Joshua Flint ArtBlog

Commissions

2012-01-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

A few commissions, both 40"x30", that I completed at the back end of last year.

Out with 2011

2012-01-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

and in with 2012.

A couple of small paintings that were laying around the studio. I figured I would finish them before the end of the year. So now as I build towards my one man show I will be putting up more process laden posts versus final images, at least for a month or two. That doesn't mean I won't post any paintings but not the ones that will be used for promotion and will need to be under wraps till early March-ish.

To this point I think with the internet age of sharing everything via multimedia sites and virtual friends its important as a creative to hold some things back. Keep them to you and only you as you think through them and not have others see or give feedback till you are ready. Furthering that thought, for most painters the creative process is often a private intimate thing that has become more and more public with online demos, blogs, and ateliers in abundance. All of which I am appreciative of and find very interesting. However, retaining some of that inward reflection on your work as a painter is crucial for honest development. Take it for what you will in this new year.

Future Memory - 15" x 10" - oil on illustration board mounted on panel

Silent Cities - 12" x 12" - oil on panel

The Language of Weather - 5" x 7" - oil on panel

Thank you all who follow this little blog here and leave comments. I am quite terrible at responding to them on the blog. If you prefer to send an email versus a comment I'll always get back to you.

Freshies

2011-12-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Searchlight - 8"x8" - oil on panel

Lucent Atmosphere - 8"x10" - oil on panel

Recent . . .

2011-12-12T10:29:00.000-08:00

. . . . painting. " Landing" , 36" x 24", oil on canvas

Green Hill Center for NC Art Winter Show

2011-12-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

The 2011 COLLECTOR'S CHOICE & WINTER SHOW at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art opened up this past weekend. I was invited to show a selection of still-lifes which are below. The event is quite popular. It would've been fun to be there to see all the work on display. However, I am in Oregon, and by proxy or default or dumb luck I was asked to contribute even as a (now) out of state artist.

All of these are 12"x12" or smaller and their details can be found at my website.

If you are in the area go see the show on display from December 3rd, 2011 to January 15th, 2012.

Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art
Greensboro Cultural Center
200 N. Davie St.
Greensboro, NC 27401

Phone: 336-333-7460
Fax: 336-333-2612

greenhillcenter.org

More simplicity

2011-11-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Behind Winter's Veil, 10" x 10", oil on linen

Heavy in the Sweet Air, 8" x 8", oil on linen

While I am working on a few commissions I continue to work from life. . . provides balance and creates discoveries. They feel honest when I work on them. Just me and a simple piece of fruit.

Small B&W

2011-11-10T12:45:00.001-08:00

Distant Terrain7" x 5"Oil on PanelIt is amazing how paintings come together or in this case not, or really not very easily. This tiny piece is a culmination of a months effort off and on. Painting, letting it dry, repainting, wiping out parts that didn't work while keeping areas that I felt were resolved. It's based on a real statue, this type of imagery is present in many cultures, but is not a copy. The environment, the plinth it stands on, and the lion itself are all resolutions found while painting and not predetermined. In saying this I think it has a quality I couldn't find if it was a direct interpretation of an actual object. Also if anyone knows why the NEW blogger is absolutely crap for formatting, please let me know. Is it my machine? Can I utilize the older version? If anyone has an idea please drop me a line in the comments section. Or I might have to get rid of the blog or switch to another blogging program. Much thanks.

Naranjas

2011-11-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

"A Wheel in Time" - 14" x 11" - Oil on Panel

"Touching Distance" - 8"x 8" - Oil on LinenI got nothing. Enjoy your day.

2011-10-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Kicking off next Friday will be a group show at RLS. Since I moved across the country my life has been a bit hectic, so my painting is getting in just under the wire for the show. Judging by the above images of the work there will be great paintings in abundance. I believe a preview of the show and most images are up at the RLS website if you are interested. The theme revolves around fortunes found in fortune cookies. As we all know some are banal others poignant, many very literal, with other fortunes more ephemeral, making a translation to a visual medium (like painting) more complicated. I'll be as curious as you to see the artist's work and their fortune. I'll post my image when I can, should be soon. Thanks all.

Personal Project

2011-09-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Amaranthine, 20" x 16", oil on panel

Sometimes these things take awhile . . . .

2011-08-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks for bearing with me here at Studioflint. I have moved from Raleigh, NC back to the lovely, albeit more overcast, Pacific Northwest and to Portland, Oregon. As it was my home two years ago I am very familiar with the city. It feels good to be back. The new studio is just about set up and I should be posting on the blog regularly. Newest piece sent out to Robert Lange Studios before driving 3000 miles. Symphony, 48" x 36", oil on canvas

This is a head drawing . . . done for fun and traded for other original art.

The title of the post reflects the bizarre nature of creativity and how 'Symphony' went unfinished for a couple of years. I left it hanging in my house while I looked it over many times, wondering what was the 'right' way to complete the narrative. I think the painting needed space to breathe, not to rush it, and let the idea marinate till it was ready to pop out. One of those situations that taught me about the importance of patience and risk.

Stairwell

2011-07-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

from the sketchbook. . . . . . . . more updates (with paintings) on the way.

Belated

2011-07-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

Article on group show at RLS:

How'd they do that (my title, not the articles)

Have a look at the show,RLS, and see many varieties of approaching color harmonies, color relationships, and color mixing used to create a piece. In some cases a few artists have multiple paintings and their corresponding palettes.

Looking at these provides insight into working processes, problem solving , and visual literacy.

July Group Show

2011-07-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Coming Up!

July Group Show at Robert Lange Studios

Opening Reception:
July 15th 5:30 -7:30PM

As part of the Palette and Palate evening, where top restaurants come together with great galleries across Charleston. Sounds Delicious! My question is, are the pantings made of marzipan? I guess there is always next time.

The show structure pairs the paintings with the palettes used to create the piece. A few examples are below, mine's top.

Expanded roster exhibition so make sure you have a look at the variety of work on display. Use the link at right to go to the RLS website.

Where are you looking?

2011-07-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Sketch for a painting . . . a painting that may or may not get done. And this will be piled on the scrape heap of art history, my own personal art history.

Back from vacation, go have one yourself if you can. . . .does wonders.

Make . . . .

2011-06-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

. . .Believe.

Funny how I may start with reference for a painting. Then through twists and turns of the creative/painting process I end up abandoning the ref for my imagination. Things get pushed and pulled with the paint. Layers get applied, layers get scraped off, areas dry and then I try to leave the marks that don't need to be adjusted. This painting is consistent with that description. Really just searching for the "right" paint application.

Night Points east, oil on panel, 7"x5"

Close Ups

2011-06-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

A few close ups of the title painting, Invisible Cities.

Solo Show Coverage

2011-06-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

Here are a set of pics from the opening of the show. Since I don't have a smart phone, like the rest of the world, or have a Facebook page, like the rest of the world, or use Flickr, like whomever, I put them on the blog. Lacking all of this stuff means I couldn't post images as the event was happening. I know we are all so use to the 25 hour news cycle and everything on demand and instant food but its not in the Studioflint's budget, both time and money, to get my media outlets modernized, yet. Maybe at our next board meeting we can discuss these upgrades and have them in place for the fall. Woo hoo, exciting times coming ahead.

Anyhow, enjoy the pics and thanks for dropping by.

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To explain a few things:
- The small gouache (opaque watercolor) paintings are the ones clustered together and framed behind glass. I usually have a set of smaller works that provide a wide range of subject matter.
- At the end of the night artists sign the door; so me and the two musicians etched our names next to many other talented individuals.
- I'm laughing because its 95 and humid and I am melting towards the end. Oh we suffer for fashion, its not just you ladies.

(All photos courtesy of Robert Lange Studios. There are many more covering the show on their website: RLS.com)
Show is over and its on to the next paintings/shows and back to the studio. I'll leave you with an imaginary head painting/ experiment. The head is oil on paper.

Today . . . .

2011-06-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

. . . head over to The RLS Super Blog as the paintings gets hung for the show. There will be pics of all the works in the gallery today and throughout the weekend covering opening night. So far they have a collection of my small gouache paintings up on the wall. (Please use the link in the updated links section at right). All the artists from the gallery use this blog to post works in progress, finished paintings, and other musings of being an artist. Good resource.

My website has been updated with all the work for the show: www.joshuaflint.com
If you want to see the paintings in more detail, I'd head over there at some point by using the links section.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Past Is Prologue

2011-05-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

A reminder for my show opening up this friday. Head over to Robert Lange Studios by clicking here to see the images. All paintings will be posted on my website this Wednesday.

Here's a painting from a series of statues that will be in the show.

The Past Is Prologue, 24" x 15", oil on panel

Solo Show

2011-05-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

American Art Collector feature on my solo exhibition:
Joshua Flint:Invisible Cities

New Paintings will be posted on my website next tuesday and a few more will be posted here towards the build to the show.

Thanks for dropping in.

Process

2011-05-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a process breakdown of a painting for my upcoming show at Robert Lange Studios in Charleston,SC.
Opening night is June 3rd. Still working on getting the last few pieces completed.

- Quick vine charcoal sketch:

- I pour out shellac over the sketch and smooth it around with a business card or squeegee. It doesn't need to be one perfect layer. The varied drying times in different sections of shellac adds a varied layer of texture and opacity. This stage mimics the traditional layer of glaze one might use with oils without the drying time. The shellac is dry in 10 minutes or less. It also blurs and smudges the charcoal drawing underneath in a spontaneous manner. That sense of spontaneity is exciting and the results can't be totally controlled. I like that.

- Then the oil painting caps off the piece. As with any of my works there are multiple layers of paint built up. That furthering layering of paint also has its own narrative in addition to the subject matter. Sort of a bad photo with this last stage.

As Yet Untitled , Oil, Illustration Board mounted on panel, 15"x10"

I do read the comments when they are left on the blog. I apologize if I haven't thanked those of you for dropping in recently. I always like to hear how others react to my work. So a massive thank you to those who left a message.

Docs and Pods

2011-05-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

If you are like me and need something to listen to in the studio as background noise, while working on your painting, these couple of links could provide just the tonic.

