Artaed

other stuff

2012-01-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

I've been working in other media lately.

evolved cannibalism

2011-09-26T11:58:00.001-07:00

Roughly 18" x 36" in a variety of mediums. Everything changes, nothing stays the same. Especially chaos.

Cannibalism

2011-09-20T10:21:00.001-07:00

For anyone reading this, in case you are remotely interested, I'm changing gears a little. If you are wondering what these are, or were, I can say I'm taking what they were and re-envisioning whatever that was. It's still there, just in a new way.

Dreams and abstractions

2011-09-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

2011-07-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Audrey Hepburn

2011-02-07T13:18:00.001-08:00

Thanks, Fritz for your comment. I re-did her hand but altogether she has a subtleness that's difficult to capture.

Audrey Hepburn

2011-02-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hers is one of the more elusive likenesses to capture, and I'm not sure this is that successful, but here it is nonetheless. 4 x 4 acrylic on Ampersand board.

off to a slow start

2011-01-21T15:24:00.001-08:00

James Dean acrylic on Ampersand board ready to hang and 4x4 inches. Almost ready to post on etsy.

This is a little Marilyn Monroe still in progress. It's 4x4 inches on Ampersand board ready to hang. I'll be posting it on my etsy account probably next week...wish me luck!

hiatus

2010-11-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hello out there (does anyone actually read this blog?)...I've had some difficult things happen in my life in the last few weeks and I can't work on any art-related things for the time being. Thanks for stopping by and with any luck I'll be able to work again soon. D

one more marylin for AH

2010-10-18T14:50:00.001-07:00

I'm still working on these, so they're in painting limbo but thought they'd like to see the light of day on the blog for now.

another Marilyn for AH

2010-10-15T13:21:00.001-07:00

Evolution of an artomat

2010-10-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

How an artomat block becomes a portrait.

2010-09-17T14:43:00.001-07:00

Humphrey Bogart acrylic on artomat block

Marilyn Monroe acrylic on artomat block

final Ingrid Bergman, I think

2010-09-15T11:44:00.001-07:00

updated Ingrid Bergman

2010-09-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

a few more artomats

2010-09-13T15:00:00.001-07:00

Ingrid Bergman acrylic on artomat block

Vivien Leigh acrylic on artomat block

2010-08-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Schmoo 6" x 6" oil on board

Way Back 6" x 6" oil on board

Above PV 9" x 12" oil on board

After working on the artomat pieces, these are liberatingly huge in comparison.

Anna Magnani for LL

2010-08-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

acrylic on wood, approximately 1 1/2" square

last two artomats

2010-08-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Lenny Bruce acrylic on artomat block

Madeline Kahn acrylic on artomat block

I'm going to send 30 artomat portraits (see my last few posts for specific paintings) out early next week. If you want them sent to an artomat machine near you, let me know where that is by leaving a comment! :)

one more artomat...two on the way

2010-08-04T21:42:00.001-07:00

Early George Carlin acrylic on artomat block

So far all together

2010-08-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

six down three more artomats to go

2010-08-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

Henry Miller acrylic on artomat block

Paula Modersohn Becker acrylic on artomat block

Truman Capote acrylic on artomat block

Bruno Schulz acrylic on artomat block

Jack Kerouac acrylic on artomat block

Jane Bowles acrylic on artomat block

another artomat

2010-07-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Diego Rivera acrylic on artomat block

three more artomats

2010-07-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Louise Nevelson acrylic on artomat block

Allen Ginsberg acrylic on artomat block

Andy Warhol acrylic on artomat block

I'm getting ready to send a batch out...less than ten to go...

More art-o-mats for upcoming shipment...

2010-07-19T19:06:00.001-07:00

Simone De Beauvoir acrylic on artomat block

Josephine Baker acrylic on artomat block

Revised Frida Kahlo acrylic on artomat block

Lilian Gish (needs a little revision) acrylic on artomat block

More possible artomat portraits coming up: Diego Rivera, Giorgio Morandi, Andy Warhol, George Carlin, Nathanael West, Lenny Bruce, Gilda Radner, Louise Nevelson, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Anna Magnani, Amedeo Modigliani, Édouard Vuillard, Camille Pissarro, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Beckmann, Paula Modersohn Becker, Rainer Maria Rilke, Bruno Schulz, Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Roth, Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weil, Alberto Giacometti, Tennessee Williams, Jane Bowles, Paul Bowles. If anyone is actually out there reading this blog and has a suggestion for an artomat portrait, please leave it as a comment. Thanks.

