Saturday, January 30, 2010

Whitewater Falls #4


I've received many great remarks on my series of paintings depicting Whitewater Falls. This is the fourth time I have painted this setting. This particular painting is very similar to the third of this series only it is on a much smaller surface. I really enjoy doing paintings like this since the palette is so vibrant with colors.

Beginning Friday February 5th, this painting will be at the Nature Gallery at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Downtown Raleigh. www.naturalsciences.org

Whitewater Falls #4 - 18x24" Acrylic on Canvas

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A View from the Blue Ridge Parkway

This painting is inspired from a trip we took to western North Carolina in early November. My original thought was to paint the big tree in the foreground on glass and offset that over the rest of the composition. I probably will do that at some point, as I do like this composition.

This painting and blog entry are both dedicated my wife Eileen who is celebrating her birthday today. Without her none of this is possible. I'm quite sure if she was not in my life I would not being painting - she is my first and remains my greatest inspiration.

Happy Birthday, Love Micah

A View from the Blue Ridge Parkway - 9x12" Acrylic on Watercolor Paper

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Cotton Field off NC Highway 64


Growing up in the North, I always tended to see cotton as a synthetic/artificial material. Seeing it grow out of the ground in full bloom is quite interesting. The pure white of the cotton offset against the greens of the field and the trees in the background create some interesting color contrasts.

The cotton is this painting is composed of fluid acrylics (Pearl White and Van Dyke Brown) mixed with glazing medium. I am anxious to try a similar composition on a larger canvas.

Cotton Field off NC Highway 64 - 9x12" Acrylic on Watercolor Paper

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Justin Vining

I came across an outstanding artist a few months ago. The works of Justin Vining use color and distorted geometry in a fascinating way that makes one look at the entire painting, not just the focal point. In the cityscape shown of Chicago I am drawn to the skyline in the upper left portion of the surface, but along the way I take in all parts of the city blocks and the dazzling shapes and colors.

I’ve been following Justin over the past few months and it is so nice to see someone with such passion for art. He currently is doing some promotions – stop by his website and drop him a line. www.justinvining.com

Monday, January 18, 2010

Grassy Creek Falls #2


I’ve always considered my paintings to be “mosaic” like in appearance. The varying grids of color make for diverse patterns, and I always try to achieve a gloss like finish to the paint to give that high sheen appearance when dry. Given this painting style, it seemed a natural transition might be to use real mosaic chips in the painting. I’ve accumulated enough old plates from yard sales over the years so I have quite a big selection from which to create some colorful patterns. This particular composition offered varying blues, greens and earth tones to allow for a variety of my plate collection to be broken and subsequently placed into the painting. I’ve done a few mosaic/paintings over the years. The 18x24” surface is the smallest I have done so far. The surface used for this project is Ampersand Gessobord and the primary paint used is Turner Acryl Gouache.

18x24" Acrylic and Broken Plates on Gessobord

All comments welcome.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Artists Unite for Haiti


INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION AND EMERGENCY CALL FOR ARTISTS
To help the Earthquake Disaster Relief efforts in Haiti All funds will be donated directly to Mercy Corps (www.mercycorps.org)and designated to the immediate relief of the Haitian people

CALL FOR ARTISTS:
Open to all artists of any level and any country - everyone is welcome to contribute
Help the Disaster Relief efforts in Haiti by donating an unframed work on paper to the Artists Unite for Haiti art sale.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Work on paper or light board any size, but no larger than 11 x 17 inches (maximum size: 29 cm x 43cm)
Any medium such as: drawing, painting, collage, photography
All works must be unframed and unsigned- the work needs to be signed on the back (also include your city and country)
Work will be hung using clips, so avoid using heavy materials.

Each artwork will be sold for $25.00
The artists will remain anonymous until after sale

SUBMISSIONS:
Multiple submissions are welcome - Deadline for submissions to arrive in the gallery isThursday February 4th, 2010
Send work to: The LoDi Project, Attn. Artists United for Haiti, 1126 North Blount Street, Raleigh NC 27604 USA

We encourage artists from all over the world to send their drawings, and please pass the word about this exhibition to other artists.

Mercy Corps:
For more information on Mercy Corps click here: www.mercycorps.org
To donate any amount please click on our fund-raising page:

For further information please contact:
Peter Eversoll at peversoll@yahoo.com or Georges Le Chevallier at georges@thelodiproject.com

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Crabtree Creek : A View from the Greenway

A painting depicted from a scene in late November of 2009. I took several pictures from the bike path overlooking Crabtree creek. It was a cold miserable sky, the grey sky is somewhat reflective of the atmospheric conditions in contrast to the blue water which if looked on alone might depict a sunnier day. Most of the leaves had since fallen leaving a lot of interesting earth tones to work with. The big trees really allowed for some interesting details and they have a lovely contrast with the sky and the water.

18x24" painted on 300 lb. Watercolor paper.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Sweetwater Creek #2


In the second painting of my Sweetwater Creek series I decided to hold off on the impasto work. I like the water in this piece and the reflections of the trees seem more pronounced. The depth provided by the blacks, grays and blues in the top center make a bit of intrigue as to where the water ends and land and trees begin.

Even when looking at this work now, I wonder if I should not done some impasto work. I guess I'm always my best and worst critic, as the few people who have seen this painting like it better than Sweetwater Creek #1.

All comments welcome.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Upcoming Show: Tuxedo Gallery at Tuxedo Junction


Micah Mullen
A Painter’s View: The Carolina Landscape
January 8th - February 7th
Artists’ Reception - Friday January 8th, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

Tuxedo Art Gallery is a private visual arts organization dedicated to enriching the cultural environment of Wake Forest. Their goal is to encourage regional artists and enrich the Wake Forest community through the arts.

Directions from Raleigh
Take the NC-98 E ramp toward WAKE FOREST.
Turn RIGHT onto NC-98 E. 1.3 miles
Turn LEFT onto S MAIN ST/US-1 ALT.0.8 miles
Turn RIGHT onto E ELM AVE. 0.2 miles
Turn RIGHT onto S BROOKS ST. 403 S BROOKS ST
Tuxedo Junction is on the LEFT in the Tuxedo Junction Shopping Mall
919-673-4001

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Thomas Teague


The artwork of Thomas Teague is absolutely stunning. I admire his choices of simplicity in his selection of subjects. This allows the artwork to take center stage and not be subjugated by an overly used or an overly complicated subject. While I have a personal fondness for Tom’s works that depict nature, he has a wide range of talents ranging from the most incredible detail with thousands of colors to subtle abstract works using only a limited palette.

From January 10 until January 31, 2010, Thomas Teague will be exhibiting recent paintings at the Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill. The opening and artist's reception is January 10, 2-4pm. It is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. HWH is located at 610 East Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, NC. Hours are Tuesdays-Fridays, 10am-4pm. Sundays, 1-4pm.
http://thomasteague.wordpress.com/