Luis Colan

Problem Fixed...I Can Breath

2012-01-21T15:18:00.014-05:00

It was bugging me, I could not concentrate on anything for a day, and I was stressing even more when the conservator never called me back to give me a quote for removing the retouch varnish and re-varnishing my painting. I didn't want too much time to pass, and I was too impatient to wait to get this problem fixed later this week. When you want things done right and in time you have to do it yourself. I went back to the studio, set the painting flat on a stool and I proceeded by working in turpentine with clean paper towels. I was lucky that the varnish hadn't dried completely, and it reactivated with the solvent.
The excess varnish was being picked up by the paper towels, while at the same time leaving enough behind to keep the painting a bit glossy. One of he major problems in the first place was that the varnish had become thicker as the thinner in it evaporated from the bottle. This is what caused it to take longer to dry allowing it to create drips.
After removing the varnish I applied a new coat, this time it was thinned down with more turpentine, this made the varnish level out quicker and it also became more flexible, not leaving any brush marks behind.
Another thing I discovered is that a good soft synthetic varnishing brush works a lot better than a natural hair soft brush. It didn't leave hairs or other strange debris behind. Now my painting is drip free and ready for showing, that's if I knew where to submit the painting.

On the Pan, oil on panel, 2009-2011, 24 x 20 inches

A Painter's Worst Nightmare

2012-01-20T15:56:00.006-05:00

For years I have managed to dodge the bullet of varnishing nightmares, and every time I have to varnish a piece I do it very cautiously and with fear. A little bit of patience goes a long way too, and to my luck I have never had issues with dripping or uneven spots. I always tell people use a soft brush and you should be fine.
Unfortunately this was not my lucky day with varnish. Last night, for some reason I felt rushed to varnish a number of paintings and this morning as I walked into the studio I come across this dripping horror on my most cherished painting. I spent almost three years working on this still life and in one night I managed to ruin it.
Varnishing paintings on panel can be tricky because they show more imperfections and brush strokes than a work on canvas. Knowing this I tried varnishing this painting flat. After noticing I had missed a few spots I added more varnish on top with a little turpentine to reactivate the first layer so that both layers could meld together and not look blotchy in the final outcome. I knew it was too much varnish but I felt that keeping the painting flat would level it out, and it did at first. Besides, I was using a retouch varnish which tends to dry thinner than damar varnish.
I didn't give the painting enough time to dry flat, I thought a few minutes for retouch varnish would be enough, and it usually is since this type of varnish dries to the touch very quickly. I hung the painting back in its spot in the studio, and overnight the varnish started coming down, like clear lava and wrapping it's drippy lumpiness on half of the painting! So what now? I called a conservator today, still waiting to get a call back with an estimate which I was told should not cost much. All I know is that I will not try to remove this varnish myself, I don't want to risk ruining my three years work more than I already have. Wish me luck yall, I will post pictures once I get this mess fixed!

Working On...

2012-01-17T20:14:00.008-05:00

I have a number of paintings in progress in the studio, and as if I needed to add to my work load I decided that another painting for the new year would be a nice idea. This current piece I'm working on is slightly different for me. The format is more horizontal and the size is bigger than the usual 9 x12. The process is also a little different, I usually begin with a quick painted sketch using burnt sienna and burnt umber. This sketch tends to be loose, almost no hints of lights or darks, just quick simple lines implying the shape, mass and composition of the different elements in the painting. With this new still life I decided to do a more detailed grisaille using raw umber and white, something that would help me establish lights and darks from the start. The last time I tried this process was about a year ago, and the underpainting was not as developed as this current painting. I found out then that this process helped stay focused, and it seems like it helped me to create a stronger painting.
I have started adding color by applying some glazes and some direct painting. The most difficult part is getting the right color for the background, this always tends to be my downfall. I'm not sure if I'll keep it light blue, knowing me it'll change to a pale grey or white. So far things are going in the right direction, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for smooth sailing. More to come.

New Painting: On the Pan

2011-12-07T18:08:00.005-05:00

On the Pan, 2009-11, oil on panel, 24 x 20 inches

After two years and nine months I can finally say this painting is finished! I'm not sure what kept me from getting it done sooner, perhaps when I started working on this piece in 2009 I thought this would be my largest and most complex painting yet. This made me proceed with caution, perhaps too much, delaying the process and adding fear as I laid down each layer of color. Now it is finally done, and I can move on to bigger projects. As I've said before, painting is a learning process that will forever teach me a new lesson or two, I just have to keep on trucking doing my best with each new painting.