A slew of art documentaries covering all genres and time periods in art history. I'd recommend anything by Simon Schama and also The Art Of The Steal, which is getting press lately as events continue to unfold. You'll know what I mean when you watch the doc. Many more in the list to pique your interest I'm sure. New favorite site.

Streaming Online Art Documentaries

I'm also very interested in hearing about the narrative of an artists life but get bored with critics or writers telling these stories. I want to hear from the artists and get it right from the horses mouth, so to speak. Often these artists were doing representational work in the height of modernism in the 50's and 60's and experienced real rejection by the art world. The Newington-Cropsey Cultural Studies Center was established in 1990 by The Newington-Cropsey Foundation as an interdisciplinary educational resource for art and ideas. It put out this series of podcasts, following the link below.

NCCSC Podcasts
(Be aware that not all podcasts listed after the jump are available in iTunes. So, right click and highlight 'download linked file' to your listen on your CPU or just click the 'listen' link and you will be directed to an online player. Mac users use the option button.)

Although a podcast hasn't been done for a year, there are a nice collection of hour long (roughly) conversations with artists. A few highlights would be Milton Glaser, Burt Silverman and William Bailey who is the Kingman Brewster Professor Emeritus of Art at Yale. Certainly a few luminaries in the representational world of art. Quite frankly I didn't know much about some of these artists but I guess you can never know everything, unless you are Donald Trump.

If you want to hear a 45 minute discussion from the living master that is Antonio Lopez Garcia head over to The American Video Painting Magazine. It may cost a few bucks, $10 exactly, but you get his interview and another hour or so of painting content.

AVPM Downloads

I'll leave you with a new painting for my upcoming June Show at Robert Lange Studios.

Dusk's Gold Filigree, 36"x18", oil on panel.

Vincent Desiderio Workshop

2011-04-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

If you take away something of value from this post it'll have been worth your time, if not I swear I'll post better stuff in the future, so don't desert me if you are left disappointed. Not sure why it got so in-depth but here goes.

I was one of around twenty artists (I think) who received a Regional Artists Project Grant from the United Arts Council for 2011. Since Raleigh, NC is in Wake County that is the branch that awarded my specific grant. At the heart of it they provide funding for an artist to complete a project that benefits his career. It could be for educational purposes, or used to purchase necessary studio equipment, or in a number of other ways. With such a wide scope for a project I would recommend any North Carolina artist to look into the program in your respective county.

My project was of the educational type. I attended a Vincent Desiderio Workshop at the Pennsylvania academy of Fine Art (PAFA) in Philadelphia. He teaches at PAFA, the New York Academy of Art and is represented by Marlborough Gallery. If you don't know Vincent Desiderio's work and enjoy Contemporary Realism there are a few paintings below. If you like what you see I'd encourage you to click on the gallery link. He also has a very nice monograph. when you are looking at the images below just consider that all of his figures are life sized or slightly larger. Scale of idea is very important when viewing his painting. Its as if these characters could walk right out of the scene and into our life.
His large scale triptychs truly epitomize his work, like the one below.

Pantocrator, 82"7/8 x 194" , 2002

Interpretation of Color, 81.2" x 70.3", 1997

Sink, 48" x 64" 1/2, oil on paper, 2010

Being acquainted with his oeuvre and interested in what he had to say about narrative painting in the modern context I booked a train to Philly. I arrived at the oldest art school in the United States just in time for his lecture.

The class centered around realist work in the last 600 years, roughly. With such a wide sweep of history to cover thank goodness Mr Desiderio has an encyclopedic knowledge of the art movements, artists, and philosophies that existed in this time period. Not only did he know dates, names, and titles, he could also summarize large swaths of history. Ultimately, he delivered the information in very definable terms. I received insight into the social milieu of these eras and the constraints faced by many artists. And he cracked many jokes along the way.

Outside of the historical backdrop to the lineage of oil painting in the western world, we also were there to paint. We focused on both direct and indirect painting, which involves the technical narrative and dramatic narrative. Since we were working from models and not developing a personal piece, the dramatic narrative was discussed in relation to realist work in the modern context. That may be a post for another day, so back to the task at hand. I have some familiarity with the indirect method but I normally don't involve glazes in my paintings. I have occasionally used them in the past but not in the last 6-8 years. Certainly not in the manner I'll describe later in this write up.

Much of the philosophy around indirect painting is based on layering opaque paint and transparent glazes to build a painting, where one would go back and forth between the two to achieve the end result. By doing so the painting attains a great depth in the darks. Light will pass through the many layers of glazed color to give off a great effect. At the same time a glaze will obliterate the lit areas forcing the painter to build them anew after each pass. This method allows for an artist to really control how the lit masses will be resolved. This is what has been referred to as the " Mountain Over the Fat." By softening the edges of opaque scumbling into the glaze below, with each successive layer, one can build the 'skin' of a painting, bringing about a tremendous solidity of form. Here's a visual maybe it will make more sense in displaying the notion of blending the transitions of opaque paint into the glaze.

Here are my two studies. The top one follows the indirect painting practice. The second one is much more direct, even though there is a layer of shellac underneath the oil, which is the amber color evident in parts of piece not yet painted.

25'x17"

22"x 15"

The process to set up the indirect painting was as follows:

Using 300lb. hot press watercolor paper I did a quick block in with vine and compress charcoal. At this beginning stage it is a very loose sketch with no details just big masses. Then I spread a layer of shellac over the whole sheet of paper (see pic below). The shellac dries in less than ten minutes as the paper absorbs quickly. At this point I painted the two models thinking mostly about color temperature. In anticipation of the first glaze I was instructed to lighten the value contrast between the shadow and lit areas. This first stage of painting should cover the entire canvas and the paint can be quite thick. As I painted I kept in mind color temperature, edges, and some modeling of the forms but still not getting too caught up in detail or any refined marks. That paint layer dried with the help of Liquin Fine Detail and we applied a burnt umber/ van dyck brown liquin based glaze over the whole image. What you see in my study above is the next and final layer of paint that time allowed. I have completely reworked the models, adjusting the drawing as needed. We only had a few hours so my piece is not developed by any means but it is has the beginnings of a figure which has real weight and 'lives' in its own space on the paper. You might not able to tell with my dodgy photos but in person there is a solidity that can't be attained with direct painting.

The infamous shellac that I used. Sorry about the table it got pretty trashed. Wasn't me.

On the last day we had time to watch Mr. Desiderio revamp another artist's underpainting.

Here are a couple of close ups. Not accustomed to creating a painting with this methodology I really couldn't tell what he was doing for the first half hour. I was sitting there thinking, " well thats not right." However, his color relationships were exquisite and the forms were beginning to slowly emerge. It could have been a reaction to the rich glaze that he was working on and thinking ' how am I going to handle this process.' A short time later, It did come together creating a powerful statement about the figure. His brush marks at first were composed of gentle stabs at the paper, which didn't cover the surface uniformly allowing the rich dark browns of the glaze to shine through. Further on, once enough paint got on the surface,he controlled the entire piece paying closer attention to the transitions, edges and true values of the forms. As more paint was applied and areas were resolved much of the glaze underneath was lost. The shadows maintained thinner paint and the opaque paint was softened into these areas to create the 'skin' of the painting, bring a real sense of weight to the figure. Which refers back to the whole mountain over the fat idea. As you can see from his painting below.

Vincent Desiderio demo study:

He was so animated and lively with his lectures, how could one not be inspired by his enthusiasm. I was enthralled the whole time. Above so many great qualities his openness and honesty in discussing life as a painter was the most memorable. It didn't matter if it was technical, philosophical, professional or personal, he was more than candid about what he knew and really wanted you to fully understand the information. He simply enjoyed discussing what he knew, like an old friend would. This ability to relate his findings and combine it with his own experiences as a painter is evident in his body of work and the nature of his vision. A true scholar and gentleman. He's left an indelible mark on my maturation as a painter. These pics get the brilliant man in full flow.

Lastly, here is a pic of us in the classroom at the end of our workshop. I think it's an apropos image in regards to my outlook as a painter. It's a lifelong journey where we are never too old to learn about our own creativity and where it can take us. This mystery has driven the history of painting.

I've got pages of notes which I am going to compile for my own use and maybe I'll post some more in the future. I'll definitely need to experiment with some of what I learned before coming to any further conclusions. It has prompted me to delve further into the chemistry of oils, its additives, and how I can manipulate the media to best realize my ideas on canvas.
However, right now is not the time, as I am prepping for my own show.

So off to paint and I hope some of you will be that much more inspired today.

Charcoal sketch

2011-03-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

that's all, just a vine charcoal sketch.

Finis:Equus

2011-03-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

Age Old Splendor, 15"x15", oil on wood.

Scooter and such . . .

2011-03-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

As with last years show at Robert Lange Studios, I'll be showcasing a number of new urban paintings in color and monochrome palettes. In addition, I'll have a good bunch of gouache and oil studies. The subject matter and approach to the ideas are wildly varying. Here is part of them hangin on a wall in the studio. Not all are quite done. Even with these smaller (8" x 6" each for most) they still require me to get the idea out as best as I can, leave them for awhile, and then follow up with the final elements. A process very similar to a more involved oil painting. Most are done ( in the image below) but there are a few tweaks to some of them until they are ready for display. With all gouache paintings they'll be framed and matted with glass.

Here is a painting recently pulled off the easel, 12" x 12", oil on panel.

Lastly, the horse from the few previous posts needs a couple touch ups and then I'll post the final version.

Equus, Pt. Deux

2011-03-05T09:44:00.001-08:00

24"x15, oil on wood

The main horse is almost fully developed and other horse is getting a bit of work. The background is slowly coming together.
And look, I start painting animals and flowers grow from the easel! Aaaaahhhh, nature finds a way to reclaim everything.
If we only lived in a Pixar world.

Simplify

2011-03-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

I've been playing with how I can frame the figure in an environment and how I want to simplify those visual elements. As with previous work, where I was exploring the movement of figures, here I've used the composition and the flat shapes in the background to impart some movement. Up close the figure is much more broken up with plenty of edges merging into the background, however, from a distance in appears more resolved or refined. That's the feed back I've received so far.