In progress

2010-07-18T12:06:00.001-07:00

Frida Kahlo pre-revision acrylic on artomat block

Lee Krasner (she's so underrated...she's amazing) acrylic on artomat block

updated Isak Dinesen

2010-07-18T12:01:00.001-07:00

Sketches for artomat

2010-06-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Anais Nin

Sarah Bernhardt

Isak Dinesen

in June

2010-06-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

These little abstractions...most of them I'll use for underpaintings, but a few I'll leave because I find myself wanting to look closely at them. They remind me of so many things, one of which is the Krylon paintings I used to do for Tower Records displays. It's interesting how random color can suggest things like depth, light, objects. This one is 6" x 6" oil on board.

Claude Debussy - for artomat - oil on artomat block

Marcel Duchamp - for artomat - oil on artomat block

Marcel Proust - for artomat - oil on artomat block

More for upcoming Ciocolat Show

2010-05-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

Sonoma Cows (6" x 6" oil on board)

Very small abstraction (4" x 4" oil on board)

Toward Vacaville - finished (4" x 4" oil on board)

Ciocolat Show pieces

2010-05-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Homage to John Humble - 6" x 6" - oil on board

Vacaville Hills - 6" x 6" - oil on board

White Pickup - 4" x 4" - oil on board

quick

2010-05-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Toward Vallejo. This is still in an unfinished state. The finished piece went to the ciocolat show.

further

2010-05-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

This eventually became the little green abstraction above.

This became an underpainting, possibly for White Pickup.

Homage to Tom Thomson - 4" x 4" - oil on board. ciocolat show.

More small stuff to keep working and getting ready for a little local show. The tiny abstractions are evolving or devolving.

small abstractions

2010-05-14T12:58:00.001-07:00

To stop thinking so literally and to create some underpaintings for future landscapes so these are very transient actually. Update: they've all evolved into other paintings.

still here

2010-05-14T12:53:00.001-07:00

This is the unfinished state of what is now Homage to Tom Thomson - 4" x 4" - oil on board. It went to the ciocolat show.

On 5 - 4" x 4" - oil on board. ciocolat show.

Near Winters - 4" x 4" - oil on board. ciocolat show.

slowness

2010-05-03T16:45:00.001-07:00

It's taking me longer than before but I'm working on the artomats. They're keeping me working. Here are some more portraits of literary characters of mythic proportion but in miniature. Name that persona of yesteryear (or should I say, yester-millenium)?

Tiny Show Getting Closer

2010-03-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

updated artomat

2010-03-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

This artomat needed a little crispening. After I finish the pieces for the Tiny show, I'll get back to the artomats.

slowly coming along

2010-03-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

one more artomat...up to five now...must make more time to catch up with work...

artomats in progress

2010-03-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

After months of a challenging working situation, I am now going to attempt to barrel through some work...hence the multiple posts today...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things are back to somewhat normal around here by the end of this week... :)

80 east

2010-03-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a little glimpse of yesterday's ride home.

tiny show

2010-03-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is my final entry for the Tiny Show coming up in April. It's a three-in-one: me interpreting Van Gogh interpreting Hiroshige. The bottom image is the first sketch; the upper image is today's update and now I probably have two days' more work left to do on this little painting that is 5" x 7".

new artomats

2010-03-08T13:16:00.001-08:00

It's been almost impossible to work on things but I've been doing a little here and there that I haven't been posting. Because it's been so long since my last post, I'll throw in today's artomat portrait (Edna St. Vincent Millay) and a couple of other pieces for another artomat series...here goes...

changes

2010-02-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd take my chances and see if I could improve this sketch. I think I liked it better before but since there's no undo button, there's always scrolling down on the blog to see what it used to look like...

more very quick sketches

2010-02-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

Outside of Winters and the west side of campus.

test project

2010-02-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

These are two mini-ish landscapes for a test project. They're both views of the Mount Vaca hills in the evening.