New Plein Air: East River

2011-11-13T10:18:00.005-05:00

East River, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 13 inches

We are lucky that so far this fall has felt more like spring, I am not complaining at all about the warm weather, as a matter of fact I wish our winters were this warm, that way I could get to go out and paint all year round! I know this beautiful weather won't last long, and so I made it a point to do one more plein air by the East River, turns out it was pretty cold and windy soon as I got next to the water, but I tough it out and painted as much as I could on site. The light was fading, it got more windy, and the group of old Greek men that congregated around me made it difficult to finish the painting in one shot. Back in the studio I added the two bridges and finessed the sky a little more, all this was easy to do since all the colors and light effects were done from life.

A Little of Peru in NYC

2011-10-18T00:30:00.011-04:00

It's October 18, and today marks a very special day in Peruvian culture. It is the main date of the celebration of Lima's patron saint el Senor de los Milagros (the Lord of Miracles). For hundreds of years the image of a black crucified Christ has been marched through the streets of downtown Lima, and Peruvian communities abroad have brought this tradition with them to their new cities.
This past Sunday, October 16, the Peruvian community of New York City celebrated this religious tradition with a procession of its own through the streets of midtown Manhattan.
Just as in Peru, faithful Catholics follow the procession at a slow pace to the beat of a marching band. For those who are not familiar with this celebration, the image of life size Christ in agony adorned with silver, gold, and flowers can have a powerful presence, some shy away, and some non believers laugh. No matter what, the Peruvian followers walk looking at the image of Christ with their heads high, praying for better health and a better tomorrow.
I payed my respects this Sunday, and was there praying for my family and to thank for my blessings. For me this procession is moving, there's so much attached to it, it's not just religion, it's a connection to my roots, an experience that brings me closer to my country of birth, the place I haven't been to for over sixteen years.
I grew up with this, I loved smelling incense in the air, and seeing the push and shove of the people trying to get close to the image. In Lima, over half a million people follow the procession from start to end, which runs some eighteen hours on both October 18 & 19; that is one large group of passionate people.
With so much going on in the world, Lord knows we all need something to believe in, something to make us feel that things will be alright. For the poor people of Peru this has been their strength, their hope for a better way of life.
For more information on this festival, please visit my post on the history of the Lord of Miracles here.

New Plein Air: Loeb Boathouse

2011-10-17T01:05:00.003-04:00

Loeb Boathouse, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 11 inches

This is my latest shot at plein air in Central Park. I went out to paint last Tuesday hoping to enjoy the last few warm days of fall, and I must say for the most part it was beautiful warm day, that's until it got cold in the split of a second towards late afternoon. I'm not sure how many more times I'll be able to paint out doors, cold weather is coming and it makes me run and hide under multiple blankets. There's a big part of me that would love to paint out doors during the winter, trying to catch the cool light sounds fun, but I'm not a winter kind of guy, and the thought of painting with gloves, scarf, a coat, and multiple layers doesn't sound fun. At the moment I'm just playing it by ear, let's see how far I can take this.

Delacroix Said It

2011-10-06T14:28:00.006-04:00

"I'm always having excellent ideas, but instead of working on them while they are still fresh in my imagination, I keep telling myself that I will do them later on - but when? Then I forget about them or, worse still, can no longer see anything interesting in ideas that seemed certain to inspire me. The trouble is, that with a roving and impressionable mind like mine, one idea brings another out of my head quicker than the changing wind alters the direction of a windmill's sails."
- Eugine Delacroix, journal entry April 11, 1824 -

Going through my notebook today, while looking for Velazquez's color palette, I ran into this Delacroix quote and it made me think "don't I know this too well!" I constantly find myself getting ideas for paintings or being inspired by things I see in day to day, but, just like Delacroix, ideas get lost in time if I don't take action. And even when I do take action, they don't get completed in a timely manner. That is my problem now, I have various unfinished pieces in my studio and can't get myself to work on them more until I can say it's finished. Instead I get "inspired" by another thing and yet again another painting gets started. I have a lot of things running through my mind, specially after coming back from a trip to Madrid and a two day visit to the Prado can awaken dreams, inspiration, and a lot of self criticism. My head is still spinning from all the breathtaking works of art I saw, and more ideas as to where to take my work in the future keep running through. It's nice to know that one the world's greatest artist felt the same way.

