I like to find obscure books with titles that suggest the subject beyond just a couple of books. Sometimes the suggestion is obvious, sometimes not. I prefer when it’s not as it means the painting can mean any number of things to any viewer. To me they’re akin to haiku poetry – the paintings are to suggest mood and ideas.
I have been painting books for close to a decade. You can see 155+ of those paintings here.
This painting of a Western Electric Co. Rotary Telephone has a bold and easily recognisable silhouette. Read more
This Polaroid Big Swinger 3000 is a recent commission on the way to a collector from the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California. It’s an awesome camera with a great retro design. Read more
Yashica, Kodak & Bencini. I think I paint things in tidy, neat rows to add order to the chaos around me. Or maybe I just like things organised and straight forward. Read more
I recently downsized my vintage fan collection, but my wife saw these Four Fans headed out the door and put a stop to it. Like a few other paintings for my October/November exhibition this year, this painting has some archival prints on paper available. Read more
These colourful vintage alarm clocks – I can’t seem to get enough of them. I could paint them over and over. These will be showing at my October/November 2015 exhibition in New York City.
Five, already belongs to a collector, but there are limited edition archival prints available at the George Billis Gallery — click here for details.
Four — a tidy arrangement with an even tempo and rhythm, also available as a print.
Dream Days, a little alarm clock with brass bells sits on a small stack of books, all on blue.
I started painting these clock and book compositions a few years ago. I find the combination to have a calming effect. The shapes are so simple and recognisable. They have an orderliness about them that speaks to me. Read more
Each clock is a little character with its different color, its own style. In groupings they interact with each other. Read more
Typewriters are ambitious.
What I mean is that whenever I set out to paint one, I realize how technically difficult they are to paint and I feel like I’m being ambitious. They are full of these intricate details and repeating shapes, they take full concentration and a great deal of time. Getting those keys right is a slow process.
Then there is the idea of writing, story telling, compiling ideas. Getting it right the first time. Typing your thoughts on a typewriter is all about concentration – just like painting them.
The little green Tom Thumb below is a working children’s typewriter from the 1950s. I love how it contrasts with the classic Corona No.3 above.
Kodak, Bencini, Leica, Yashica. USA, Italy, Germany, Japan.
Learning about these cameras is like a 20th century world history lesson. The makers of these cameras have all been affected by world events, the economy and changing technology. Even though they are obsolete, they still have avid collectors and enthusiasts.
With the Kodaks painting above, I composed an arch with the lenses and flashes, giving the painting an architectural feel.
We have had PHD (Push Here, Dummy) cameras in our pockets for a hundred years, but it’s the ones that look like they were pieced together by watchmakers that are fun to paint.
I like that they were all used to make art, to document holidays, travel, weddings and so many other happy events. What’s strange is that the photos from the cameras are all missing, lost or hidden. It really makes me wonder what will happen to the billions of photos we upload from the cameras on our phones now.