"This Isn't the Whole Story", oil on panel, 24"x12", available at Robert Lange Studios

Have a Friday!

up on the easel

2011-03-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

Detail of a small painting. As it progresses I'll post more.

growth

2011-02-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

'Cluster', 5.5"x5.5", oil on panel.

I've never seen it before moving to the south, growing out of the ground,and had to paint it; cotton.

Art as Crime

2011-02-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

Nothing massive today in terms of painting (albeit there is one at the bottom of the post. What kind of painting blog would this be if it was devoid of painting? Oh, sorry going all existential.)

I want to address a related interest in art of mine and that is art crime. I became fascinated by these nefarious activities when I saw The Thomas Crown Affair. The remake with Pierce Brosnan not the original from the 60's with Steve McQueen. I'm not that old. I thought the movie was intriguing as a kid, upon seeing it recently, I would certainly change my mind. It has its moments but overall less impressed.

However, it planted the seed that people would steal paintings from collectors and museums alike for their own uses, beyond being in love with a painting. I could understand this as it could be a crime of passion. Now, many years after seeing the Thomas Crown Affair, I have read a number of books and seen quite a few documentaries focusing on modern and historic accounts of art crime. Although its been going on for ages perhaps the Nazis looting and caching large quantities of masterpieces during WWII brought it to a world wide audience. Art crime has gone through fluctuations of notoriety since then with The Gardner Museum heist in 1990 and Edvard Munch's The Scream stolen during the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway.

There are loads of others cases that seem to get neglected by the mainstream media for a whole host off reasons. The neglect of the media to generate mass public disapproval may play a role in why now it has become the third highest crime business in the world behind guns and drugs. Multiple billions of dollars of stolen art are often used in the business transactions of for weapons and narcotics. I'm sure many of you didn't realize that. I know! It blew my mind too. This whole semi long winded stroll down art crime lane was a preamble to me linking a few articles on this very subject. I'm posting these two as they are two I most recently bookmarked. I've deleted a number of these articles in the last year and it struck me that other artists may like to know. Or, at least get in a good short read reminding us of the invaluable nature of art, where some will do whatever they can to acquire it, by whatever means.

A Russian Masterpiece Goes Missing

Also:
What Lucien Freud thinks about his stolen portrait

I will post more links as I come across them. . .do with them what you will. Later in the month I'll put up a couple books on art crime and a few notable links.

Also outdoor still-life action. Another small painting 7"x5":

Visible History

February 2011 Group Show

2011-02-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

This painting is in a group show kicking off tonight at:

The Peterson-Cody Gallery
130 West Palace Ave.
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 820-0010

Click here to go to their website and see all the work

Men with Swords

2011-02-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

Hey February, how did you get here so fast?! I do not know and don't want to ask. Anyways, onward we forge into 2011 and new paintings.

'Men with Swords' could be an apt title to this small set of paintings, but it isn't. They each have their own titles and are tied together in concept and not necessarily in arrangement. The square(middle) one is only 10"x10" with the other two paintings measuring 7"x5".

Changeless Witness

Their size was an important aspect of the initial idea. All of these statues are located in civic or communal spaces. They were made at life-size or over life-size, adding to their significance to their respective cultures. As with many figure-based landmarks their likenesses are often glorified, making them not (entirely) accurate representations of their originator. My concern wasn't necessarily with their individual identities in the first place, it had to do with altering our interaction with the imagery.

Many Lifetimes

By translating them to paint they've become private, personal encounters and no longer exist in a public forum. On top of this notion, the canvas size has stripped them of their monumental scale, creating an intimate experience. This 'forced' intimacy is what I enjoy most about the pieces. When viewing them one can't get around the size and they'll draw the viewer in closer. As opposed to standing back like one would do outdoors with sculpture.

New Courage

Of course, that is more easily experienced in person and not on the web.
Thanks for checking in. . . more soon.

Oh, Eleven . . .

2011-01-14T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well it's the second week of the new year and I am getting back into it. Yeah, it maybe a few weeks into the new year but thats how it goes. I guess if you wanted things on time you'd check the weather updates on your local news channel as they are scheduled every ten minutes.

A few notables to start off 2011.

A little watercolor sketch (below) that was a christmas present for family members. It might have been the only thing I did creatively over my break. The time away was much needed, which is an aspect of living an artistic life that seems to get washed away by the flood of deadlines, by the need to make a living, and by our own compulsion to our craft.

I was contacted by the good people over at Trekell. They are a company in California making quality brushes. After getting a few in the mail, as they don't have retailers throughout the country, I tried them out. I have to say they were very nice to work with and the bristle brushes retained their 'bounce' after multiple uses. They still have a great flex to them a month later.

Although I have been impressed, I'm not here to convince you to run out and buy them. What I will say is that they do work well if you are finding yourself disappointed with your current selection of brushes. They are not paying me anything to say this. It just happens that I have been trying a wide variety of brands looking for a good quality and relatively inexpensive bristle brush. After spending a decent amount of money on brushes over the last couple of years Trekell just hit me at the right time. They also did a nice feature of me on their website this month. There are a few examples of my work and I talk about my crative process. Some of you might find it of interest. At the end I reiterate my opinion on their brushes as described above. Have a look for yourselves and peruse their lines of brushes: Trekell Brushes
Here's a screenshot of their homepage. Check out the image to see what they offer.

I guess that's it for now. So not the most notable but 'postable' perhaps.

Sketch Give Away Update

2010-12-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Considering my schedule and with the holidays coming up I will am going to delay the sketch giveaway till the beginning of 2011.

Thanks again for all of you following the blog.

Best- Joshua

Routines

2010-12-12T09:15:00.000-08:00

Today on a rainy sunday I've been thinking about routines.
My questions are pretty simple ones. They are based around my desire to do more; always pushing to do more.

What creates the most positive, creative environment?
How do I structure my day to enhance my productivity, and, subsequently, my ideas?

It can be elusive. The notion of putting your creative time into a schedule could be cringing to me and many others. However, at the same time its possible. I've been looking at a great website to discover what many artists have to say about their valuable time and how they manage it. The excerpt below is taken from this site:Daily Routines

Gerhard Richter
He sticks to a strict routine, waking at 6:15 every morning. He makes breakfast for his family, takes Ella to school at 7:20 and is in the studio by 8. At 1 o'clock, he crosses the garden from the studio back to the house. The grass in the garden is uncut. Richter proudly points this out, to show that even it is a matter of his choosing, not by chance. At 1 o'clock, he eats lunch in the dining room, alone. A housekeeper lays out the same meal for him each day: yogurt, tomatoes, bread, olive oil and chamomile tea.

After lunch, Richter returns to his studio to work into the evening. ''I have always been structured,'' he explains. ''What has changed is the proportions. Now it is eight hours of paperwork and one of painting.'' He claims to waste time -- on the house, the garden -- although this is hard to believe. ''I go to the studio every day, but I don't paint every day. I love playing with my architectural models. I love making plans. I could spend my life arranging things. Weeks go by, and I don't paint until finally I can't stand it any longer. I get fed up. I almost don't want to talk about it, because I don't want to become self-conscious about it, but perhaps I create these little crises as a kind of a secret strategy to push myself. It is a danger to wait around for an idea to occur to you. You have to find the idea.'' As he talks, I notice a single drop of paint on the floor beneath one of his abstract pictures, the only thing out of place in the studio.

The New York Times Magazine, January 27, 2002

(Thanks to Dylan Chatain.)

Have a look as it might provide insight for your own needs as a creative. Or just make you feel not so bad that massively well known artists can be as quirky in their approach to art.

Below are a few pages from not my most recent sketchbook but from the one before it. I"ll just note how differently one sketchbook can be to another. Enjoy your Sunday!

Now that my blog followers has hit the 100 mark I will be putting up a sketch that one of you will take home for free.
It's my thank you to all of you. Look for details on monday.

Works on Paper Show

2010-11-30T16:59:00.000-08:00

I'll be displaying a few works on paper in a show opening up this Friday, Dec. 3rd at Adam Cave Fine Art
Headlining the show will be French- based Japanese artist Mikio Watanabe. Mr Watanabe uses a Mezzotint Process. ( Since I have no clue what that is I will direct you to the link to find out.) Regardless of his process the results are stunning especially for being so small. They really draw you in with the scale and force intimacy with each of the pieces.
Here are a few samples of his work.

Mikio Watanabe - Memoire d'eau IV - Printmaking - Mezzotint on Paper - 6" h X 4" w

Mikio Watanabe - S'etendre - Printmaking - Mezzotint on Paper - 3" h X 8" w

Here are three of my four contributions to the group show. I have always wanted to use oil on unprimed illustration board. Contemporary artists and historically significant ones alike have utilized cardboard and other surfaces to get ideas out on. Considering there are many examples of paintings on different types of surface still in existence, I wasn't concerned about the archival nature of oil on illustration board. They should last longer than I will be around that's for sure. How the surface received the oils altered my approach and paint application. It ended be a good change of pace to my other work.
Each image is 15"x10". Two are painted on hot press and two on cold press illustration board.

Blank pages

In Another Time

Signals Overheard

Adam Cave Fine Art
115-1/2 East Hargett Street, 2nd Floor
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 838-6692

DECEMBER 3RD: FIRST FRIDAY
WORKS ON PAPER featuring MIKIO WATANABE
Reception from 6-9pm

We are highlighting small works, paintings and prints on paper. Join us for our opening reception this Friday and the debut of our featured artist from Paris, Japanese engraver Mikio Watanabe. Other featured artists include: Joshua Flint, John D. Gall , Susan Baehmann, Matt Lively, Donald Furst, Diana Bloomfield.

2010-11-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

I swear my bulldog is the epitomy of relaxed. . . . she just oozes sleepy time. Very appropriate considering the holidays.

Thank you to everyone who has left comments recently. It's always great to hear your thoughts, insights, and opinions.

If anyone ever has a direct question or comment regarding my work, my process or approach I'll get back to you.

Hey man, spare a light

2010-11-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

This guy seemed to understand something about the world that I didn't.

What I know

2010-11-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Long has been the wisdom to paint what you know . . . well I am trying to get to know: Chickens.
They are strange, strange animals and could find their way into a painting.

