Work in Progress: Warhol-Mare

Warhol-Mare (work in progress), acrylic on clay board

I started this painting yesterday. I'm using a reference photo of my wife that I digitally enhanced to give it an Andy Warhol-style look. It's a square format, much like Warhol frequently used for his portraits of celebrities. Thus, the working title: Warhol-Mare. It's acrylic on clay board, which is a softer surface laid on top of wood. I first added some designs by scratching into the clay board with a screwdriver. Then, I added a wash of purple as a background. Next, I sketched the composition with marker then added the areas of color. I have a little more work to do like fixing some proportions and adding some details so it's probably about 75% finished. Another fun little experiment...

New Finished Painting: Fairfield Avenue Sunset

Fairfield Avenue Sunset, acrylic on wood panel, 16x20, 2008

Yesterday, I added some red and orange color to the new Fairfield Avenue Sunset painting and finished it up with a final protective varnish. The sides are painted black so it probably doesn't need a frame. But, I think I'm going to pick up a cherry red wood frame to see how that looks. I think it will pick up the color from the birds nicely and give it a little character.

Here's a close up of the birds to give a better idea of the colors and textures.

Fairfield Avenue Sunset (Detail), acrylic on wood panel, 16x20, 2008

New Painting: Electric Crows (Fairfield Avenue Sunset)

Electric Crows (Fairfield Avenue Sunset), acrylic on wood panel, 16x20, 2008

I can't decide on the name for this new painting:
a) Fairfield Avenue Sunset
b) Electric Crows
c) I'm leaning toward combining those: Electric Crows (Fairfield Avenue Sunset)
d) Or vice versa: Fairfield Avenue Sunset (Electric Crows)

Post a comment and let me know which name you like.

I painted this piece fairly quickly over the course of two painting sessions and I purposely tried to keep it loose. I think it's finished but i may add a little more color to the birds. I'll decide when I'm back in the studio with some fresh eyes.

It's also sort of an experiment with some new imagery that I've been working on in my sketchbook. The support is made from wood topped with a thin layer of a canvas-like material. I've been making some paintings on wood this year and like how the paint feels on it. There's a smoothness to the way the paint moves on the surface. I'm definitely going to pick up some more of these wood panels and continue experimenting.

New Painting - Watertank Blues

Watertank Blues, acrylic on canvas, 36x48, 2008

After a month, I finally finished Watertank Blues. This is part of my ongoing City by the Lake series of paintings. I'm creating a mix of architecture and lakefront scenes - two things that strongly influence my art.

For this particular painting, I used a photograph of the Finkl Steel watertank -- that I took one afternoon in April -- for reference. As you can see, I improvised a little and added the telephone pole, missing from the original photograph.

Finkl Steel Watertank, photograph, 2008

Sunday in the studio

The studio had a nice breeze coming through this afternoon. Lots of light and the occasional plane buzzing the neighborhood from the Chicago Air and Water Show. The squeaky, adjacent El trains were quiet in comparison.

My newly finished painting, Watertank Blues, dries against my easel.

Watertank Blues in August

Watertank Blues, acrylic on canvas, 2008 (work in progress)

It's been about a month since I last posted. Spent some time on vacation in Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. Also been out enjoying the Chicago summer weather as much as possible. But, I still have been working on the Watertank Blues painting a several hours each week. I've added a telephone pole and wires to the composition along with some more layers of color. I'd say it's about 80% finished. Some more work to do on the buildings and I'd like to change some things on the watertank. If you look closely, you can see the original photograph taped to my window which I'm using for reference.