Lady Bug Girl

Lady Bug Girl

Oil on right angle panel, 2011, 4.5"x 4.5"x 2.5"

sold

This painting is from a found photo. Looks to me like it is from the 1940's, of a skating costume party. It seems like a bit of that wholesome fun our parents and grandparents talk about and think fondly of. To me, I simply wonder about the girl. What happened to her? Was her heart broken, or did she have a load of kids and is still partying down somewhere?

New York Girl

New York Girl

Oil on Birch right angle panel, 2011, 4.5"x 4.5"x 2.5"

sold

Hi! I haven't posted in a very long time. The pressure was a bit much trying to finish a painting every day, when I wasn't even sure what it was I was interested in painting. So I hid in the studio for a while and developed some paintings for a few shows, one in April at Paint Creek Center for The Arts, and the other show is up right now at Center Galleries on the campus of College For Creative Studies (CCS) near the art museum. It closes on October 8th. Its a 3 person show with myself Clinton Snider and Michael McGillis.

This is a painting I did for the Paint Creek show, and it is the inspiration for a lot of my work at the Center Gallery show. I built a small right angled panel, and wanted to paint an image that depicted one point perspective. So that the vanishing point is actually at the physically closest point to the viewer. The girl (here in a found photo from a thrift store) is also on the leading edge of the painting. What happens visually to me is very exciting. The girl seems to animate in a way, when you move about the room. Because she is at the right angle edge, no matter where you stand, she doesn't distort very much but the background does very much. This distortion is what drives a whole series of paintings I will be featuring on the blog. There is one "sweet spot" where everything looks normal and the moment you move out of it everything changes. What this does for me is it brings the girl and the painting to life, if only for a moment. I like the fact this is a found photo too, giving the girl depicted (showing off her new Easter dress I imagine), another chance at life after being discarded.

Blue Truck

Blue Truck

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

When taking a road trip to escape the winter, there is not much to do except look out the window and think about things. Passing by the slower trucks, is a common occurrence. I started noticing the bright colors of these trucks and really fell in love with them.

Winter Boat Storage

Winter Boat Storage

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of an abandoned boat that I painted last summer. It's still there and still abandoned as far as I can tell.

#72

Cold Morning, Factory

Cold Morning, Factory

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of a small manufacturing plant near Hamtramck. I was struck by the color of the tank with spots of rust starting to form.

#71

Winter Canal

Winter Canal

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of a canal on Detroits east side. It was close to sundown and I like the how the foreground is dark and quiet, almost like its getting ready for bed.

#70

Toy Houses

Toy Houses

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is a nocturne. When I was finished I thought these houses looked like something from a diorama or a snow globe, thus the title of the piece.

#69

Missing House

Missing House

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of an empty lot on Detroit's east side. I like the various colors the snow makes, the way it reflects light and the vibrancy of the different blues.

#68

Snowy Street - Night

Snowy Street - Night

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is another nocturne. I love the effect artificial light has at night especially on snow. I also was excited to try this composition which is divided in two halves. Dark on top, white on the bottom with a streak of blue green to help separate them.

#67

Winter Street Nocturne

Winter Street Nocturne

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is a nocturne from the other night when it was snowing just after dark. People were still coming home from work and the neighborhood was quiet.

#66

My Dad And Me

My Dad And Me

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

This painting I did as a commission, for guess who? My dad.

#65

Door

Door

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 2"x 5"

sold

Todays painting is something I just noticed while I work on my computer. The sun streams in and hits this glass knob. I thought it was beautiful so I gave it a go.

#64

Orange House

Orange House

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is on a freezing cold day. My feet are about to fall off. This is again from Detroits east side, only a few homes are left on this block, but they are in great shape. Some industry is still running in the background. I think a lot of these neighborhoods had factories in them, you could simply walk to work, they make for interesting yet dangerous playgrounds for the kids today.

#63

Harpos

Harpos

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of the amazing sign out in front of Harpos theatre. You can see the sign from the freeway. It must cost an incredible amount of money these days to build a sign like this, because no one does it anymore. Every old theatre had a sign similar in scale and style, but even on the new stadiums like Ford Field, which could support a large elaborate sign and it wouldn't look out of place, they don't do it. Its absolutely great advertising but you are stuck with the name even if ownership changes.

#62

Winter Morning

Winter Morning

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is another from this neighborhood near Hamtramck. I wanted to paint these snowy rooftops, that was my main inspiration, but I loved the chilliness and the color of the snow in morning and how these houses seemed to be hibernating.

#61

Yellow House

Yellow House

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of a yellow house on a mostly vacant street in a strangely industrial neighborhood on Detroits east side.

#60

Winter Light

Winter Light

Oil on Birch panel, 2011, 5"x 7"

sold

Todays painting is of some snowy rooftops in Detroit near Hamtramck. I like these old alleyways. You can always tell when an older person lives in a house because they keep their alley tidy.

#59

Blue Mountain Cowboy

Blue Mountain Cowboy

Oil on birch panel, 2010, 5"x 7"

This is a painting I did recently for a christmas present. Yes, all I did was add a cowboy to an already completed painting but I think it changes the picture quite a bit and I like it much better now. I think I'll put some cowboys in all my stuff now.

#58