When you screw up.

Step one. Say your sorry. Even if what you did was totally unintentional. Those are usually a bit easier to get over. But still it takes some time for the victim (s) to get over it.

Step two. Try and help where you can. Sometimes you just have to keep your mouth shut and take your punishment.

Step three. Say your sorry, again.

Step four. Make sure you take the ball point pen out of your pocket before your wife does a huge load of laundry. Especially after a busy weekend.

Stupid pen.

Complete

Here they are. Early On #1 and Early On # 2. I am pleased with how they turned out although I need to take some better photos that include the frames. Very graphic and print like in style. I suppose you could say they are a painterly print style of art. Or something like that. I displayed these two works last night at our co-op's group exhibit. Several people wondered if these were in fact screen printed or a combination of print and painting. Nope, just school grade tempera. The cheap stuff from Blick Art Supply. So matte and flat that they look as if they were printed.

I suppose that is one of the many things I like about tempera paint. My wife and I have talked about the fact that I really need to either switch to matte acrylics or at the least start adding matte medium to my paint to make it more durable. As most of you know tempera is a water based paint and even when completely dry can still be re hydrated and manipulated.

So basically if it gets wet, changes will occur. The medium would help eliminate this problem. Just have not purchased any yet. But I really need to. I'm cheap. Heck, I only paid twenty bucks for my prescription eyeglasses. And yes, they lenses were made with my prescription.

When talking about my paintings with a couple other artists at the show I mentioned that I love the feeling of painting with tempera on cardboard. There is this feeling of the brush against the cardboard that is difficult to describe. The brush sort of glides over the surface and at the same time is making this faint sound as the paint is pulled across. Then it starts to run down the surface. Making its own decisions as it flows. I love that feeling and that sound. One of my favorite things to do is take a brush and load it up with some paint, stick it to the cardboard and pull it horizontally across the surface. Man I love to do that. How that can balance me out I have no idea. I could easily do that for hours upon hours. And some day I will.

Any who, let me know what you think. My brother Jeff says the spiral slide reminds him of Fruity Pebbles. Yes, the cereal. There is a story here, but that will have to wait for another time.

In progress...

somewhat. I have been working on these two paintings for a while now. The ideas have been drawn out for quite a while. Certainly in the beginning stages. Both will have a playground slide included in them. I have decided these would transfer very well to screen prints. Pretty excited to see them finished...if they turn out like I see them in my mind. Always a difficult thing trying to live up to your own expectations. Anyone else experience that?

New painting of my nephews Myles and Liam

The first painting is one I did of my girls this past spring. It went over well so I decided to paint another in the same style using my nephews this time. This painting is 35"h x 25"w and is a gift for my youngest brother Joe. I painted this on a panel that I removed from the back of an old dresser that I was getting rid of. Rather than junkin' it I took the time to disassemble it and salvage the wood. This is painted with acrylic and tempera.

to my dear brothers Jeffrey and Joseph

Attempting to strike a balance...

with the type of art I am in the process of creating. I have come to realize the need to make art for arts sake. The need to make art solely with the intent of creating something that is less, for a lack of a better word...heavy. By heavy, I mean that much of the work that I have been creating lately has been mentally draining. Not that I have not enjoyed making it, I certainly will continue to do it, but I need to balance it out with work that is less draining.

So....with that in mind I have been sketching out some ideas that will focus on abandoned or "vintage" playground equipment. I really like the idea of a single subject in a composition along with the use of large amounts of negative space. Just works for me visually. A few years back I did something similar using old metal lawn chairs. Any who, this idea was sparked by a photo I viewed recently by a photographer from the Kansas City area named Morgan Miller. She has a fantastic photo of a playground slide that is in front of an old drive in theatre. The composition is just perfect, except I would have cropped it a bit more. Anyway, Morgan has a photo stream on Flickr and you can find her work there.

I have also realized that I very much like color field painting. I used to think that Mark Rothko was a joke. Too simple, as if he was trying to pull the wool over our eyes. But there is much to be said about his use of color and the multiple layers he used to create such depth.

There you have it, I need to balance things out. I kind of look at it like the Sabbath. The mind needs some time to rest in order to be at its best. Although sometimes it is hard to step back, I feel it is vital and absolutely necessary for continued creative growth.

Onward and Upward.

First Co-op Meeting

Well, the first co-op meeting has come and gone. I had said in my mind, if I can get at least five people to sign on I will make a go of it. As of right now, we have seven. Pretty cool huh? And I just got a phone call this evening about another interested artist.

So far the co-op's members are Jeff Ackman-drawing and stencil design, Erin Eveland-oils and watercolor, Dags Grossman-oils, Mike Cahill-photography, Kenneth Cox-mixed media, Lynn Trone-drawing and myself-tempera and screen printing.

Another meeting will take place in a couple of weeks and we have already begun planning our first show for the first week of December. This show will be a group show that will feature work from all of the founding members. I will keep you posted!