Monday, November 12, 2012

"See You Soon"



"See You Soon" 36 x 18 oil on canvas experimenting with overglazes to represent a feeling of time and the movement of light.  I painted this outside in the town of Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY, by memory, as a guest artist for Think Long Island First right before hurricane Sandy (by the way, which reminds me, a new movie called Identity Thief, starring Jason Bateman as Sandy, is coming out soon and it looks hilarious - unlike the hurricane, of course).  The photo of me was taken in the early 90's at the Rose Cafe' in Venice Beach, CA.  I did not paint the rose behind me.  I really miss California and look forward to painting the waves of the West Coast soon and to meeting up with some old friends there.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

"four season's of beech tree at caumsett state park"


for dana and richard andreoni.....they commissioned me to paint the four seasons of the beech tree at caumsett state park huntington new york,it was fun to study the changes of one tree at the same pespective and i like the idea they had to do this on one large square. 36x36 mixed media on deep edge panel, many people know and love this tree.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

"happy birthday vera"

painted another birthday banner,doing much more of this.they are washable,i have them hemmed on three sides on the top a long fold big enough for rope or ribbon which runs through it to tie it up, comes in a safe keep storage box with the childs name on it....always fun the kids love it,the banners i have painted in the past have become a family tradition to hang up every year, im very fond of little vera.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

"rebecca"

jim and maryanne darcy commissioned me to paint their niece,the photo taken from a phone so it was not that clear though a fun joyous action shot.it is 24x30 oil on canvas.i was thinking about listening to louden wainwright which then made me think of kate and anna mcgarrigle then rufus wainright then martha wainwright (met them both in aspen which is when i first got marthas ep of her song factory which i loved straight away and her sweet heartbreaking version of bye bye blackbird)then i came across the roches(maggie,terre and suzzy) started listening to their first album as a trio with the train,mr sellack,the hammond song. wonderful listening while painting but it was their album "speak" which seemed to be the perfect soundtrack for this little girl in the painting.i have seen them perform,smart ladies with guts and alot of talent the entire family and off shoots are all wonderful.lucywainwright daughter of suzzy and louden is ofcourse wonderful as well and i will be buying some of her work soon.suzzy roche has a book coming out her web is http://www.roches.com/suzzy/index.html i got a little lost for a bit watching old tv interviews ect ,will go back to it when i have more time for sure,peace to these amazing soulful people.

the famous beech tree at caumsett state park


huntington n.y.  anyone who goes to caumsett state park knows this tree(some call it the gum drop tree) it is very large and as you come closer it is like walking into a huge tent of branches and leaves.you will then see carvings of lovers,friends local kids who have spent time under this amazing tree,i am donating it for the caumsett state park auction this month,the proceeds go to keep up the grounds and buildings.

louis and pat's window in kitchen

louis and pat called me, they wanted a window scene in the kitchen.louis had a idea based on some window's she liked in venice then i suggested painting the view from her back garden. the walls i colorwashed in green tones in a old world sort of way.they had a very funny dog who wanted to go outside with the intention of getting a treat after,we became friends...sort of. commack n.y

Monday, July 16, 2012

"collabaration"

36x36 oil on cavas ...sold to a nice couple on the south shore.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

window at firefly gallery/ northport n.y

It was my turn to have the window at the firefly gallery, i painted four children and with the help of my friend jennifer lau we hung these quotes ....it came out magical and people in town really enjoyed it.

Friday, January 27, 2012

theo



theo..the oldest of the four...very wise, amazing eyes that look green or grey or blue depending. theo is smart,strong but gentle, his mother picked these quotes thinking of him for the window. 30x40 acrylic washes on wood panel.

amelia and the okapi

amelia ( sometimes called mia) she was the first one out of the four i painted, for some reason i wanted to paint her with a zebra...when i shared this with her mother. she told me that amelia  really likes the okapi (a animal which is half zebra) and her mom had found a okapi toy which she is holding in her hand in the painting. her mother is a great photographer and she totally understood how i wanted to paint her, i feel this could be in some kind of movie or childrens book, i loved doing it...i feel i captured her eyes which are very blue, she's lovely with a wonderful giggle.30x40 acrylic washes on wood panel.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

carrie and wings painting

"Finding My Wings"
oil on canvas 72 x 54



my friend carrie lee and i went to thailand in '98 we were in a village that escapes me though carrie feels it was north of bangkok, as we were walking through the village we passed a school of very small children, one of these children started following me and was staring  so carrie nudged me to take a photo..much time later back in colorado i started playing around with the idea of painting this boy with sort of a collage of images that was around him in his village. i ended up painting around six paintings the last was this one called "wings" i wish i had gotten the boys name i sometimes wonder if i could find him.


"Puppet Master II"
oil on canvas 20 x 36


"Puppet Master"
oil on canvas 50 x 60

"Reflection II"
oil on canvas 25 x 40


"Finding my Roots"
oil on canvas 36 x 48


"Reflection"
oil on canvas 60 x 72


peace paintings








the peace sign was designed by gerald holtom.....and he designed it for people to use it for free, i always liked the sign. i am doing what i call peace paintings where i use the symbol in some way in the painting, i will continue to do these of all places people and things from around the world. i am currently doing alot of new york city land marks. i got inspired by my friend gail day  in 2010 as well as john lennon and his message of peace. i  paint them in acrylic washes on wood panels,i am selling the originals and prints on wood.

painted floor / jalbert nursery

 for susan and joe's grandchildren.....love this room, susan wanted to take this room and set it up for the grandkids we painted the walls and ceiling all white,susan had her brother a carpenter do shelving for books,toys...i painted the floor a blue  color picked by susan. their is a vintage little rascals poster hanging which always makes me smile that has been in the house since their kids were little,one of the first things i remember seeing when i started painting for them in the eighties.

the kids table


for the jalbert grandchildren....susan found this , i sanded any shine off the finish then painted red ,antiqued the color to age it and clear coat, i wanted some of the grain to show through so i did not prime first. the kids eat at this table as well as color.

bathroom / jalbert home


colorwash / faux finish for susan a few years ago..keeps with the old warm feel of the house, has a european feel as well. a finish like this will last, i used two colors which are kind of grey stone color and a green that was in the tile.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

wilder and august finkel (hand painted chairs)



wilder picked out the colors for his and little brother, the chairs are designed so they can sit at the correct height for the kitchen table. they are lightly weathered with designs from cards their mom showed me that the kids like.