Between this post and the last one (with kanevsky's cow) please don't confuse my blog for the farmer's almanac.

Have a good day. . . . .sunrise is at 6:43 AM and sunset at 5:11 PM . . . . moonrise . . . is . . .a .t. . . . . 1 . . .1 . . .: . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . .

Paint a . . .

2010-11-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

. . . .cow's backside.

This initial thought should be taken very much tongue in cheek. The artist of the image is one who I deeply admire and respect. His influence is obvious on the contemporary art landscape, with many painters incorporating elements of his style but not the knowledge behind it, which solely remains his. However, that is a side note and personal opinion, of which, I'm generally inclined to give, seeing as I am the author of this massively important blog (Not). 'Not' jokes are tough to pull off in print and are from the nineties, so we move on.

Let me get back on track about my original statement focusing on painting something as unusual as the rear end of a pasture animal. Like many artist's I have these 'what now' moments in my daily life as an artist. Mr. Kanevsky clearly has the belief and confidence to approach whatever subject matter that he feels is necessary for him to paint. It becomes less about the object(s) and more about one's ability to tap into whatever notion that captured your imagination. As if seeing this thing woke something up inside that you hadn't realized. Ultimately, this painting reminds me to embrace the unknown, not get stuck doing the same things or painting them, and to take a chance. As someone once not so famous asked " Why go out on a limb?", and that famous person said, " Because that is where the fruit is." Thanks quotable famous guy . . . I don't even remember who you were talking to, weird that.

There you have it, we remember the ones following their instinct and being true to themselves, maintaining their authenticity.
As we all know it's easier said than done. If painting was easy then everyone would be doing it and its inherent value would diminish.

Top image: Alex Kanevsky, 'Irish Cow', 32"x66", oil on linen.

Here's one of my newest below: 18"x14", oil on board

Also there is half a dozen or so new paintings up on my website in the urban scenes gallery and still-life gallery. Link to that is on the sidebar.

For everyone that drops in on this blog, thank you for the support and interest.

I will never neglect you again . . . .

2010-10-28T07:34:00.001-07:00

. . . and I mean it this time, Blog. But I don't. I can't make promises to computer devices.

'Compassed By Night', I'm only 7" x 5" oh so small, painted on board. . . . . .with love and a little violence.

Enjoy.

The dust will be knocked off this thing and it'll be rolling out more before you know it. So grab some popcorn and a bevie, go look at something amazing (if you need suggestions leave em in the comment section) and then return . . . to . . . . be . . . underwhelmed. .. .um, is that even a word. It's not. See, we are still working the kinks out of this side of the internet.

Post September Show, etc.

2010-09-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

I wrapped up my second show of the year (earlier this month) and now its on to bigger and better things. . . ..erm, well, yeah, . . .um . . . . . . . . . . which is? Then the thought " what the hell is that going to be?" floods my brain. I am left in a vacuum after having shows. Do other artists get this? Hopefully. It feels like I worked towards this great conclusion. It's all very exciting and nerve wracking to a certain degree. Then, nothing. The rush is gone. A recuperation period is needed, albeit pretty short, and then onto the next thing. Whatever that is.

Inevitably, I have this image of a man starring into the distance of a far off landscape (see drawing below). Everything is stretched out before him and he has to cover that ground again to reach some place new and exciting. It's all like a modern Sisyphus tale. Except replace a massive rock with canvas, oils and brushes. The hill wouldn't be as steep. Our tale is for artists not fallen demi-gods, yeah, certainly not a steep hill. Ours is more of a gentle slope one would find at a golf course. In the contemporary version we'd reach the top, while Sisyphus never quite manages it. All the while he has vultures that eat at an open wound in his stomach while pushing the rock. Now that I think about, its nothing like this specific mythological tale . . . . . sorry, day dream over. I want to stay as far away from that scenario as possible. Day dream way over!

Also here is a little BW painting, 12"x12" in oils.

till next time world wide webbers.

Movie time

2010-09-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

Little Big Berlin from pilpop on Vimeo.

Sit Back + Relax = Enjoy the Sights and Sounds of Berlin.*

* I would encourage full screen mode for this.

Upcoming Show at Peterson-Cody Gallery

2010-08-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

Honored to be featured in American Art Collector, the September Issue, for an upcoming show with Craig Nelson at the Peterson-Cody Gallery. The feature looks great.

Absolutely delighted to have a show with an artist and educator that allowed me plenty of leeway in my final year of undergrad studies. I didn't think at the time that we would be having a show together eight years later.

www.petersoncodygallery.com

Sketch Dump . .

2010-08-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

. . . Ok not the best choice of words maybe to describe a load of drawings. Duly noted.

I have a show coming up this September in Santa Fe at the Peterson Cody Gallery. So expect a selection of images and news related to it soon.

Until I do, here is some more sketchbook.

Small Demos

2010-07-31T10:31:00.001-07:00

These two small ( 7" x 5", oil on panel) portrait studies were done as demos recently.

The first one was done at Robert Lange Studios. Charles Williams and myself were in the gallery on Saturday, July 17th painting for whomever was there. With many of the shows the artists will demo the weekend of the opening. If you are in the area head on over and learn, watch, or pillory the artists while they paint. Look for upcoming opportunities for these events. As a fellow painter or an admirer of the arts it is always very informative to see an artist at work.

I painted my 'vision' of Charles. However, he was in constant motion while he painted. With most artists they move while they work, so his pacing and my point of view was also varied. The light remained consistent which allowed me to piece together an image of him. With a figure in motion my aim was to take away the overall color that made up his flesh tones. His likeness was not important and I used him as a vehicle for my imagination. It was definitely challenging to work this way while a group of folks watched.

This one was painted as a demo for a class I was teaching at Artspace here in Raleigh. The intention was to remind the students of their approach to realizing an idea and how important it is to have those foundational building blocks in the beginning stages. This was done fairly quickly, maybe 30 minutes, in front of the model and another 10 from memory. I didn't add many stokes or details in this "touch up" phase, I simply pushed paint around and worked on the edges. Sometimes these quick demos come off other times they don't, ending up as more of training for the eye than a finished painting. I thought this one came together pretty well.

Charleston Gallery Round Up

2010-07-26T21:14:00.001-07:00

Here's a good run down of the various art on offer in Charleston this month, albeit we are now towards the tail end of it. Better late th . . . a . . . . . . . n . . . . . . . . . . .

Nice little bit with me and Charles Williams about the show, plus you might discover other artists or galleries that make you feel good, in the right way, not the wrong, or perhaps both. Now I'm confused. Oh its late, I'll cut out the euphemisms because I am tired and I will probably mix them up, leading to more waffling.

Charleston Gallery Review

I'd like to say thank you to Amy Mercer at the Charleston City Paper for the write up.

Some dead hummingbirds, maybe they'll pop up in a still life.

That's all for you lot. Till next time.

Full Circle

2010-06-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

A page pulled from my sketchbook shows three examples of how I think and what I use a sketchbook for. Looking at other artist's sketches are far more interesting than seeing their finished work. As lovely as it is to see the end result, I want to understand their thoughts before that final stage. It possibly gives me a greater understanding of myself as an artist. Perhaps seeing others and how they do things will unlock more of what I am after; providing knowledge on how I can get there. It is about finding authenticity and trusting my choices. As long as I don't look to a select few artists for inspiration then the chances are it'll never look like someone else. I try to soak up as much media, in all varieties, to inform my process. As with everything I always want to feel like I am learning and that I ever have something "figured out". How boring would that be?!
If you take a look at the lower left sketch, that was my initial idea for a painting, and the final piece below.

Perhaps if I wasn't wrapped up in finalizing everything for this show, and also getting things going for my next one, I might be able to provide better perspective or instructive thought about the development of my process. And now thinking of it, I should have taken photos along the stages of the painting to show where I changed my mind about the design. It's not what I intended originally and that provided far too much deliberating, especially when you think that you have it right. However, I did change the background and value pattern in the piece and everything worked out well. It was one of those times when the painting didn't seem 'right.' I am always working towards changing the painting till it has a certain quality that piques my eye. If it doesn't then I might as well mess it up and try to find the new direction of the piece. Timidity is my enemy, oh and time too.

End result of the piece that it ended up promoting the show on this months issue of American Art Collector. Details of the show are above and on my website joshuaflint.com.
All the new pieces will be on the website next week when the show opens.

The streets . . . .

2010-06-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

. . . .are rough and tough! As many rappers and country music stars have told me. One loses his bling the other loses his dog, which one is more important? hmmm. I'll save that mental dilemma for another day.

Not my streets, these streets are full of wonderful people going about their lives in a orderly fashion as seen in my sketch. Well that sounds quite boring but could be interesting. Whoa, even more to ponder.

I often think about how we travel around emerged in seas of people yet are rafts unto ourselves. Our minds are occupied at the task at hand or really looking towards a projected goal, which is the future. A place that doesn't quite exist but we can almost reach it. Ohh, now that sounds exciting!

So really when we do this we end up living a sort of quasi-present existence and miss the immediate here and now. Why do car accidents happen, beyond shit driving? Well I blame this mental state for a lot of shit driving. Just yesterday, I saw a woman get hit by an SUV in the crosswalk. Not sure who wasn't paying attention, but their immediate existence was being disregarded. Thus the unfortunate event of a human getting tagged by a huge, moving metal object. In the end the woman was a bit shocked but seemed ok. Both looked to be ignoring their immediate existence. The woman moving boldly into the crosswalk unaware that cars move in those lanes and the driver probably thinking about other cars not people; she could have been texting, or looking at her teeth, or maybe she didn't like pedestrians that day. who knows, but I like to think about the possibilities. Only because the woman was ok can I make light of the situation.

I guess thats why I like people watching, but not in that voyeuristic, freaky sort of way, but more as a cultural anthropologist. . . .so with many of these sketches that's what I am exploring. The innate qualities of paint help convey the message by drips, drops, slathers, translucency, etc.

enough snark for your thursday.

