Times Square Glow in New York City

Times Square Glow, 12 x 12, Pastel on Sanded Paper

I am pleased to announce that my pastel "Times Square Glow" has been accepted into the International Association of Pastel Society's annual juried exhibit.  This painting will be on view at the Salmagundi Club in New York City from June 6th through June 17th, 2016.  Stop by if you are in or around the city in June!

Cityscape Work In Progress

I don't usually post works in progress because it bothers me to see all the things I need to fix but it has been two weeks since the last post and I wanted to post something!  This is an 18 x 24 oil on linen cityscape of NYC on a late September afternoon.  There is a lot of scumbling, scraping and repainting here.  I like to build up texture slowly with thin layers which is why it takes so long to finish these paintings!!  Hope to have the finished version in a couple of days.

Time Square Nocturne

Well, it has been a long Summer and Fall!  I have just finally been able to get back into a regular painting schedule after several months of personal obligations and travel.  I did manage to get a workshop in with Donald Jurney last month in the Adirondacks in the midst of everything.  I will post some of those paintings in the coming days.  The painting above is finally finished!  it is the oil version of the pastel study posted back in July.  It is 20 x 20 and looks great in my new gray green frames from Randy Higbee in California.   I am happy to be back painting and back to blogging!  Hope some of you are still around ; ) !

New Cityscapes

"Times Square Glow", Pastel, 12 x 12

I'm finally getting some new work done and should have a few new pieces to show over the next couple of weeks.  This painting is a study for a 20 x 20 oil on linen.  I like the soft glow in the distance.  I hope I can keep that effect!  Stay tuned. 

The Human Connection

I want to share a comment I received in an email about one of my paintings.  The little study above, “Rain on Broadway”, was one of many paintings featured in a silent auction to benefit the Saratoga Preservation Society in Saratoga Springs the other night.  All of my paintings sold but this one sold during a preview showing and was not available during the auction.  When I got home I received a lovely email from the owner of the store that is featured in this painting. Here are a couple of lines from her email:

this is my corner, this is my store, this is a piece of my life. . . this moment you captured just stopped my heart. That quiet rainy evening on the corner where so much of my life has unfolded. If that corner could talk!!

I have to say this is one of the best emails I have ever received about my work.  It is so richly rewarding in so many ways.  And it encapsulates why I love these kind of scenes:  the stories, the history, the human connection.  Needless to say, I hope to create another piece that will touch her in the same way!

Happy New Year

"Chinatown Morning," 9 x 12, oil on panel

Hope everyone had a great holiday season!  It is hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone and here we stand in 2015 already!  I am eager to attack my long list of art goals for this year which I will discuss in more detail in subsequent posts.  My work process has evolved over the past year or two and I am trying to be more deliberate and focused in the development of the concept, the design and the execution of an idea.  My plein air paintings are primarily used as a studies right now and I have been doing a lot more drawing in the field which I enjoy.  I do still love the cityscape genre so you will be seeing more of these this year!

Urban Beauty: Not Just Another Pretty Picture

"After the Rain Tortola", 9 x 12, oil on panel

I am pleased to announce that "After the Rain Tortola" has been accepted into the "Urban Beauty" show at the Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa, California.  The paintings selected for this national juried show will focus on the "unusual beauty and sometimes darker side of our cities."  It will run from October 4th through the 17th.  I wish I could attend the reception on the 4th but it is a long way to go for a party!  But you should go if you are in the area!

New Cityscape Study

Study for "Broadway Drizzle", oil on linen panel, 8 x 8

The reds are a little over saturated in this photo.  This is a study for a larger painting that I am starting today.  The larger piece will be 20 x 20.  I am going to emphasize the glow from the windows with a lot of glazing and transparent layers.  I will post a progress shot this weekend (hopefully)!

Salmagundi Club

"Cinemas", 18 x 24, Oil on Linen

I'm pleased to announce that my oil painting "Cinemas" has been accepted into the Salmagundi Club's Annual Juried Painting & Sculpture Show.  It will be on view in the main gallery of the National Arts Club in New York City from July 28th to August 8th.  Stop by if you're in the city!


UPDATE:  After standing in front of the dark, closed National Arts Club Saturday morning, I read my instructions for drop off to find that the exhibit is at the SALMAGUNDI CLUB on Fifth Avenue. So, it is 47 Fifth Avenue, New York City.  (The same show was at the National Arts Club last year so it was an understandable mistake . . . she said).

Steaming Sidewalk Study

"Steaming Sidewalk Study",  8 x 8, pastel on paper

I have had this reference for a long time and just now decided to tackle it.  This is the preliminary study on sanded paper.  I really like the way the texture of the paper makes the colors in the steam sparkle.  I  am going to do a couple of oil color studies because I think the red sidewalk is a bit saturated and makes the whole painting too warm.  I am trying to avoid using any photo references for my landscapes these days but cityscapes are a different story.  It's too hard to remember all the perspective issues and architectural detail without a reference.  More on that in another post!

