June 2, 2009

"Thank You" - Bubblegum Machine


40" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD

Hanging for the month of June at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento is my two-man show with Manuel Nunes.

This large bubble gum machine is in the show. I did this several months and it'll be nice to see it again during the reception for the show, during Sacramento's Second Saturday on June 13th. It's been some time since I have seen my work together hanging in a space. You get such a different perspective for paintings when you see them properly lit... and not in a messy studio.

May 29, 2009

Manual of Psychology


20" x 20" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD

The Manual of Psychology belonged to a law student in 1905. My mother-in-law's mother-in-law was the housekeeper for the gentleman lawyer decades after his schooling. After he passed away, she was given all his books as they were something she admired.

I have the book sitting in front of me. As I casually flipped it open, it landed on a page discussing spacial perception. One hundred and four years ago the student scrawled the word chiaroscuro beside the phrase "The play of light and shade...". I find it curious that I'd flip open an ancient psychology text and by chance fall on a page explaining visual concepts used by artists — the use of light and shadow to create a sense of depth.

Is this book trying to tell me something?

May 28, 2009

It's Story Time No.2


24" x 20" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD

This is another composition with the early 1960s children's book, It's Story Time. I had fun with with a triangular composition which I think works well with the overall simplicity of the shapes in my work.

My four-year-old daughter was flipping through book and was fascinated by the illustrations. She was inspired and did a little sketch of a bird and left it as a gift for me.

May 27, 2009

Underwood Typewriter


30" x 36" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD

I frequently visit the website Shorpy.com, which features high resolution photographs from the 1850s to 1950s. Their tag-line is true, there always is something interesting there.

I was pleasantly surprised to find these two images; the first is of the Underwood Typewriter Co.'s office in Washington, D.C. around 1919. Second photograph is the "Office Girls" from 1925. The girl on the left is hard at work on her Underwood. Click on the images to visit the site and you can find super-mega-high resolution scans with incredible detail.

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May 26, 2009

The Fans


Two Vintage Electric Fans
20" x 24" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD


Vintage Electric Fan, Three Glasses of Water
30" x 36" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD

It turns out I have an interest in industrial design. And nostalgia. And strong geometric shapes. And icons and symbols found in everyday objects. The interests manifest themselves in paintings. Paintings that are done with a slight lean on old masters painting techniques with an emphasis on how that light falls on these objects. Recently that light has been the dependable light from a north-facing window in my house.

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May 25, 2009

The Bosc Pear


Three Bosc Pears & Antique Book
16" x 24" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD


Nine Pear Huddle
20" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2009
• SOLD

My muse, the pear. The perfect way to study light and color with a simply beautiful shape. These two pieces will be included in the June show.

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