More Studies, Pt. Deux

2010-06-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

A few more sketchbook paintings from the vault. As with the ones below roughly 5.5" x 9" and mixed media.
As always contact if interested: joshua@joshuaflint.com

I have a two person show with Charles Williams coming up next month at Robert Lange Studios on July 16th. I'll post more the closer it gets to the opening. I do know that our show preview will be in the July Issue of American Art Collector.
Let's just say I am glad its mid month.

More to Come.

. . . . till later.

More Studies

2010-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Couple more sketchbook paintings. Again an ink drawing, brought to various stages of detail and finish, with gouache painted on top.

As with all of these sketchbook studies, if you are interested in purchasing any of them please contact me at joshua@joshuaflint.com.

I thought it was interesting the way this father had hoisted his daughter up on his shoulder and was carrying her around.

Apparently there is a sad panda walking around the streets of New York. . . . . . .its hard to imagine it being sad, so I made mine look more curious.

Studies

2010-05-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of little mixed media paintings pulled from my sketchbook, so around 5"x9". Both are mixed media. Basically a pen sketch with gouache layered in over the top of it. I might be doing paintings of bicyclists because we are bereft of quality bike lanes and really just the infrastructure to bike in North Carolina. I mean hell, we don't even have sidewalks or proper bus stops for folks using something besides a car. Its ridiculous. As if we were fully formed in this life attached to a environmentally destroying, metal object to carry us like a womb for a whole new world we can't wait to destroy. So far BP is doing a good job for all of us who haven't chipped in yet.

hopefully I didn't bum you out.

It's Personal . . . .

2010-05-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

12"x12", oil on birch

A little personal painting, done, just because it had to be done.

Also because zeppelins are cool and they aren't in our daily life, unlike this kid. . . . . . . . and flight is weird, regardless of the means to perform the feat.

Till next time. . . . . . . . . .

Give and Take, come on people!

2010-05-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hopefully the title will shock you into action . . . . all for a good cause.

Give and Take: That is the event happening at Artspace this Thursday in downtown Raleigh. There are 25 works for only $25and 50 artists donating work you can pick up for a cool 50 bucks!!!!! Seriously, thats a steal. Instead of paying for the art its like you're stealing it. There will also be 5 works auctioned off.

All of this is for scholarships to give local youth the chance to attend arts education classes this summer. I'll be teaching two classes so hopefully the proceeds can bring a few more deserving kids into the classroom. I hear its a bit crazy and the paintings fly off the walls and into the hands of the fortunate early arrivers. (Is arrivers even a word?!) The US educational system does not offer enough for creative thinkers focusing on the arts, so these programs are huge for aspiring young artists.

Artspace
201 East Davie
Raleigh, NC 27603
919.821.2787

Thursday, May 13th, 7-11pm
Tickets at the door.

Below is my donation to the event:
Eclipse, 12"x12", oil on panel.

Preview the artwork here

Goauche studies

2010-04-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

As I have been prepping for two upcoming shows my sketchbook has been in constant use. From silly little scribbles to full blown studies each one has helped me find the types of paintings I am most gravitating towards right now. I usually have a few different types of work going and these series can stay completely separate in their final design, but I've noticed by spending more time in my sketchbook these ideas have been coalescing. By stripping out the color in some of my previous building paintings I'm more thoughtful in my approach to using color when I bring back a full palette.

I often think about authenticity with art and what makes mine, or yours, or that other artist's work, authentic. My sketches, to me, have some immediacy in creation and feeling that can get lost when I switch to oils and paint on canvas. It would be nice if this innate 'sketch' quality could show itself more and more in my oil painting. My attempts to bring my mind together with my medium has me constantly reshaping my approach to oils. I've started off a new painting using small brushes only, then on the next new one I started with big brushes only. I've been mixing big batches of paint having both thin, transparent and thick, buttery qualities. I've switched from bristle to sable fluently throughout a painting's development. As of yet I don't think this more authentic feel maintained in a sketch has really translated to the oils. Thus my constant experimenting in my approach to best accompany my thought process on the day.
At least that's how it feels on this lazy sunday, and maybe my mind hasn't kicked into gear.

I will be matting and framing these studies to accompany the oil paintings for the shows coming up. It seems important to lay bare how I do my work and show how I think, giving the viewer a greater perspective of my process. Both studies are done in gouache and are 9"x5.5" ish.

2010-04-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

I continue to do these small still-lifes that just focus on a single fruit or perhaps a small cluster of fruit. I am not trying to render the object as a technical exercise but as a way to move beyond what could be fairly bland subject matter towards allusions to the entire process of life and death, that is encapsulated by a ripening piece of fruit.

As I am prepping for shows in the summer and fall I will put those paintings up closer to these dates. So maybe less fully realized paintings but lots of studies and sketchbook pages, which is what this blog of mine was about in the first place.

doodle

2010-03-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

Have

Good

Times

Today

sketch a sketch

2010-03-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

this one's for a friend named Joe. . . . here you go Joe.

Urban Peeps

2010-03-08T06:57:00.001-08:00

Here is my latest painting, without a title as of yet. It's a 24"x36", oil on board. I tackled new subject matter and worked within a new palette for the Black vs. White Show last month. (Those 4 paintings are a few posts down.) It really got me thinking about leaching the color out of the urban scenes I have been doing and reducing the environment to focus more on the human element. The background is played down to provide a sort of stage for the people to exist on. The viewpoint pushes the aesthetic, as we, the viewer, are watching on but not interacting. I'm not sure how the painting changes the characters but I definitely view them differently than paintings in recognizable places. Does it universalize them? Could be. Without color they are stripped down to their essentials, as forms moving in space.

What does it do for you? Leave a comment. I'd be curious to know how others view the painting. I'll respond to whomever does and maybe we can get a little dialog going, that we all can learn from.

Words as Reminders

2010-03-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

I have been asked to write some blog posts for two of the galleries that represent me and they weren't quite ready to put up.
In lieu of that are some good words to remind us artists to take care of ourselves, mentally and physically. Don't end up like this guy. ( image by brazilian illustrator Kako)

Be an artist- not an art slave. Find a ritual that works for you. Stay connected to the river of ideas…your inner voice…your muse. Whatever you choose to call it, art is a spiritual process. If you aren’t cultivating a relationship to creativity, you probably won’t have one when you need it. Here are a few tips that work for many artists I know, including myself. The only problem is: you have to do them every day to make them work.

1. Get up happy. Say some affirmations. Get rid of the negative chatter in your head-that voice that says things like, “I’m not coming up with any good ideas. I’ll never make this deadline. I’ll never be good enough to do this job.” Instead, train that voice to say something positive. Reprogram yourself. “I am illustrating books that people love. I am happy with my art. My career is going great. I am a successful artist…” This might sound too simple, and you’ve probably heard it before from the self –help gurus. Have you ever actually tried it….consistently over a few months?

2. Exercise and stay healthy. This is not an option. When you feel healthy, you are more open and ideas come more quickly.

3. Sit quietly each day, do yoga, or meditate. Get calm and peaceful so that when the ideas come, you actually realize they are there. Worry, anger, fear, and other emotions actually block the ability to grasp those sparks of imagination.

4. Create a place and time to be at work. This is important if you are working at home. Your mind needs to understand, “I am now at work. I will now be creative.” So sharpen your pencils, put on music, sit before your drawing table and begin.

5. Don’t talk too much about your ideas; this depletes some of the magic. On a subconscious level, your wonderful idea has become a real thing in the world. It’s not real, and it won’t be, until you do it. So, instead of sharing your magnificent thoughts, go make the work happen.

6. Take time outs doing something you love. Go to a museum. Sit by a lake. Walk through the woods. You must replenish yourself. Fill the well. Don’t view this as goofing off…this time is very important.

7. Don’t be a workaholic. This is difficult, because you won’t know it, until it’s too late. Your friends and family will know it before you will. ONLY YOU CAN CONTROL THIS. Be the work police and set your own boundaries. Make a contract with yourself. “I do not wok on Tuesday and Sunday. I go on vacation without my work. I have lunch with a friend on Friday every week. I only work from 9am to 2pm.“ Put up a sign. Remind yourself that you are free to set your own schedule. Work as late or as little or as early as you want, but make sure you’re enjoying the pace.

Another blogger had posted this and I couldn't retrace my steps to his blog. However, neither he nor his friend, whom he got it from, were the author. If either of you two find this blog, thank you for a good reminder about maintaining a healthy and happy artist lifestyle, and of course, to the mystery author out there.

Moving Studios. . . .

2010-03-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry no blog rant today. I'll spare you my spouting off about this, that, and the other thing.

I am moving studios today and will be posting again on wednesday, so check back then.

In honor of all the work required to move out of one space and into another I'm posting a few images by Steve Huston.

Hard labor never seemed so respectable.

Side Project

2010-02-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a watercolor I have been doing for a side project. Don;t get me wrong this isn't the only one, there's more. Nor does it consist of just dogs or animals. My subject matter is really wide open. Since its my own endeavor I like the idea of just doing whatever is topical. A big source of inspiration is the BBC and looking through the worlds news through images. As a visual artist it makes sense to me to. These photographers are heroic especially when they put themselves in a war torn area to capture a great shot, while I sit behind an easel and would prefer to make it up. Its not all just covering the hot spots around the world, they also get to witness some of the most interesting people and places. Two sides to the same coin that fascinate me. This one however is closer to home.

Here is an example where life imitates art or is it the other way around? I did this little study not knowing I was going to soon own a very similarly looking puppy. This is my three and a half month old english bulldog Talulah. Its like raising an alien baby. I'll try not to turn out to be one of these freaky dog owners who talks about them incessantly. However, I will say she has been kicking my ass with her special needs. Seriously though look at her, she oozes cute. If she didn't, I would have put her on eBay by now.

I kid.

Palettes . . . .

2010-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

I had promised to breakdown my palettes for the Black and White show at Robert Lange Studios, which is still up through the end of the month. Opening night in pics: Amazing space, great art, and tons of people. (Sorry I am a bit late in posting this):
The Show!

With black and white, the addition of a few subtle color choices can start to bring a greater truth, or a more natural aspect, to what could be a limited depth of painting. What I noticed when putting a warm color into the shadow or into the light was that it made the grays (mixed with strictly black and white) appear very blue. At this point of my experimenting with this new palette I started thinking about temperature, and that is one of the most important aspects of a painting: the color relationships. My goal was to find a nuance and subtlety with my color choices. Each color added to the B&W mixture was very small, as a little addition shifted the color noticeably in one direction, either towards warm or cool.