"White Umbrella"

"White Umbrella", 9 x 12, oil on panel

This is an oil version of a pastel painting I did a long time ago.  I've always loved this image.  I hope to make a trip to New York soon to collect some more cityscape references.  In the meantime, this painting as well as my recent cityscapes and tonalist landscapes will be on view at Sorelle Gallery starting this evening.  There will be a reception starting at 5 p.m. so if you are in the upstate New York region please come by!

After the Rain

"After the Rain" (Road Town, BVI) 9 x 12, oil on panel

I had a fairly unproductive month due to the fractured foot incident but things are on the mend!  I have been working on some small pieces while laid up on the boat.  This is one of a few paintings currently in progress though this one is pretty close to finished.  There may be a scumble here or a glaze there before it is all done but I am leaving it for now.  I will post the remaining few pieces as they get closer. . .

Rain On Broadway

Rain on Broadway, 9 x 12, oil on panel

Forgive the bad photo here.  I only have my iPhone and it really does not seem to take decent pictures of artwork for some reason.  It feels a little strange to be painting cold, rainy street scenes when I am sitting in 85 degree heat in the Caribbean!  Unfortunately, my plans to paint some tropical townscapes have been postponed due to a sailing accident.  I missed a step and fractured my foot!  So, no plein air for a while.  It has been 10 days so far and I am able to walk short distances but am otherwise boat bound at the dock.  So, for now I am working from sketches and references I have of both New York and Saratoga.  Some of the Saratoga paintings will be included in my two person show in Albany later in the Spring.  More details to follow. . .

Illumination

"Illumination", 16 x 20, oil on linen

This is another Saratoga rainy day scene.  I am happy with it overall but need to let it sit for a while before declaring it "finished".  This will probably be the last cityscape I post for a while since I am in the Caribbean now. It's hard to paint cold rainy days when it is 90 degrees and sunny!

Rainy Day Grays

"Rainy Day Grays", oil on linen, 18 x 24

This is one of 4 large (for me) paintings that I have been working on over the past month or so in my studio.   I was not sure it was finished but I found myself doing lots of pointless noodling and it finally had to go - ready or not!  I am dropping this piece off at the gallery tomorrow so it had no choice but to be "finished."  The downside to working in an indirect manner is not only the amount of time it takes to complete the painting but how much that extra time creates and enables doubt and uncertainty to creep in at each stage. When painting directly, either in the studio or plein air, you have to make quick decisions and stick with it.  But, when working in layers you can glaze, scumble, have a snack, paint the whole thing over again, question the color choice, glaze, scumble, change the palette, throw your brushes, have another snack . . . well you get the picture.  I am satisifed for now.  It has a quiet kind of Hopper feel to me (though with brighter colors obviously).  Two of the other paintings were not allowed to leave the studio.  They are being punished.

Chinatown Market

Chinatown Market, 11 x 14, oil on canvas

All four of my large paintings are still wet so I could not work on them today.  I found this older painting in my "discard pile" and decided to rework it.  I like it much better now!  I think some of the values in the original painting were off and the colors were over saturated.  Looks like I still have a couple of minor perspective corrections in this but I will have to wait a couple of days.

Belated Happy New Year!

"Study for Rainy Saratoga", 5 x 7, oil on paper

Hope everyone had a great holiday!  I'm off to a bad start with New Year's resolutions one of which was to post my paintings in a more consistent and timely manner.  I am currently working on four large (for me) cityscape/rainy scene paintings which will hopefully be ready for viewing in the next week or so.  My process has gradually shifted over the past year to a more deliberative approach which can be quite time consuming.  It is a combination of indirect and direct painting techniques involving layers of glazes, scumbles and often lots of scraping off and repainting! I now do more sketching than painting on location and use those sketches and value studies for the subsequent paintings.   Stay tuned!

Rainy Afternoon Saratoga

"Rainy Afternoon Saratoga", Pastel on Paper, 6 x 6

On with the rain . . . This little study of downtown Saratoga was painted from a sketch that I did in the car a couple of months ago.  I like the texture of the street in this study.  Pastel is particularly good at depicting rough and/or wet textures.   I'll be posting more of these over the next few days.

Rainscapes

"Study for Rainy Afternoon NYC", 5 x 7, oil on panel

Rain has been a motif that I constantly revisit.  I love rainy cityscapes.   There are so many surface variations on a rainy day:  wet concrete, reflections from cars and buildings, misty atmosphere, the list goes on.  The key challenge in creating a rainy day scene is to get the values correct which are usually compressed on the lower end of the value scale.   I have spent quite a few hours in the rain sketching wet streets!  I am currently working on the 18 x 24 version of this painting.  I will post more rainscapes as they appear.

Plein Air Painting Bristol RI

"Bristol Greys", 6 x 8, oil on linen panel

I painted this a few days ago while we were in Bristol RI.  There are a lot of old buildings in this charming little town.  From the vantage point of the town dock (where I painted the last post) the old buildings looked like layers of colored greys stacked atop one another.  The jpeg came out a bit darker and more saturated despite my photoshop edits!  I guess I need to read the book.

Postscript: This painting has been revised since this post.  The above painting is the new version.