I’ve been asked to invent or fudge book titles, it felt wrong. It’s not what I want to do as an artist.

Having the actual books makes the work authentic. I’ve done many book paintings and I’ll continue. They really do feel like my own unique offering to the vast world of painting and art.

Detail / V – #5 in the It’s Story Time Series
Detail
Detail / Names and dates from people I know

I put details in to the books that make the paintings more autobiographical. My children’s names in place of publishers imprints, anniversary dates, all these bring your work to a different level. In a way, these details breath life in to painting.

When you paint in a realist style and most people are looking at your work via a computer, iPad or smartphone screen, I always here “wow, that’s so realistic! I can’t believe it’s not a photo!”

When I’m standing with someone looking at the actual painting in my studio or in a gallery, they see my work is far more painterly and looser than they first thought.

progress
In progress / November 2012
Nearly complete / February 2013
The books have become like old familiar friends
American Art Collector June 2013. It's nice when your efforts get recognised.
American Art Collector June 2013. It’s nice when your efforts get recognised in print.

George Billis Gallery LA – January 2015

I have several recent paintings showing at the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles from January 10 through February 14, 2015.

I find it remarkable that I was able to make any new work at all, considering how insane the last 8 months of my life has been.

It all started when we prepared our house for sale. We decided we were going to move 1,000 miles to a warmer climate. It’s no small undertaking to downsize your belongings after a decade of life in a house. With kids. While you’re still trying to make paintings. But we did it. We sold our house in a mere 3 days and then had to prepare to move. Another massive undertaking with more downsizing.

We hunted for a home, under the impression that we’d simply sell our beloved home and find its equivalent 1,000 miles away in a city we knew little about. Instead we ended up hunting for a suitable place to rent. Finding a place to rent wasn’t as hard as we thought and renting meant we could learn about our new city, make friends, relax and casually look for a home to call our own.

It didn’t happen that smoothly. Although the house we rented was great, the other tenant who lived in the ground floor suite was one of the worst possible tenants anyone could ever imagine living near. It shocked us. I’ll spare the gory details, but if there’s one thing I learned with the experience, it’s that you never, ever want to get on the bad side of an activist call girl (“luxury companion” as she referred to herself as) and her drug dealer boyfriend. It was bad. And my innocent, wonderfully naïve family had some major life lessons we didn’t ever expect would come our way.

And then we found a home. In a quiet, safe, wonderful neighbourhood. With a great big studio. And everything turned around. And we’ve made wonderful friends and found out things can be just as good as you once imagined.

So we packed up and moved from our interesting rental. Again, upending everything in our lives. Yet I managed to find time to do what I do best. Time to sit in my studio and quietly work on my quiet paintings.

The World Around Us / 48 x 24 / Oil on Canvas
The World Around Us / 48 x 24 / Oil on Canvas

 

Baggage IX / 30 x 30 / Oil on Canvas
Baggage IX / 30 x 30 / Oil on Canvas

 

painting
Six Kodaks / 18 x 36 / Oil on Canvas

 

Three Kodaks / 18 x 36  / Oil on Canvas
Three Kodaks / 18 x 36 / Oil on Canvas

 

Friends Far and Near / 30 x 30 / Oil on Canvas
Friends Far and Near / 30 x 30 / Oil on Canvas