Upcoming Show: Carolina Mosaics: A Painter's View

Opening Reception: First Friday, April 1st

Time: 6:30 - 8:30 PM Exhibit through May 1st
Location: Nature Art Gallery at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences - 11 West Jones Street in Downtown Raleigh

The Gallery exhibits original, nature-inspired, two and three dimensional artwork in all mediums by many of the finest artists and artisans exhibiting in the Southeast.

Bring the whole family - As part of First Fridayboth the Nature Art Gallery and the NC Museum of Natural Sciences are open late.

Painting shown is: Cotton Field Off Highway 64 #3 - 20x20" Acrylic on Canvas

A Clean Studio? An Advantage?

This past weekend I probably spent 24 solid hours cleaning and organizing my studio. All my paint tubes are arranged by chromatic hue, all the brushes are sorted by size and style, the floors are vacuumed and swept - all and all this is the cleanest and most organized my studio has been in years! I'm anxious to see what effect this will have on me as an artist. Already I am finding myself mixing my red tubes with blue tubes and my filberts with my brights. I ponder whether I should spend a few hours a week or a half hour or so each night keeping things clean. I guess I probably should, if nothing else organization saves money - this past weekend's overhaul revealed several unused paint tubes and even large canvases I did not know I had!

I pictured my studio (top) alongside a picture of the studio of Francis Bacon. Two weeks ago, my studio really did resemble that of Bacon's. In 2008, Christie's sold three of Bacon's works for $46.1 million. Hmmmm . . . messy and disorganized vs. clean and organized?

Empowering Artists!

Today is the first day of my life where I sat down at the easel knowing this is now a full time job.

For nearly fifteen years I was gainfully employed at Jerry’s Artarama as the Marketing Director. Earlier this year I decided to resign from Jerry’s with last Friday being my last day of employment. The past several months have been filled with emotions (both and good and bad), but I know it is now time to put these aside and look towards the future and begin the life of a full time artist.

The image shown is the cover of the 2011 Jerry’s Catalog. During my career at Jerry’s I have been involved with hundred of catalogs covers. It is ironic that I was involved very little with this cover in the sense that in the same year Jerry’s chose to embody the slogan “Empowering Artists” is the same year I chose to part ways with the company and try to make a go of it as a full time artist.

I have alot of thoughts about Jerry’s both positive and negative - however I know one thing is for certain that were it not for the experience gained through Jerry’s I would be nowhere remotely close to pursuing a career as a full time artist.

I will be writing much more frequently on my blog on my daily experiences as an artist, a father, a husband and a human being. Please check back.

Signs of Spring!

The paintings I am holding reflect areas that are inspired by Bridal Veil Falls in Western North Carolina and the Quarry at the Eno River in Durham, NC, both are painted on glass and panel. As I was preparing to try to conquer the difficulties of photographing paintings made directly on glass, I thought I might try something different. About 30 yards in back of my house is a nice quiet creek - perfect weather conditions allowed for some great lighting and comfortable temperatures allowed for a nice picture. While I understand the importance of the "mug shot" pictures of paintings, it is nice to have a an human element and a real nature element to add to the ambiance of the paintings.

The painting in my right hand is A View of Bridal Veil Falls, in my left hand is Quarry at the Eno River #2. Both are 16x20" paintings painted on glass and Panel.

North Ridge Country Club - 2011 Art Gala

Last night I participated in the 2011 Art Gala at the North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh, NC. The format of the show was unlike any other that I have been a part of. Thirty paintings were selected by Linda Johnson Dougherty who is one of the curators at the North Carolina Museum of Art (I was fortunate enough to have Whitewater Falls #3 selected for this show). The juried paintings were all displayed in the room leading into the main ballroom of the country club. Those artists that were juried into the show had the opportunity to set up in an approximate 10x10' area to show other works.

The show lasted just 3 hours, but during that time my booth had many visitors. Overall the event was very well attended and alot of fun. Pat and George Wallace did a great job organizing the event. The event is only in its third year, It made me happy when George remarked this was the best yet!

At around 8:00 the awards were given for the juried show. Constance Pappalardo won first place for her Desert Skies (shown). This is a striking work that is well deserved of first place.

I am looking forward to applying for the show again in 2012. Alot of fun, nice people. and so close to home.