Commissioned Portraits

"Charlotte"  Charcoal on Paper

A trip back to memory lane in the 70's, doing 10 minute portraits at a booth in a Syracuse mall, one after the other, all day long ... I don't do many commissioned portraits anymore, but I made an exception for this one. Cute as a button, right?

Traffic Patterns

"Traffic Patterns" 14x14" Acrylic  

Anyone who has been to New York City knows that the performance provided by these bike messengers rivals any broadway show entertainment - and it's free! They are amazingly agile and graceful as they weave in and out of a blur of racing traffic, a real sight to behold.

I'm leaving for Indiana to teach a "How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold" workshop - and looking forward to seeing that part of the country. Be back early next week to continue indulging my biker fascination...I'm really having fun with these guys!

Opposing Forces in NYC

"Opposing Forces"  14x14" Acrylic

In NYC, anything goes. So why not teal streets?

Howard Street Grunge

Howard Street Grunge  9x9" Acrylic

Playing around with shapes and colors... This was painted from an old photo of a Soho building which I took back in the days when there was actually grunge in that neighborhood. It is long gone!

Northbound on 10th II

Northbound on 10th (II)  18x24" Acrylic  Buy Now

This is the same subject I painted yesterday, just playing around with new colors and exploring other methods. Normally I start out with a rough drawing but in this case I just started out with big colored shapes and then honed in gradually. The painting went from totally abstract to fairly representational.  

I was actually aiming for more abstract depiction but no one was in the studio to take my brush away, so I kept breaking up the shapes and turning them into recognizable things. I like it, even tho I had something else in mind. Maybe next time. 

The piece is 18x24", here's a detail. I may cut it up and crop it like this...

"Northbound on 10th"  18x24" Acrylic  Buy Now

Summertime is here and it's time to ... paint the city! I have an upcoming show at Simie Maryles Gallery in  Provincetown starting Labor Day weekend and there is no better time than now to start creating new work. The gallery is known for its New York City artwork, so that will be my main painting focus this summer. 

My goal on this piece was just loosen up and play with color, do some abstraction, create movement, simplify, etc.  It's the type of image I'd like to play with many more times, and keep experimenting, trying new things each time. I may do that - or not. In our garden the roses, foxglove, cosmos and begonias are in full bloom and begging to be painted.  Hmmm, decisions, decisions. What's that I said about focus?