It's what's inside that counts.

It's what's inside that counts.
30" x 24" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

This is the third piece of three that will be showing in the group show 40 & Under at the Elliott Fouts Gallery from August 7 - September 3, 2010.

I've had these gumball machines for years, sitting in the studio. Initially I bought only a small amount of gum because, well, it's intimidating thinking of painting them full. It's a small form of torture for my kids. Gumball machines high on a shelf, being told "you can't eat dad's work". So the gum became stale and dusty.

Until I decided to paint this piece and I needed more gum to fill the small blue machine. I took the machines down from the shelf and since I now had a surplus of gum and a surplus of pennies, I let the kids at it. They kept returning to the studio, within minutes of their last purchase, to let me know that they either dropped their gum or it ran out of flavor. Or that they got two purple ones in a row and were hoping for an orange so, here we go again.

Upcoming Group Show - "40 & Under"

I will have three new paintings in the August group show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery. The show, entitled 40 & Under, is showcasing artists who are, well, either 40-years-old or younger. I'm really excited to have some paintings hanging in the show.

Below are two of the three, the third piece I'll share a little closer to August.


Soda Pop Bottles
18" x 14" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold (Collection of J.Crew)


Pencils, Crayons, & Pen
18" x 14" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

Return to the Studio

I had a great time in California. The gallery hosts fantastic receptions with live music and friendly faces all around. The best part, as the artist, is to meet with people who collect your paintings. Cynthia, Michelle and Elliott at the Elliott Fouts Gallery are as thrilled with the results as I am, I'm sure. I really am fortunate to have had a successful first official solo exhibition.

But now my break is over and this morning I was back at it in the studio with headphones in place, paint squeezed out and daunting canvas staring me in the face.

Travel

Six Pieces of Luggage
20" x 36" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold


Bartlett Pear & Grapes
12" x 24" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

I'm packing my bags and heading to Sacramento for the opening reception of my solo show. The reception is on Saturday, June 12 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm. If you cannot make it to the reception, you could always watch the action through a satellite view on Google Maps. ;-)

I'm looking forward to my trip, seeing my paintings again after sending them off over the last several months, and checking out wine country on a sunny warm weekend.


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A Video & Slide Show

Here is a short two-and-a-half minute video that I made showcasing a few of 33 paintings that I have currently showing at the Elliott Fouts Gallery (click here for an external link to the video).

If you follow this blog regularly you'll know that this exhibition is something I have been working pretty hard on for the last 6 - 7 months. It really is a great pleasure to see the "June 5" date arrive and having a satisfied feeling with the accomplishment.



Lastly, here is a slide show of all the paintings (click here for an external link to the slide show).

Tricycles

I started painting tricycles nearly a decade ago.

Very early on in my fine arts program there was a project where we had to select an object as an idea and work with it over and over, repeating the image in different styles, mediums and formats. A friend had a fantastic ancient tricycle and it just resonated with me. I painted it in a classic realist manner, but peeled away all the surrounding imagery and focused on the tricycle alone in a straight-forward visual language stuck with me and never left.


Tricycle XIV
36" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD


Two Tricycles
20" x 40" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD