Door:Closed Painting Selected as Signature Image

ZEPHYR GALLERY of Salem, MA has selected my painting  Door: Closed, as their signature image for their show Home for the Holidays. The majestic architecture, the friendly downtown, and the striking waterfront combine to make Salem, MA, a beautiful place to live, work, and play. Home for the Holidays will showcase both past and present scenes of Salem. The majority of the artists in the show are residents of Massachusetts, particularly Salem, Beverly, Gloucester, and the Cape. The show will also feature my companion piece Door:Open and a framed giclee print of Steve's Market.

Home for the Holidays will be on view from December 4 through December 24, 2015.
Visitation is free and open to the public.



About Zephyr Gallery: Zephyr Gallery opened in August 2015 and is the newest contemporary art gallery in historic Salem, MA. We represent artists mostly from the North Shore, but also from Maine, Michigan, Missouri, and New York. We feature painting, photography, sculpture, wearable art, jewelry, unique gifts, and home décor.
For further information, please visit our website at www.zephyrARTgallery.com or find us on Facebook at Zephyr Gallery.

Little Green Planet

Did a quick acrylic painting on an 8" x 8" panel the other day. It was based on a quick sketch from my little notebook. I call it "Little Green Planet". It's very "Little-Prince"-ish.
If I can muster the energy, I will turn it into something larger and more finished.
The figures and the shape of the planet are a little funky.

Grave Dancing Commission

As a result of my "Grave Dancing" post, I sold two prints of the original sketch, and was commissioned to produce an original 10" x 22" painting based on that sketch.
It allowed me to work in more detail, texture and intense color. I also borrowed a life-sized model of a foot from my chiropractor so I could more accurately render the bones in the feet.

Summer Work: Grave Dancing

I recently attended an intimate dinner theater event, where a friend of mine, Andrew Borne, read some of his poetry. He wrote this poem after reading a lot of Charles Simic’s poems. Simic writes in a very surreal but simple way and he wanted to do something similar. His poem is about finding flowers blooming in everyday events or experiences. Here is the poem:

Blooms have been coming up everywhere

A bed of tulips is rising from the spokes of my bicycle

A field of clovers is emerging from the roof top of my apartment

Several water lilies sit between the bubbles in the baby’s bath water

The hair of my 3 children has turned to pear blossoms

The petals fly from their heads like snow

As they dance in the wind

The backyard grill has sprouted a lilac bush

The aroma has taken over the entire neighborhood

The lavender clusters cover the hot coals

A father’s coffin is pushed open from the force

Of a large magnolia tree in full bloom

As the mourner’s hearts erupt with sorrow, joy

A cross on Golgotha has grown rose buds

The first one is opening from the soldier’s spear wound

The Convict relinquishes His Spirit, a new fruit

The imagery spoke of life growing from unexpected places, including the grave, and one passage really inspired me;
A father’s coffin is pushed open from the force

Of a large magnolia tree in full bloom


A corpse being animated by the roots of a tree. That inspired this pen and ink and watercolor drawing.
I call it "Grave Dance".

That got me to thinking and more drawing. I wanted to do something a little cleaner-looking with two figures who were more obviously dancing. "Grave-Dancing". This one is pen and ink colored digitally in Photoshop.

This led to a general obsession with the juxtaposition of skeletons and life. This next one is called "Crown of Ivy".
Another pen and ink and watercolor.

The next one is a variation on the theme called "Flames of Love". The idea of love totally consuming two people till there is nothing left but the bones. Pen and ink and acrylic.

Then the skeleton-couple idea kicked in. This one came to me as I was lying in bed my wife and our cat one morning. "Skeletal Couple and Cat"

This led to different types of couples. The idea of a human man and a mermaid. "Man and Mermaid".

This led to a final mermaid/man composition, a variation on the skeleton/mermaid idea I called "Tideline".

This one is called "Heartflower".

 

Summer Work: Adventure Squad

Some sketches for a story idea I am kicking around.  Another in a series of "images for stories that haven't been written yet". Would probably be a Y/A fantasy story tentatively titled "Adventure Squad Ltd.. A mixed group of outcasts and misfits from different cultures meet, and although initially suspicious of and antagonistic towards each other, band together and become a kind of family. 

Aiden, an inexperienced human farm boy on a quest to find his father, Bren, a jovial but very-dangerous were-bear seeking to undo his curse and return to his family, Erisandra, a shrewd halfling girl seeking treasure to save her village, and Denarial, an elf princess seeking revenge against the creature who killed her father. Taking some well known elements and retooling them into something that is hopefully interesting, not for the fantasy trappings, but for the relationships between the characters.

Some studies of the main characters.

Sketches of their equipment.

 
Denarial the elf, tells her story.

 

Fighting together.

Animals and Adjectives Challenge: Final Week

If you have been following my posts for the last month or so, you know my wife Amy came up with a fun challenge  to keep me drawing each day. She wrote a list of about 30 adjectives on a piece of paper, and a list of animals on another; she put all the adjective slips in one cup, and all the animal slips in another. I pick an adjective slip and an animal slip at random from the cups each day and then draw whatever came up.
After a break for vacation, here are my sketches for the last weeks, (4-5) of the challenge.

The first one was "Sad Tiger". 

 Perturbed Porcupine which with a lack of reference  ended up looking more like a wolverine.

Mournful Kangaroo.

Pleasant Wolf.

Brave Owl.

Neutral Eagle.

Joyous Cow.

Overwhelmed Otter.

Dominant Chipmunk

Confused Horse.

 Serious Octopus.

 
That's it for now. 

Animals and Adjectives Challenge: Week 3

If you have been following my posts for the last couple of weeks, you know my wife Amy came up with a fun challenge  to keep me drawing each day. She wrote a list of about 30 adjectives on a piece of paper, and a list of animals on another; she put all the adjective slips in one cup, and all the animal slips in another. I pick an adjective slip and an animal slip at random from the cups each day and then draw whatever came up.
Here are my sketches for this week, 3 of the challenge.

The first one was "Hungry  Platypus". It's y very cartoon-ey rendition of a platypus with a cheeseburger. Who knew they were carnivores?


















Next was "Flexible Bear". I really like bears, so I did several versions of this one.

 Then came "Frustrated Field Mouse".

A"Grasping Dragon".

 

A"Proud Anteater".

 A"Nervous Fox".

 And finally, a "Jealous Duck".

 I still have more to go, but I am going to take a week off. I will post more when I return.

Animals and Adjectives Challenge: Week 2

If you read my post from last week, you know my wife Amy came up with a task to keep me drawing each day. She wrote a list of about 30 adjectives on a piece of paper, and a list of animals on another. then she cut up the paper so each of the adjectives and each of the animals names were on a separate slip of paper. Then she put all the adjective slips in one big coffee cup, and all the animal slips in another. I was to pick an adjective slip and an animal slip at random from the cups each day and then draw whatever came up.
Here are my sketches for this week, week 2 of the challenge.

The first one was "Excited Shark".

I liked this one so much I did several alternate versions.  

   Then "Creative Unicorn".

 
















"Tense Hummingbird."

"Timid Aardvark".

 "Loyal Elephant".

 

















"Infatuated Chicken".

 





















An "Infatuated Chicken" alternate version.

And finally "Ecstatic Sheep".

I still have a cup full to go, So I will post more over the next few weeks.