'Turning Point' Palette:
Ivory Black - Alkyd Quick Dry White - Virdian - Yellow Ochre - Raw Umber

'Forbearancet' Palette:
Ivory Black - Alkyd Quick Dry White - Yellow Ochre - Raw Umber - Burnt Sienna - Phthalo Blue
This was the only painting where I blocked in the background with a graphic Pthalo Blue shape and the foreground with a yellow ochre - burnt sienna shape. Much like a landscape painter might tone the canvas before going out in nature. Usually this tone is a nice warm wash of yellow ochre/burnt sienna/cadmium red or any other This underpainting acts as a counter to all of the greens and blues in nature by using a color mixture that complements. It also helped me set up my composition. Once this was dry I worked wet on wet as per usual. However you can see little areas of these two punchier colors coming through and providing a nice injection of life to the painting.

'Provenance' Palette:
Ivory Black - Alkyd Quick Dry White - Hansa Yellow - Raw Umber - Transparent Oxide

'Zenith' Palette:
Ivory Black - Alkyd Quick Dry White - Hansa Yellow - Raw Umber

All paintings are oil on board and 24" x 12" in size.

Morning Ephemera

2010-02-18T05:16:00.000-08:00

Today is a smattering of randomness from the studio.

First, a notification for all of those who follow the blog or are newcomers. I will be now posting regularly on Sunday, probably evening, so it will be there in the morning to start the week, and again on Wednesdays. Most of the time it will be about my process, however, if I get caught up and don't have something to put on the blog, then I'll post work about an artist I admire or think is interesting. I troll the internet quite a lot in my spare time looking for art and coming across a wealth of talent. As someone who teaches, I often keep a large library for teaching aids, for posterity, my own quarkiness, and subsequently for sharing with students and friends. I thought posting some of this material will perhaps lead you onto an artist you can appreciate and be inspired by. Since I don't follow one genre of painting or adhere to isms or feel unequivocally linked to a certain time period or movement, I'll just put up what I think resonates with me in that moment. What I do feel passionate about is making imagery. I don't segregate fine artists, contemporary artists, video game artists, concept artists, graphic artists or anyone else making a work of art. Often times I just want to be shown a little story I can get lost in for awhile.

Like this one from Adrian Ghenie:

A couple artists who personify excellent narratives are the Wyeth Family; N.C., Andrew and Jaime. While getting my degree in Illustration I like so many others fell in love with NC Wyeth and felt that was the essence of illustration, packed with emotion, drama, like one shot movies unfolding on the canvas.

With Andrew Wyeth I always thought it extraordinary that he paints of a nostalgic Americana that doesn't exist. Like remembering a dream when you wake up. Then rehashing what was going on behind your closed eyelids all night. You know that the impressions you are pulling from are close to the dream, but then again, why we dream is so elusive that the events recalled in the morning are never how it actually took place. As convoluted as it sounds that is my interpretation, anyways. Living for the first time on the east coast and visiting a few other states during the winter months it really dawned on me where Andrew Wyeth derived his palette and subject matter from. As someone who had always lived out West I couldn't quite fully connect with his body of work and it felt alien in a way. Not to say I wasn't moved by a number of paintings. However, once I experienced the stark beauty of the landscape in the colonial states during winter I fully understood. It was my 'aha!' moment I guess.

I am the most unfamiliar with Jaime Wyeth's work, yet as you can see from my sketch below I quite liked his personification of character. His portrait of JFK is the most often reproduced painting of the former president and interesting that at the time it was lambasted for various attributable flaws. He obviously knows about personality whether it be a flock of seagulls, a pumpkin self portrait, or a ram. Anyways, long story long, I drew this montage representing the three generations of the Wyeths' as I read a book about them. I've provided a new narrative from their elements.

Here is a detail of a my last painting based around the theme of Black vs. White. I'll post the full painting and accompanying thoughts, and ask you all a question.

Lastly, I know its Thursday, however, from now on there will be posts on Sunday nights for Mondays and mysteriously throughout the day on Wednesdays.

Upcoming Shows

2010-01-30T17:25:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I've got some work in a couple group shows next month. They definitely came at the right time. I am only now feeling settled in my new life in Raleigh and I haven't been able to produce as I would like. Yes, five or six months have flown by but its all been pretty good from an art perspective. Both shows are based on a theme which is awesome, and different for me. I have been a part of only one themed show before and I enjoy the variety and challenges they pose.

The first show is based on the theme of " a la cARTe", emphasis on the art, naturally. The Peterson Cody Gallery in Santa Fe is one among 45 galleries that work with the local restaurant scene, combining their efforts for a city wide event. Each gallery is coupled up with a restaurant and together they provide an exchange of culinary and visual arts, bordering on an education. I wish I could attend, drink all the wine, and be inspired by the work throughout the city.

This set of paintings is my contribution. I did the painting on the left with the female character first, really trying to create that sense of movement as a subway train rushes in and out of the station. After I finished the painting it I wanted to extend the scene, push the perspective, and carry it onto another canvas. ( I took the pictures, sorry. There is a bit of glare on the right side of each painting. I am rubbish at this but I think I have it now solved the problem by putting this task in the hands of a talented photographer. I know its not genius but harder to find one who deals with art than you'd think.)

The show will hang throughout the month of February:
The Peterson Cody Gallery

The second show is at the Robert Lange Studios in Charleston,SC. As you can see with the flyer the theme was Black vs. White . . . . .oooooh controversial. No, not really. I was seriously excited to tackle some subject matter with a limited palette and what is more limited than Black and White. I also stripped away the human element of my work and went strictly with architecture. Just one more factor in finding new subject matter, and its relevance and importance to artistic growth. My image appears in the web promo below on the bottom far right. (The facade of a building getting hit with light.) I've got a total of four paintings in the show, so go see their website come February 2nd to see all the great work.

This show too will be up for the entire month.
Robert Lange Studios

I have posted these new paintings up on my website, so have a look, but don't forget to check out all the other artists on display with the links above. Once the shows are up I will breakdown the palettes for each one considering I didn't use just black and white for the one show. There are subtle mixtures of color used differently in each painting.

My Website

thanks for stopping in

A Disaster . . . .

2010-01-14T18:04:00.000-08:00

or new goodness. Not sure on this one.

I figured I would post a total disaster with some positives coming out of it.

It certainly is a one of those paintings I started, put down, and then started a different painting on top of that one, but ended abandoning this new effort as well. The second attempt did have a nice compositional relationship to the first, and I felt it could add to the piece. However, that wasn't the outcome and I pretty much tossed it aside. Since I didn't care about what happened to the front of the image I have been using the canvas as a support for other smaller paintings. The marks have been made at random and seem to breathe new life into the work, demanding my attention, whereas before I had no reaction. It seems to have attained a level of dreamlike quality that I was never able to produce in the original two ideas. Funny enough I like it now more than ever. Still I have no plans on sending it to any of the galleries that represent me. One of those open studios scores if someone has an interest in it.

Lastly a quick plead for your knowledge. If any one knows how to do a time elapsed thing with jpegs, much like a slideshow, please send me a link. I'm sure there is some fancy software out there to do it for me, but I'd rather not go down that route. Since I often take pictures of my paintings at various points in their development, I wanted to continue posting those here as slideshows.
Thanks for stopping in.

New paintings will be up later in the week in coordination with two group shows in February.

Update soon . .. .

2010-01-12T09:40:00.001-08:00

A thought:

I am in two group shows next month and will be posting those paintings very soon. Also images from a side project as well.
All the best to you and yours in 2010.

Character sketches

2009-12-12T12:09:00.000-08:00

I'm not the type artist who keep a sketchbook in the sense of one bound drawing pad, where all I do is fill it with drawings from life or my imagination, and nothing else. My artistic sense isn't built that way. Obviously there are artists who just flow with the pen or pencil and this is their main outlet. My moments of intense 'sketchbooking' are just that, moments, and nothing more, small bursts of time when all I want to do is draw. Often times I draw on whatever is near me and on the most immediate thing to get the idea out, however rough it may end up. Sometimes they are the most useless little scribbles but I understand what I'm doing whether or not any else would. I should probably post some of these quick 'visual thoughts' to show how utterly scribbly they can be. Along with these musings I end up doing many thumbnails of ideas and mainly use my sketchbook as a place for 'ideation', or idea creation. I think this word, however made up, is a brilliant summation of what is going on while figuring out the design and aesthetics of your thoughts. Then, I shift gears and want to do this creative searching on a canvas and I abandon my sketchbook but not my ideation. My goal would be for these explorations to be more and more refined as I develop.

The below character studies are examples pulled from various sheets of paper in the studio. Some are intended to add to the development of my paintings others exist just because I felt the need to draw.

100th Post!

2009-11-23T21:59:00.000-08:00

Hi, to those that check in on this blog.

I have reached a milestone of sorts with my 100th post. When I set out to do this side project I figured it would fizzle out as I neglected it here and there. It seems like the internets, which as we all know is a series of tubes, has benefitted from me moving across the country. Since I have loads of time, as I am not out with friends and family, I sit here and plot my art world takeover. (To see my plan look down a few posts and it will all unfold, although there are already many contemporary artists who thought of it before me. Ummm, uh, I guess its genius?! Not working as of yet.) I would normally be putting up various sketches but I am having scanner issues. I just want my old one back, sadly I doubt that will happen.

In lieu of not posting any art as of late I am am going to offer up what I have left of a few prints for cheap.

Each giclee print is on archival paper and measures around 8.5" x 10.5". They were printed by Pearl Printing in Portland, OR, where they do all kinds of great fine art reproductions. Each is an edition of five and they won't be reproduced.

Since I don't have a fancy pay pal account you'll have to email me if you want any of these. That may change but as of now I am doing it on a little more personal level. I will send them out promptly. Just email me your mailing address and I will do likewise.

