Nyack Stroll

Nyack Stroll  12x12"  Acrylic on Canvas SOLD

Greece was great! Now I'm back, home sweet home - but not for long. Heading to Carmel, CA to teach a 5 day workshop Oct. 19 - 23. Here's the info - come join us. Learn to  "Loosen Up and Get Painterly!"

Delivery Dude

"Delivery Dude"  16x20"  Oil  Purchase Info

These guys are everywhere. Really hard workers, their goal is to deliver fast, and if it's food, it must stay HOT. I heard an amazing podcast on NPR that really touched my heart. It's a great listen - I promise, called "Be cool to the Pizza Dude".  My take is be cool to any of these dudes - pizza or whatever.

Text Stop

"Text Stop"  16x20"  Oil on Canvas  SOLD

Last week I was in New Orleans for new product training, sponsored by Golden Paints. We worked with the luscious Williamsburg Paints and QOR Watercolors.  Both products have an amazing pigment load and were a dream to work with.  The above painting was done with Williamsburg Paints. It was really fun working in oils again!

I have several workshops coming up... 

• Paint Fast, Loose and Bold in St. Michaels Md, June 3,4,5  2014. For information contact Valerie Sunderland, valeriesunderland@gmail.com
• Paint Fast, Loose and Bold in Syracuse, NY, June 21,22,23  2014. For information contact Linda Cohen, lpaints311@gmail.com
• Let's Paint the colors of Tuscany in Cortona, Italy, September 24 - Oct. 1 2014. For more info, including the full week's itinerary click here. 

Window Shopping in NYC

"Window Shopping"  16x20" Acrylic  Purchase Info

I stuck the little pooch in at the last minute, maybe because my last painting had one... yes, the finishing touch!

The Guy Walk

"The Guy Walk"  16x20"  Acrylic on Canvas  SOLD

While I was painting this I totally assumed the dog was a male, and had this title in my head from the start. Why, I don't know, it just felt like a "guy moment" in the city.  

Three White Houses

"Three White Houses"  Oil   9x12 SOLD

Yes, they actually are white. I was in a fauvist mood and pumped up the color. Why not... its fun!

NYC Canal Street Pretzel Vendor

"Canal Street Pretzel Vendor"  Acrylic  12x12"  Buy it Now

The biggest challenge to this piece was cleaning it up - too many cars, signs, people, just too much clutter. I'd way rather clean up a painting than my studio!

There are a few spots left in my upcoming "Loosen Up" workshop in Cary, NC - we will be grooving out freely (with paint) ... here is the info  Loosen Up! March 14-17, 2014 Cary, NC

Soho Shopping Buds

"Soho Shopping Buds"  Acrylic 8x8"  Click to Buy

Who can resist window shopping in Soho? It is serendipity at it's best!

etc: I have added "Click to see more" to my blog title. Reason being, several people have asked how to go to my blog and see all the posts, upcoming workshop listings, and also be able to comment... I guess it is not clear that the title is clickable. 

Midtown Showers in NYC

"Midtown Showers"  Acrylic 8x8"  Click to View

Dreary but colorful ... a typical rainy day scene in the city

I'm really excited about my upcoming workshops ... I will be demonstrating methods for loosening up with acrylics or oils. We will be painting cityscapes, still lifes and more!

Painting Fast, Loose and Bold (in acrylics and oils) Carmel Visual Arts, Carmel,California February 19-21, 2014

Loosen Up! March 14-17, 2014 Cary, NC, March 14-17, 2014

Painting the NYC Urban Landscapes, May 19-23, 2014

Chelsea Hipster

Chelsea Hipster  6x6" Oil  Click to Bid

This scene is 25th and 10th, the heart of the gallery district in Chelsea, where everyone looks at art... and their phones.

Zig Zag Thru Midtown (again)

Zig Zag Thru Midtown II,  Acrylic  14x14"  Click to buy 

Have you ever finished a painting and then said to yourself - ' It works, but it's not what I was aiming for'.  That happens to me often enough, and it usually means I want the painting to have a looser, more abstract quality about it.  

Often before I start a painting, I will sketch it out in charcoal to get the basic drawing and proportions accurate. This is how I started the painting in my previous post from July 3. The only problem with this approach is that it can feel like I'm just "filling-in-the-lines", working in a coloring-book manner, which can feel constricting.  For this painting I decided to just jump in head first with paint, without working out the drawing first, and gradually "sculpt out" the shapes and whatever detail was necessary. This approach, to me, is much more engaging, and feels less mechanical. It forces me to work out the drawing while I'm painting, without the security of a safety net. It also makes me "react"more, stroke by stroke, to continually make choices about the balance of shapes and overall design. 

As I look at both paintings side by side, I'm not sure there is an obvious difference that I started them in completely different manners. But as the artist, my experience working on each was so different. I was more creatively engaged in the second one, and felt much freer in every way, including more freedom in color choices. 

In the end, for me, its about keeping the experience imaginative, fresh and somewhat unpredictable.  Which means experimentation and going outside my comfort zone... I suppose that translates into a higher liklihood of more pieces that "fail"... but how can one grow or have breakthroughs if they are not experimenting and taking risks? In other words, that old saying comes to mind... no pain, no gain.

Zig Zag thru Midtown NYC

Zig Zag thru Midtown  14x14" Acrylic  Click to buy

So where was I before I left for Indiana? ... oh yeah - Bikers in NYC. Here's another on that theme...

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!

The Bigger Apple

There is something about these Apple billboards that seems so iconic of our times. I've been an Apple user forever, including when it was such an underdog to Microsoft - and now it's surpassed Exxon Mobil in net worth, who would have imagined. These billboards are everywhere, elegant in their color and simplicity, somehow balancing out the chaotic backdrop.

I painted two versions of this scene on Canal Street, one in oil, the other in acrylics. I was not completely happy with the oils version, too much detail, too much brown, too much like the photo. With the acrylics version I did my homework before picking up the brush and designed my value structure rather than just mimicking the photo. I think it reads better and I felt much free-er with the paint, knowing that my values were worked out.

The Bigger Apple

12x12 Oil on Board (sold)

8x8 Acrylic on Paper

Price on Request