DSM Art Festival Pics

Just a quick note to post some pics of the DSM Arts Festival GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural Project. 1000 participants and dozens of volunteers all lent a hand in making this project a success. My sincerest thanks to everyone involved including my wonderful friends and family who not only showed up to offer their support and love, but to lend a hand as well. I'm especially proud of my two sons, Chance and Zane for joining me on the lift (at its lowest setting) and helping me out. AND to Monica Langin for helping me set the last two rows as time was becoming more and more of an issue. All in all the mural, which took nearly 20 hours to complete, only stood in its finished state for a total of 2 hours. A team of volunteers was able to disassemble, file, and catalog the 1000 tiles in less than 90 minutes. Amazing.

That being said here are some pics. Photo credits on this post go to the lovely and talented Monica Langin. Thank You!

Cheers!

R

New Pics for a New Start

There's something about getting started on a new project. If you know me I'm all about starts. I'm very happy to say that I sold a piece the other day and the buyers want another one to go with it. Naturally I'm pretty excited about the prospect. I met them a little over a week at ArtDive for a little brainstorming session. We discussed some of their ideas for the new painting and what may or may not work. All in all it was a good time. I like meeting with clients. Getting to know them and their perspective is a great help when coming up with something custom.

The end result of the meeting was a list of locations and views I needed to check out. I got to spend some time last week with just me, my camera, and my tripod. Here's a sampling of the results.

For a full viewing of all the shots I took that night (and if you know me) you can check my new album on FaceBook

I'll be posting it today.

Cheers,

R

Struggle/What's In A Name

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Some paintings are more work than others. Not all paintings are masterpieces. One of my painting instructors at UNI, Deb Zlotsky, used to refer to "Slave Paintings". This wasn't quite one of those, but it was close.
Through competition you learn that in conflict you develop strong bonds to people, things, and ideals. Those bonds can be with those you've struggled with and those you've struggled against. I feel like I wrestled with this painting a lot. Funny thing is that now that I'm done I don't see the struggle as clearly. It didn't take me any longer than any other piece. Actually I think the time frame was about average if not a little shorter. Now that I'm done I like it a lot. There are a few very minor things I might go back and touch up, but not so you'd notice. Mostly it's for my own satisfaction as opposed to any sort of actual problem with the aesthetic.

I posted this one on my Facebook page and asked for some help with the title. I suck at titles. My friends have come up with quite a few. Here's a sampling in no particular order: "Shadows in the Rain" an ode to the Police tune, "Curb Side Canopy", "Whisperings", "Red Lights and Raindrops", "Prayers For Rain", "These Human Shadows", and "Manhattan Voyeur".

There was this one other suggestion by Larassa Kabel, "And Then There was the Screech of Tires".
I like that one.

Here's the final image and a detail close-up. At least this is what I'm calling final until I go back and start screwing with it (resisting... temptation...). I'll be posting it for sale on my Etsy site today. I'll let you know where it goes to roost so you can see it in person if you like.

Cheers,

R

New Work In Progress

Since I just posted my Twitter mosaic I'll keep this short. I merely wanted to post my most recent in-progress shots of my latest work.So... without further fanfare here they are:


I'm trying to work more outside the photo on these. Using instinct and intuition more for coloration and placement. I'm trying to get rid of the more obvious horizon lines and let the characters define themselves in the space.

Cheers,

R

Twitter Mosaic

You know it's funny... Just when you thought no one was listening:

These are the fine people following me on Twitter. I almost hate to admit it, but Tweeting has been a good resource for me. I've gotten in contact with galleries, buyers, and other artists with some great work to share and helpful advice. Plus it's a fun outlet for random brain bits while I'm working and going through day-to-day activities.

Are you on this list? Do you Tweet? Like it or don't there's something valuable going on here.

Cheers,

R