sketches

2010-02-10T09:40:00.001-08:00

A couple of pencil drawings on the gessoed pages of a discarded library book. The two landscapes are thumbnail ideas for paintings for another project. The still life is just a still life. :)

new artomat blocks are gessoed and underpainted

2010-02-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

More small sketchy sketches

2010-02-08T15:09:00.000-08:00

total honesty

2010-02-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

It's close to impossible to do any painting these days so I am making myself paint under quite (for me) difficult conditions. I'm going to post these things but they are not my best work, just stuff I am doing to keep working. There. I said it. Let's see if I can actually get myself to post these. The cow picture is for the tiny show at the Pence although I probably will wipe it out and do something else. The other two were quick sketches because I had a few minutes left to work...

4 x 4s

2010-02-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

More stuff to keep me going...a couple of still lifes...

2010-01-25T14:01:00.001-08:00

Due to extenuating circumstances, it's been hard to work on painting but I've been trying to get a little done. These are more 4 x 4 sketches just to keep painting a little.

the artomats are going out today!

2010-01-22T12:14:00.000-08:00

25 artomats are being mailed to artomat today (most of which you can see in my previous posts). Each piece is ready to hang or stand, whichever you prefer. If anyone actually reads this blog and if that anyone would like me to ask Clark or Carol at artomat to have a few pieces sent to an artomat machine near you, please, anyone, let me know your preference, either as a comment on here or via my email: artaed@gmail.com

Here's a little preview of what's in the shipment. Enjoy, as they say!

just to keep working

2010-01-12T14:16:00.001-08:00

This is just a very quick 4 x 4 just so I can tell myself I painted a little today.

here they are altogether so far...

2010-01-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

five more artomat minis

2010-01-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Eva Hesse, artist
Audrey Hepburn, actress
William Carlos Williams, poet
Dorothy Parker, writer
Patsy Cline, singer

updated artomat minis

2010-01-07T10:47:00.001-08:00

Robert Arneson - artist (thanks Heidi!)
Frank Zappa - musician (thanks, Rena!)
Keith Haring - artist (thanks, Clark!)
John Lennon - musician - not American, I know
C. S. Lewis - writer and not American, either...I'm branching out (thanks, Sophie!)

two finished minis for Ed

2010-01-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hmmm

2010-01-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

These are just a couple of tiny paintings that I did today just to keep working. They are both 4 x 4 inches. I don't know how much work I am going to be able to do in the next couple of months, so whenever I can squeeze a couple of hours in, this is what I'm going to do...

here they are all together so far...

2009-12-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

2009-12-28T15:41:00.003-08:00

Ted Berrigan, Poet
Judy Garland, Actress
Lester Young, Musician
Frank O'Hara, Poet
Elizabeth Bishop, Poet

Four More Mini Portraits

2009-12-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Alice Neel, American painter; Duke Ellington, American composer; Willa Cather, American writer; Billie Holliday, American singer and song writer

more minis for artomat (some are updated from ayer)

2009-12-25T15:10:00.000-08:00

new minis

2009-12-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

more artomat minis and updated ones from yesterday

2009-12-25T15:03:00.000-08:00

new artomat minis

2009-12-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

I'm starting some new things for artomat. First a little series of famous writers and artists, possibly musicians in acrylic on scavenged plywood. I'll see how far I can go with these and then on to more landscapes and still life to go with them...stay tuned if anyone is actually reading this...!?

three new miniatures

2009-12-14T13:21:00.001-08:00

Hi John,
If you like these, let me know (artaed@gmail.com). I can have them to you by early next week. :)

2009-12-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

Same picture, trimmed down a little.

2009-12-07T12:39:00.000-08:00

Mr. G for Ed. :)

Three miniatures for Joan

2009-12-01T14:07:00.001-08:00

Hi Joan! If you are looking at my blog, you'll see in this post three new minis for you. They're still wet, so they don't have their frames yet. And one abstract in the style of Sonya Delaunay.

Three miniature landscapes...