Here is what I have left:

Hurrying Home: 1 LEFT

Like Someone Caught In Prayer: 2 LEFT

Life Floods The Concourse: 2 LEFT

The Grand Entrance: 1 LEFT

Each one is only $10 dollars and $5 for shipping. If you want all four it will cost you $50. There are just two sets of all four available. I'll be off for a few days on holiday and will get back to anyone who emails me early next week.

Email me at joshuabarkleyflint@gmail.com

Thank you and have a happy Turkey Day or Tofurky Day, whatever fits your taste buds!

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Update:
One set gone!
I am only able to make one more set of prints, so if you want all four get ahold of me. As you will notice above, there is one print left for The Grand Entrance and Hurrying Home. They are all signed and number on the back, which I forgot to post earlier.

happy internetting!

time . . . . less.

2009-11-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

Today is a reminder to get painting and keep painting until things are done. . . . . . and new ideas are explored.

There will be a few new paintings and some sketches up on the blog later in the week, so check back.

I have three new still-life paintings on the website.

Also, don't forget to peruse the November Issue of Southwest Art Magazine.

New Representation

2009-11-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

As another month seems to fly by, and the Fall gives way to Winter, I have been getting a few new paintings prepped for two new galleries that will represent my work.

I am happy to have my paintings in The Peterson-Cody Gallery in Santa Fe,NM.

The Peterson- Cody Gallery, LLC specializes in fine contemporary realism.

At any given time, the Gallery represents the work of 25- 30 high quality North American artists working in a variety of media including oil, acrylic, gouache, pastel, bronze and hand-forged steel.

It is nice to be working with the great folks at The Peterson Cody Gallery. I will be participating in a series of shows through 2010 and will be detailing those here on the blog.

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In Raleigh, I will have new still-life paintings this month at Adam Cave Fine Art.

Adam Cave Fine Art is an exhibition gallery representing a select group of regional and nationally known painters, printmakers & photographers. His approach to keeping a tight-knit group of artists with a diverse subject matter (and mediums) should always be fresh and interesting. I feel it is important to play an active role in my 'new,' local Arts community and I am glad I will get a chance to show my work in Downtown Raleigh.

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I thought this blog was to show the inner mechanisms of my creative process and the art I wouldn't put on the website?
Sadly, I have to inform you that that is false. All I am going to do is put on news bulletins. . . . the art will cease to exist as I constantly tell the Internets about my events taking place. Which will actually become my new form of 'conceptual' art. I won't actually use oil paint let alone produce a tangible object. I'll become a celebrity artist and have other people paint my work. Then take credit for it.

So, check back and see what my new "staff members" crank out for me, while I fly around the world and have one man shows in Shanghai, London, and New York all at the same time!

Southwest Art Magazine Cover, November Issue.

2009-10-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

I know the image is tiny so I will explain what it is below.

Southwest Art Magazine has chosen me as the first prize winner for a feature on:

' 21 Artists Over 31' - Talented Artists You Need To Know.

It is a tremendous honor to be showcased with a host of artists who are all very accomplished. I have seen a few images from the feature, however, I have not seen it in person, so I can't speak anymore about the greatness you will witness from the other artists. From what I have seen, it should provide a breadth of variety and different perspectives on art. In all honesty, I don't know how I was chosen above 2000+ artists who sent in their paintings. I'd just like to say thank you to the good folks over at Southwest Art and those putting the feature together.

Along with being in the feature and having an interview in the interior, my painting was also selected for the cover. The image is a cropped section of a more horizontal and panoramic interior of Grand Central Station. It comes as a great accolade and holds significant personal meaning for me. Here is a preview for the article:

http://artistsblog.artistsnetwork.com/Southwest+Art+Announces+21+Over+31+Winners.aspx

I look forward to flipping through the feature and see a wealth of other talented artists.

It's been too loooooooooooooooooong . . . . .

2009-10-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

The new studio is up and running which has given me the space to paint, paint, paint. I had to dive right in on three commissions that collectors up in the PNW were waiting on.

Here is the first. It is oil on board at 8"x24". The long vertical format was a challenge. To fit the differing elements in there to make it feel like a real place in Grand Central I had to tweak things. As I have progressed through this series I have come to prefer changing, exaggerating, and faking the interior architectural layout. If you visit the station you will be able to tell that I move things as needed to fit my idea, first, and the design, second, or is it the other way around. Hmm.

I have settled quite nicely into my new southern lifestyle, and there will be more paintings coming soon.

Plus I will put up on the blog something real soon about purchasing sketches and small watercolors for a project that is in the works. They will be cheap and have plenty of variety in subject matter. More to follow.

Studies

2009-09-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here are studies in gouache I have done in prep for two 15"x15" commissions. Each study is four by four inches roughly.

They will sit to one side of a larger painting I had done previously for this collector. The perspective has been skewed and exaggerated to follow the style we set up in the first painting. I'm trying to make a super-hero out of static buildings and objects.

Normally I would have done a few monochromatic studies but after the move all I had available to me was the gouache at the time. Although the colors don't directly translate to oils, these will give me a good idea of how the finals will look.

I'll post the finals when I get them completed.

Now Live! from the the East Coast . . .

2009-08-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

Well, finally I am getting back to a routine after moving 3000 miles away, and starting again with my art in beautiful Raleigh, NC. I could do without the massively large, like carry your small children off large, bugs, however, I am even getting use to those. From what I understand the state bird is the mosquito.

I would like to thank those of you who have been leaving messages on the blog. They have been brilliant and I will get to respond to those of you, now that I am getting settled.

Illustration is my first love. Last fall I was teaching a gouache painting techniques class for the illustration department at PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) in Portland. I have always liked gouache and have posted numerous examples on the blog. I tend to treat the medium much like I treat oils. It's good for going on location or working from a model where I am looking for shapes and color relationships. I don't necessarily ever come to a "finish" with these things, or they are just so quick that I never spend more than a couple of hours on them.

I recently read an article about Van Gogh and his famous ear, or lack of one. Although, he was mentally unstable and did untold number of weird things, like eating cigarette butts while out painting on location, there is a new theory on what happened to his ear. Gaugin did it! He lopped it off in a scuffle over a prostitute, that they both apparently were courting. The two were roommates above a brothel and Gaugin was well known for carrying a little saber with him at all times. If you want to read more I have included a link below:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/may/04/vincent-van-gogh-ear

I thought it was good subject matter to explore and I felt I could provide some foreshadowing to the article with my treatment of the image. A final would have to be done in oils but this got me mostly to my initial idea. As with all preliminary work it has a few small things to iron out.

The following two image are simply two ten minute color studies. Where I have pushed some more brilliant, pure color is where I noticed reflected light really influencing the flesh tones.

Again I'll get this blog thing rolling more regularly now and thanks for showing up.

OPA Western Regional

2009-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

2009 OPA Western Regional Show
My painting "Dreams of Near and Far" was juried into the Oil Painters of America 2009 Western Regional Show.

This year the showcase gallery is the Howard Mandville in beautiful Kirkland, WA.

Howard Mandville Gallery
120 Park Lane, Suite D
Kirkland ,WA 98033

Show Preview: Aug. 6th
Exhibition Dates:
Aug.8th - Aug. 30th.

www.howardmandville.com

There are always a lot of very good artists in these shows, please stop in at see the work.

New Paintings

2009-07-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have added 8 new images to my urban scenes gallery on my website and 2 new images to the still-life gallery. All were a part of my recent one man show at the Cole Gallery.

The above is one of the new paintings titled "Freeze Frame" , 18"x24" oils.

Go have a gander:

www.joshuaflint.com

I am in the process of packing up to move across the country to Raleigh, North Carolina.
So posts will be slow, but, hey, you all are use to that. . . as I have neglected this little blog recently.

Maybe I can get a post up before I drive out on Aug. 1st.

If any of you have thoughts on this part of North Carolina send them my way, I'd love to know what I am stepping into besides wicked humidity.

Till next time.

American Art Collector Feature

2009-07-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have been featured in a great magazine this month that highlights some of the works that will be on display at my Solo Show on July 16th, at the Cole Gallery. I talk about this current body of work and have a few thoughts in there about my painting process.

Artists Who Teach

2009-07-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

As an artist who teaches I have been asked to be included in a resource for individuals looking for art instruction.

The website provides a huge database of artists who give back through teaching at some level, whether its workshops, private institutions, seminars, or universities.

Go have a look at see if there is an artist who lives near you that could be a valuable resource.

I have had many great teachers and just other creative individuals that were willing to put up with my badgering them for art critique and instruction. So I figure I can pass on whatever miniscule art ability I have got, if it could be helpful.

I think I need to go back and hit up this website because I saw some truly impressive artists on the roster.

And please drop Leighann Foster a line and tell her thank you for creating such a unique resource. Besides teaching there are other helpful links as well.

www.artistswhoteach.org

Informed Collector

2009-07-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Informed Collector has picked me out as an artist whom collectors should know about.
I'd like to thank the nice folks over there for such a recognition.
Here is a nice summation about my paintings:

"Ah, the beauty of the moment! Exciting and provocative urban scene paintings that combine unusual angles, rich shadows and engaging movement. Seemingly mundane activates become beautiful poignant moments in the daily dance of life."
- Informed Collector

Go have a look through the other artists on the website:
http://informedcollector.com/nlarchive.asp?nl=1061

Also, I will be starting to post new images on my website (soon) for my one man show coming up in mid July. I will make a notice of it here as well as put up some other randomness that should go on art blogs.

Thanks for dropping in!

Empty Easel Article

2009-06-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

There is an article about my work on a great website called Empty Easel. I really enjoyed the author's breakdown of my edge control in a painting. Although she says I make it look easy it is anything but the case, especially when I am in the middle of a painting. I fret constantly over edges, in a constant push and pull between crisp and soft, while wearing a path in the studio floor, as I look at them from distance.

There is also a peak at a few new paintings for my one man show next month in the article as well.

emptyeasel.com/2009/05/27/joshua-flint-a-glimpse-of-painted-motion/

Sorry! The link is now working. It's the only place to see a few new paintings, at least until the show gets nearer.

Quick sketches

2009-06-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here are my early attempts at using this new calligraphy pen. It's not a bad implement but maybe a sumi would get better fine lines and thus the variety of thick to thin would be greater. We''ll see. Maybe I'll do a head to head comparison with this in mind. I do like using an ink pen as it forces me to be accurate with each stroke, and hopefully improve my eye.

