Productive studio day

A good fall weather mix of sun, clouds, slight breeze followed by dark clouds and rain made for a productive day at the studio.

I'm working on a series of water tanks. I have 3-4 in progress. This one is a painting from a photo I took near Leonard and Varick St. in Tribeca, NYC. More layers and details to go but starting to take more shape. The conté crayons are allowing me to alternate between sketch-like marks and paint. Fun process so far!

This next one is a small sketch on paper with conté crayon painted over an inkjet photo; a viewpoint near Chelsea off of the High Line in NYC. The walk along the High Line is one of the best views you'll get in Manhattan.

This sketch is an attempt to get the composition and cropping down, which explains the various border markings. I will eventually be turning it into a large-scale painting on a 36"x36" wood panel.

I haven't touched this next painting for about a year until today. Using conté crayons, I sketched over areas of the painting to create more depth and to give it a more immediate feel. Still more to go but it's feeling a lot closer to being done now. This is based on a close-up up Boticelli's Birth of Venus.

Thanks to those supporting local artists

Earlier this month I sold these three water tank paintings along with a screen print and photo at my studio during Ravenswood Art Walk. It's always great to sell some art but nice to have the support during this downturn in the economy. My wife and I decided that we needed to add more art to our collection so we took the money and bought a few pieces ourselves recently.

CBGB's Photos - 5 years closed

CBGB's - home of underground rock since the early 70's closed 5 years ago in October 2006. I was in NYC shortly after it closed and took shots of the exterior. The next day, I rode by in a cab on the way to the airport -- and the sign and graffiti were gone -- just painted white as if it never existed. But it did, 30 years of punk and alternative music blasted away on its stage. I was there a few times in the 90's -- way beyond it's late 70's and early 80's heyday -- but it still was cool. Dark, dingy, loud, smelly. You felt the musical history oozing out of the speakers and dripping down the walls.

 

More progress - NYC watertanks

I've added some more colors with art stix and paint. Building up the layers and trying to keep it loose. Working to give this new series a more immediate and sketch-like feel. Striving to capture the frenetic energy of the city. The painting below is based on a photograph I took in New York in The Village off of Bleeker St.