2009-12-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

My friend Joan totally inspired me when she asked me to do a few of these minis for gifts. These are very tiny oil paintings on birch then finished in a dollhouse frame. I'm really busy trying to get more of these local scenes done for her and also for my etsy store: artaed.etsy.com...

rice paddies at twilight

2009-11-23T17:10:00.001-08:00

6 x 6 inches oil on board

updated miniature

2009-11-13T17:12:00.001-08:00

This mini one needed a little more work. Here's its latest incarnation. It's approximately 1 1/2 x 1 inches oil paint on birch panel.

Outside Woodland

2009-11-13T14:19:00.001-08:00

6 x 6 inch landscape of a view from the bypass on 5 headed towards Sacramento in the late afternoon of November 11th.

Miniature Landscapes

2009-11-11T15:09:00.002-08:00

A few miniature landscapes of local scenes.

La Finca

2009-11-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

This was very quick and I was in the sun the whole time...not to make excuses but those are my excuses! I'm going to work on some new pieces as soon as I get a new lamp later this week...

Almost there

2009-10-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm just about ready to mail the art-o-mat pieces out, I just have a few more details to go through before they head out into the world. Now I'm almost ready to start on another project: slightly larger (6" x 6") homages to everyday life -- vignettes spotted at 65 mph or forgotten objects quietly collecting dust. Who knows, you might just see your favorite exit off 80 show up here.

Art-o-mat: before and after

2009-10-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

These are the 50 art-o-mat blocks, just after I received and gessoed them, and then several weeks and much painting later, they have been transformed into small paintings. With any luck, later this week the miniatures will be on their way to vending machines hither and yon.

second passes

2009-10-26T14:05:00.000-07:00

These had a little more work.

Last four

2009-10-25T14:28:00.001-07:00

Four to go

2009-10-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

two more from last night

2009-10-20T09:41:00.001-07:00

Nine left to do! I need better lighting so I can work more at night.

eleven more to go

2009-10-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

three hours and six pieces later I only have a handful more to go. With any luck, I can get these in the mail to art-o-mat next week...!

today's stuff

2009-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

more art-o-mats

2009-10-12T15:53:00.001-07:00

These are mostly from yesterday's drive from the Russian River back home, almost all of which are based on photos taken out the passenger's side window of our car at about 60 mph. If you got out of the car to see any of these scenes, you'd be flattened, so they are quite rare as far as views go. :) 30 down and 20 more to go...

2009-10-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

I've been unable to work on the blog because our phone line and dsl have been down for the last two weeks. But, in the interim, probably because I haven't had time to be on line (irony of ironies), I've been working on a new project.

A while back I sent two samples into the art-o-mat project (artomat.org) and soon received word that my work was accepted (thanks, Carol!). This has been very exciting because I have long loved that project but it's only recently that I realized I could be part of it. The most intense part has been getting the initial 50 (yes, fifty) pieces together. In the last couple of weeks, I've done 20. I'll post them here since I think they counts as my painting-a-day or at least painting-as-often-as possible goal. So, here goes: Oops, looks like they posted above and some of them are on their side....I'm still trying to grope my way around this thing.

Noodle Factory

2009-09-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

This spot is so interesting and so understated. I would like to go back there and try this again.

not a good day

2009-09-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, not to make excuses but this was painted after a night of no sleep. After a late start getting out of the house, I ended up driving around for an hour looking for a spot with shade and an interesting landscape and then only having an hour and a half to produce something. Once I chose this locale, I was hippened to the fact that I was there on the day the landscaping was being done, complete with a tag team of gas-powered leaf blowers. Also of note is that once I had set up, it became quite obvious I had positioned myself in a well-favored spot for bladder (and possibly other organs' ) relief for passing hobos.

I thought this was interesting because of the way the red of the building was broken up by the regular placement of the yew trees. I wiped out the first try and then came up with this. Once it was down I wasn't happy with it but didn't want to have the day be a complete bust, so kept going.

Composition is so important. You can have the most beautifully painted thing but if it's not placed well on the plane, it will not work. This is an example of bad placement. I'd like to go back and do this again with a better composition. I'm going to focus more on working architecture in to the picture plane, too. And no, that's not a Johnny-on-the-Spot.

West Sac Deep Water Channel

2009-08-31T17:00:00.000-07:00

Windy + irate bees = very challenging day. Interesting spot, really raw and surreal. I'd like to go back but under better conditions. West Sacramento is more interesting by the moment.

miniatures

2009-08-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

I'm sending these off for another project.