Also I'll have some news about my one man show in Seattle next month at the Cole Gallery.

Yellow vs. Blue Show Collection

2009-04-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

A big thanks to Robert and Megan for bringing in a great crowd on opening night this last friday, April 10th.
How do I know you ask? Well, I watched it via their webcam on the website. A lovely little touch that helps bring art into the modern age and allows those of us, who had work in the show but couldn't attend, a connection with the event. I watched for quite awhile and as an artist I just love people watching.

If you didn't make it, like myself, here is a look through the show, minus the crowds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me0jna3dBDs

-joshua

New Website

2009-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I have put up a new website. Got see it at www.joshuaflint.com
The new website will be a formal endeavor where only my paintings and show schedule will be posted.
But don't worry I will still keep the blog rolling, and it could possibly free me up to get a little crazier with my posts, here. Maybe I'll just start ranting about stuff, could be art related, could not. Who knows what's going to happen, now that this will be an 'inside the artist's studio' blog.

Anyways go check it out, it looks like this:

www.joshuaflint.com

Upcoming Show and Demo

2009-04-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Robert Lange Studios
151 East Bay Street
Charlseton, SC 29401
www.robertlangestudios.com

Final Painting, titled "While the Winter Waits":

My process and studio shots:

Hey All,
I am in a Group Show at the Robert Lange Studios in Charleston,SC. Opening Night is April 10th and will be up for a month. If you are in the Charleston, SC area or happen to be in this lovely city during the show dates go have a look. With 20 Artists showing, it will be an excellent event with a plethora of quality work on display. I have four pieces in the show including the above still-life demo. The theme of the exhibition was Yellow vs. Blue. This is my 'blue' contribution. A pair of Grand Central Station paintings will also be hanging. I encourage all of you to have a look at the website.

Sketchbook pages

2009-03-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here are a few sketches from me using a new calligraphy pen. I think it's going to take a little more practice to get used to its qualities, but so far it been a nice change from a pen that can't get thick and thin lines quickly. Although picking out small details with the ends of the pen has proved to be tough. These are all 5-15 min sketches from life. In one you can see I've added gouache later on.

I've got a few shows coming up in April, May and in July that I will put up on the blog as they get closer.
Also, a new website is under way and should be up in the next few weeks.

Thanks for having a look.

Steel Bridge, PDX

2009-03-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

Steel Bridge, 36" x 72"

After much ado, and neglecting my blog, I need to get this commission painting up, now that it's done.
I had a great time with the piece and feel the overall intention that the client and I were going for, came out in the final painting. I had the liberty to stylize certain areas, like the cityscape. Since the scene is largely made up, this only added to the enjoyment in doing the final, as I didn't have any strict guidelines governed by the reality of the scene.

DETAIL:

(I've also notice that images become less saturated and less colorful when posted on Blogger, anyone else have this problem? Let me know if you have that same issue.)

Anatomy of a Painting

2009-01-31T18:25:00.001-08:00

Early Stages

Here are a few work in progress shots of my commission piece.
Just blocking in all the big shapes and getting the shadows in.
It's coming along nicely.
I'll have some further pics of its development as it gets to closer to completion.

Commission Painting

2009-01-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Currently I am working on a large scale commission painting. The collector and I have come up with a great idea of a portland cityscape centering around one of the oldest, and coolest bridges, the Steel Bridge. We wanted to incorporate more than what's actually in view from this vantage point on the east side of the river, looking at the bridge to downtown, and beyond. It is more a panoramic sweeping vision that you can't get unless you turn your head in multiple directions. I thought it would be brilliant to bring it all together in one image that will measure 3 by 6 feet. As you can see I have forced the perspective of just about everything in sight, skewing buildings, enlarging the bridge so it seems more grandiose and powerful, shrinking the cityscape, and bending the Willamette River so we get a view of the Burnside Bridge, and of course the waterfront and skyline.

I moved through a series of pen and ink thumbnails to find the right dynamic, and in the earlier sketches you will see that I haven't yet included all the elements that I spoke about in the above paragraph.

During this stage I am writing notes to myself in the margin about how I would treat the color and application for the final painting, even though I am working with black and white shapes, I am still thinking of the stages to come and visualizing what it will look like in my head. You will notice that at this point I am really dealing with how your eye is going to enter the right side of the painting and onto the bridge. The second one with the train tracks I like but I don't feel I am quite there yet and satisfied with the image.

These last two were the picks of the bunch. Now I just had to decide between seeing the bridge as a super hero, like the first sketch, or try to incorporate more of this panorama idea and distort the perspective. The second one had a little of everything I previously talked about and I decided that was the right direction to go in. As you can see the more the cityscape came into the picture plane, the more I liked the idea of a huge bridge and a small cityscape. The design is a nice contrast of big vs little shapes.

A little larger refined drawing focusing on those same dynamics from the last sketch but with more detail. This is a chance to get to know the subject matter more and firm up the idea, eventually leading to a more solid approach when I switch over to canvas and oils. On to the color color study.

I pushed the color of the Steel Bridge to be more rust colored and warmer to play off the really nice punchy blues of a crisp fall day here in Portland. A nice variety of light and shadow in the buildings off in the distance, that will fade out in the atmosphere while the river bends away from our view.

I built the canvas from ten foot lengths of stretcher bar and have the canvas primed and ready to go.

I will be posting different stages of the painting as I go, so check back for more.

Artists Emerge

2009-01-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

I took part in an online competition through an art organization out of San Diego, CA, called Artists Emerge. They are for promoting artists and art in communities around the globe.

I was awarded 2nd place for a juried competition about creating a series of paintings. My Apercu Series focusing on Grand Central Station in NY was chosen as a excellent body of work, enough to impress the juried committee, it looks like.
With over 200 international entries I was honored to have merited a place.

I was the lone painter chosen with the other award winners all photographers, including the honorable mentions, not bad huh.

Have a look at their organization and what they do for promoting art at www.artistsemerge.org

Apercu #15

2009-01-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Between These Hands_20"x8"

Here is the latest from an ongoing series on New York's Grand Central, in case some of you haven't seen the blog before, which is probably either a ton of people who check out the blog, that I don't know about, or no one at all. So there you go, maybe in between. I really like a panoramic format when I paint whether its horizontal or with this painting a vertical. I have been working on a lot of smaller works in the last month. Maybe a few will be a larger painting. Just searching in general, as I need to see what works well or doesn't without the commitment.
I do have a grouping of larger paintings I am planning but right now I am wrapped up in a commission for a local collector. If I get the go ahead from him I'll put up the preliminary work in the coming days.

Also I know the blog here has been neglected at times, but no more! It is a new year and thus I have a new commitment (which I'll end up breaking, as that's the way these things work) to post about my art but also about other subjects that I really enjoy or not.

Some new year randomness to start it all off.

Music I have been listening to, to help reach my creative levels:

Steven Marley: Mind Control Acoustic Set.
Quite possibly the greatest reggae album put out in the last thirty years since his dad, the venerable Bob. Mind blowing.

Whitest Boy Alive:Dreams
Excellent euro pop from Berlin (blended with some 80's ska?) Totally brightens your day, if its raining, like now in P Town.

Milosh: III
Electronica with vocals and heavy beats(no really it totally works). Thoughtful, insightful, dreamlike.

Give em a shot cause you might like something new.

new years brings new boundaries

2009-01-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

A little fun experimental 8"x10" oil . . . .
possibly opening future painting avenues . . . .
I don't even know yet, I'll have to see what 09' brings me . . . .

Best for you in this new year! Do good . . .
no do better.

Paintings Update

2008-12-17T21:43:00.000-08:00

The Daring Act of Change_5.5"x10"

This Was The Point Of Everything_16"x10"

Time Travel_20"x16"

The Fulcrum Of Our Day_24"x30"

Time For Change . . . .

2008-11-14T11:49:00.003-08:00

I liked this illustration by Patrick Moberg, kind of puts things into perspective, visually. Discover tons of great artists, illustrators, and designers and other cool things at www.drawn.ca.

Don't forget the Open Studio tomorrow night. Details of the event below. See you there.

Open Studio This Saturday!

2008-11-11T14:30:00.001-08:00

Two Grand Central Paintings

2008-11-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Way We Orbit One Another_ 36" x 24"

We Pivot Like Constellations In the Sky_24" x 30"

I just dropped these paintings off at the Cole Gallery and they will be on display there, in addition to the small works show happening later this month on the 20th.

As always comments are welcomed.

Cole Gallery Group Show

2008-11-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a reminder for the Cole Gallery Group Show that I am going to be taking part in this month on the 20th. Denise Cole, the owner, is doing a great job advertising for the event in American Art Collector magazine. My painting of an apple titled 'The Promise of . . .' is featured on the bottom row, far left. Should be a really great exhibition with plenty of small works on display by a selection of fine artists.

Upcoming Event:

Cole Gallery
Small Works Show

Opening Night: November 2oth, 5pm-9pm.

Many, Many Pounds. . . . . .as in British.

2008-10-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Lucien Freud paints people, has for decades. At 85 years young he is still at it, influencing modern figurative painters around the world. In May, a painting he did during the mid nineties shattered the current world record for the most expensive painting done by a living artist. It sold at Sotheby's for $35 million dollars. It's title is: Benefits Supervisor Sleeping. Ok, I'll give you time to pick your jaw up off the floor. Alright, you ready, I'll continue. However, you do have a little bit of drool that you'll want to clean up.

I too was floored to read about this. It may be old news for those on the forefront of what's happening in the World Art Market but it hit home for me as a painter perpetually fascinated, perplexed, stunned, annoyed, and every other negative and positive superlative in the dictionary that describes our efforts in life.

I feel figurative painting has been shunned by the vast majority of the art world for being concerned with only beauty and therefore presiding as more illustration than fine art. However, slowly it is finding its way back into being placed alongside the other leading areas of contemporary art which makes me extremely happy to see. Not for the price paid but for the subject matter and medium.

Below is a portrait done by Freud in 1947 of his first wife, which is also brilliant.