On Painting Typewriters

Underwood Leader / 30 x 30 / oil on canvas / 2018
Underwood Leader / Detail
Underwood Leader / Detail

Typewriters seem to embody ambition. They represent the tools to document thoughts, ideas and stories – you literally hammer your words on to paper.

They’re familiar to us, but distant enough to be obsolete. As with all the man made objects I use as subjects the compositions are simple and straight forward. But they become more complicated with the repetition of the keys and the mechanics of the machine.

I’ve painted many typewriters and without fail, every time I start working on the keys, I think “what did I get myself in to?”

Above: Underwood Leader
Below: Remington Quiet-Riter II

Remington Quiet-Riter II / 30 x 30 / oil on canvas / 2017
Remington Quiet-Riter II / 30 x 30 / oil on canvas / 2017

George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, April 2018

I traveled to Los Angeles to attend the opening reception for my exhibition on April 7. As a studio painter, I spend all of my time in one place working on my paintings. That’s the way I like it, but I have to admit that it’s really good to get out once in a while. It’s a benefit that the galleries where I show my work are in interesting places.

Having people see the paintings in person is really important. We’re all glancing at them illuminated on a tiny screen, so it’s refreshing to see people inspect them up close in person and really experience them. But the absolute best part is meeting people who make the time to come and see them.

Read What You Will

The titles read like a poem. Or at least they do if that’s what you want. It’s not intentional on my part. It’s more serendipity.

The Big Picture / 30 x 36 / oil on canvas / 2018

Text makes you look at a painting longer. If there’s something to read, you’ll spend more time. Then you begin to draw connections between the words. You let them tell you what you want.

A General View / 24 x 24 / oil on canvas / 2018

You may also respond to the color, and the structure the books create. They are architectural. Solid and sturdy.

The Silent World / 30 x 36 / oil on canvas / 2018

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The Studio

I have been busy working on new paintings for my upcoming April exhibition at the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles. I’ll share new work soon, but in the meantime, here’s a glimpse of the studio as it was on February 2, 2018.

ITOYA 2018 Calendar

Last year ITOYA issued a calendar featuring a dozen of my paintings, and this year they’re back with a 2018 calendar. The calendar is made exclusively for the Japanese market, and ITOYA is in charge of all the sales.

The calendar is large, measuring at 23.5″ x 16.5″ and printed on sturdy, heavy weight paper, the images are big and colorful.

If you’re outside of Japan, try using tenso.com to import the calendar. You can find the calendar on the ITOYA website here.