2009-08-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Two pictures from today out at the Ranger's Station on the west side of the bypass. It was hot and I didn't realize it but I was actually parked at one of the rangers' houses and he came out to check out what I was doing there. Than another ranger came by on a little truck and asked me again. I won't be going back there.

Late August

2009-08-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

This a-painting-a-day thing is not happening, so it's become a-painting-whenever-I-can.

Two attempts at the same scene. The other day, driving around, I found three places I had no idea were there. Yolo County has many surprises, no matter which direction you go. If you aren't looking, you will miss most all of them. This space has a lagoon and lots of wildlife. It's hidden away where you'd never even think to go.

The smaller painting ((6 X 6) upper image), is the first one I tried. It's on Ampersand board and I am not used to it. I wasn't liking the surface, but I will do a few more on these. Once I got it home, the effect is not bad. It just feels different than plywood boards, less absorbant, more resistant to the paint sticking to it. Could just be my imagination. The second painting (8 X 10), was on gessoed plywood and there I was practicing speed painting. I wouldn't mind coming back to these, or going out there again at a different time of day, maybe evening.

2009-08-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

South end of campus near Raptor Center. It was 101 degrees by the time I packed it up at 1:30.

2009-08-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Outer UCD campus looking west toward Vacaville hills.

2009-08-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

I have more to do on this. Not the most successful time I've spent.

2009-08-03T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today's painting. It was rough trying to find a spot to work, but I finally settled on this church again, but from a better angle.

Supposedly Wednesday but really Thursday

2009-07-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

I was attempting to paint last night until just about midnight but ended up wiping out what I'd started and being extremely frustrated. After work I thought I'd just try to salvage a still life but drawing it out on the board but ended up with this. Not bad for an hour's worth of work. Now if I can just get this computer to download the photo.

Tuesday

2009-07-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

This a-painting-a-day is very not easy to do, especially on nights I work late...and after all that, I just have a sketch that I will have to work on Wednesday night. Also pictured here is the photo of the set up. Stay tuned for more later today, I hope before midnight.

Monday's plein aire is plain awful

2009-07-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

Here's today's painting. I'd like to attempt this scene again, but from a different point of view, maybe across the street but more facing it from the front. I'll post a couple of photos from different perspectives, also. I started with the green wall on the right, but decided against it as it was looking a little too Utrillo-ish. The colors are not very true to what I have, but it's obvious I am still trying to figure out this landscape thing, especially with architecture. I have a new appreciation for anyone who goes out and does this on a regular basis. I need to draw more, especially with perspective which has never come easy for me. Practice practice practice. "Argh!", to quote Nathanael.

Artaed

other stuff

evolved cannibalism

Cannibalism

Dreams and abstractions

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn

off to a slow start

hiatus

one more marylin for AH

another Marilyn for AH

Evolution of an artomat

final Ingrid Bergman, I think

updated Ingrid Bergman

a few more artomats

Anna Magnani for LL

last two artomats

one more artomat...two on the way

So far all together

six down three more artomats to go

another artomat

three more artomats

More art-o-mats for upcoming shipment...

In progress

updated Isak Dinesen

Sketches for artomat

in June

More for upcoming Ciocolat Show

Ciocolat Show pieces

quick

further

small abstractions

still here

slowness

Tiny Show Getting Closer

updated artomat

more Tinies getting ready for show

slowly coming along

artomats in progress

80 east

tiny show

new artomats

changes

more very quick sketches

test project

sketches

new artomat blocks are gessoed and underpainted

More small sketchy sketches

total honesty

4 x 4s

the artomats are going out today!

just to keep working

here they are altogether so far...

five more artomat minis

updated artomat minis

two finished minis for Ed

Hmmm

here they are all together so far...

Four More Mini Portraits

more minis for artomat (some are updated from ayer)

new minis

more artomat minis and updated ones from yesterday

new artomat minis

three new miniatures

Three miniatures for Joan

Three miniature landscapes...

rice paddies at twilight

updated miniature

Outside Woodland

Miniature Landscapes

La Finca

Almost there

Art-o-mat: before and after

second passes

Last four

Four to go

two more from last night

eleven more to go

today's stuff

more art-o-mats