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Silhouettes

These two paintings are all about the negative space and the silhouettes they create. The square canvas, deep black rectangular body to the right, and the triangular shape of the bellows with its repetitive lines make it a simple yet bold composition.
The candle stick phones do the same thing, but along with the movement cords there is a subtle hint of color — a patina on the phones metallic parts that bring it just barely out of the monochromatic tones. The phones also have such a strong character. My wife says they almost seem penguin-like with their stance and beaks turned in opposing directions.
As subjects, they’re like an homage to the roots of our technology that is common place to us now. We obsess over our smartphones and seem to forget how breakthroughs in photography and telecommunications have been going on for 100+ years. Right at the very foundation of it all, nothing has changed. All this stuff is about connecting and sharing. It always has been.
Antique German Camera
24″ x 24″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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Antique Candle Stick Phones
24″ x 24″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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Oliver Profile

If I had to pick a favourite out of the 22 paintings I made for the June 2012 exhibition at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, I’d have to consider Oliver Profile. It’s something I did for the pure enjoyment of getting lost in all the details.

On first glance, not many people would know what it is. It stands out, being almost unrecognizable as a typewriter (I assure you, it is one) with it’s unique wing-like design.

I found this typewriter in an old-tech “graveyard” of sorts. Hidden in the back of an ancient town hall in the middle of the prairie, sits a dark room bursting with adding machines, typewriters and copy machines. And on a low shelf in a corner I found this typewriter, where it sat for decades, unnoticed with its cover firmly in place. It was completely abandoned by time and technology advances.

I marvel at the intricate mechanics. The engineering prowess it took to piece together such a complicated machine simply intrigues me.

I chose to look at the typewriter from a different angle — a dead-on side profile. The negative space the profile of the typewriter creates, the contrast of the heavy, solid, deep green body and the myriad of dials, gears, knobs, levers, bolts — it was such a pleasure to paint. And through painting, I think the object goes through an organic metamorphosis. After some time, I finally figured it out — this typewriter was basically a functioning piece of steampunk art. That’s why I love it.

Oliver Profile
20″ x 30″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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It Went Well

The grand opening reception of the new location of the Elliott Fouts Gallery was something you had to see to appreciate. To say it was a full house is an understatement. The place was packed, shoulder to shoulder. I think the people of Sacramento are enjoying the new gallery, as they should.

By the end of the evening, 18 of the 22 paintings I have in the exhibition were sold. I wasn’t expecting that kind of a response to my work, and I think any artist would tell you that such an event is remarkably validating. I think I’ll keep doing what I do.

A quiet view of the exhibition

After four consecutive years of exhibitions in Sacramento, the best part is seeing familiar faces at the gallery. The Sunday following the reception, Kerrie Kelly and Vinny Catalano hosted a brunch so I could meet some more collectors. I was completely honoured by their hospitality. Every single conversation I had was enlightening and enjoyable.

Many thanks to the fine people at the gallery — Elliott Fouts, Michelle Satterlee, Cynthia Lou and Sherry Ngai. It’s a privilege to work with them!

American Art Collector, June 2012

My exhibition at the Elliott Fouts Gallery is featured in the June 2012 issue of American Art Collector magazine.

You can read the interview here (it’s a 3.7mb pdf file).

Clear Thinking
42″ x 32″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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Antique Candle Stick Phones
24″ x 24″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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Back to Back
24″ x 30″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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The Vanishing American
24″ x 24″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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Ad in American Art Collector (June 2012)

Check out this ad designed by Michelle Satterlee, gallery director at the Elliott Fouts Gallery. I think it was exactly a year ago that I mentioned that I appreciate her design skills. This ad is featured in the June 2012 issue of American Art Collector magazine.

I’ll share the article in the coming week, along with more info on the show.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Here is another round of progress photos of a few paintings I’ve been working on and some details on upcoming shows.
20+ new paintings will be exhibiting at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California for the month of June. I’ll be sharing the completed paintings in a few short weeks.

After that I’ll have 3 paintings in a group exhibition at the Washington County Museum of Fine Art, starting in August.

In September I have an exhibition of several of my book paintings at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.

And finally, in late November I’ll have another solo exhibition in Los Angeles. I’ll share more details about these shows as they near. In the meantime, I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Some recent progress photos…

I’d like to share some recent progress photos.

I’ve been in the studio every single day for the last 2 months, working on numerous paintings. My exhibition schedule this year is busy, to say the least. I am participating in four exhibitions, three of which are solo shows.

The first solo will be my fourth annual June exhibition at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California. I’m proud (and a little astonished) to say I’m working on painting number 15 of the 20 that will be in that show.

I’ll share more info about the other three exhibitions in the coming months. But first I have to focus completely on painting.

So in the meantime, I’m going to disappear from the world of social media again and stick my nose back up to the easel.

I’m starting to wonder if my neighbors are aware that I rarely leave the house.

If it wasn’t for my wife, I’d have no social life at all.

Group Show – George Billis Gallery, LA

Happy New Year!

I’m starting the year participating in a group show at the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles from January 7 – February 11, 2012.

Antique Books I
30″ x 30″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2011

Antique Books II
30″ x 30″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2011
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Find the gallery — click here for a map. If you are in the LA area, please check out the gallery and paintings.

I am showing five new paintings featuring books. The two paintings above depict 17th and 18th century historical essay and natural history texts. Below are primary school texts from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Equality, The World of Today
18″ x 36″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2011
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Brave and Bold, The Early Modern World
18″ x 36″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2011
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Anything Can Happen, Down The Road
30″ x 30″  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2011
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