My Abstract Past

2011-09-19T14:16:00.005-04:00

For Inna, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

I have been contemplating on going back to working abstractly. From time to time I come across beautiful gestural paintings and it makes me reminisce of my short abstract period. This painting is the outcome of a commission done for a boutique opening in the lower east side of Manhattan. In this painting my influences of Rothko and Frankenthaler scream loudly, and I hope it doesn't look like a terrible knock off. I respect both painters greatly because of their use of color, light, atmospheric effects, and because of their landscape qualities. Let's hope MISSiNNA likes having this piece hanging on their wall amongst designer clothes.

Inspired By John Henry Twachtman

2011-09-16T21:12:00.016-04:00

John Henry Twachtman, Connecticut Landscape, ca. 1889-91, pastel on paper, 16 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches, Private Collection

When you least expect it changes happen, at times they are the kind that you may not have hoped for, and at times they are the kind that you needed to make you look at life with a better, positive outlook. Changes in how we approach art happen just the same, and we have the choice to go with it or resist it. Out of fear of change, artists stick to one specific medium, size, color, format, the list goes on and on; although knowing what works best for you, it isn't always good to remain closed to other possibilities. This has been my case. For many years painting has been my only focus, other ways of producing art were brushed off (no pun intended) because "I am a painter!" I realize now how silly of me.

John Henry Twachtman, House and Tree, undated, pastel on paper, 10 x 10 inches, The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.

At the plein air competition I took part of a week ago I was re-introduced to pastels. Artist Janet A Cook worked a few feet away from me in oils and pastel and I got to thinking about why I haven't given pastel a chance since 1998. That was the seed that was planted in my brain, and it took a book of John Henry Twachtman's art to make it blossom. In this book, I saw some of his pastel drawings done on site and I was blown away by their beauty.

John Henry Twachtman, The Ledges, ca. 1889-91, pastel on pumice board, 8 3/4 x 13 inches, Spanierman Gallery, LLC, New York

Connecticut Landscape and Spring Landscape made me realize that the effects I love in painting can also be achieved with pastel. I love a light red ground coming through the layers of paint, and Twachtman's pastel drawings made use of that technique with toned paper. I had limited myself by thinking that pastel, a form of drawing, has to be done on paper which by general standard is white. I have been aware of toned paper for years but for some strange reason it didn't click with me that I could used it for pastel and plein air.

John Henry Twachtman, Spring Landscape, ca. 1889-91, pastel on paper, 12 x 20 inches, Huntington Museum of Art, West Virginia

I remember doing some pastel work when I was 17, and what I can recall pastel was messy, and in a way hard to control. I am thinking now that maybe I was the problem and that I didn't have control of my hand and my technique. Through Twachtman's pastels I was able to see that I could also get the painterly aesthetic I enjoy so much about plein air painting. The medium does lend itself to broad and delicate applications, I just needed to be better educated. Now the blind fold has been stripped away and I'm looking to the future with excitement about the new explorations I will do with pastels. This has come at a good time since my plein air easel broke just after the competition. Carrying with me small pieces of paper and pastels to the park, I know, will be easier and I'm even thinking that the working time will also be shorter, allowing me to get more done in one day.

John Henry Twachtman, Three Trees, ca. 1888-95, pastel on paper, 14 x 18 inches, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York

I haven't researched much on Twachtman, coming across his book this week introduced me to his art and so far I am loving it. This has also reiterated the fact that I love Impressionist landscapes, and how my use of color and brushwork keeps getting closer to the way Twatchtman, William Merritt Chase, and other Impressionists worked. It was actually a treat to find out that Chase used to paint in Central Park, and it was very interesting to see how some of the places I'm familiar with looked in the 1800's.

Berthe Morisot, A Village (A Village of Maurecourt), pastel on paper, 18 1/2 x 28 1/4 inches, Private Collection, New York

In my search for Twachtman's pastels, I came across this beautiful pastel landscape by Berthe Morisot. There is no denying I love color and loose applications, just like her.
After so much inspiration I have started applying acrylic ground for pastels on 4 ply museum boards. I have cut down large sheets into small manageable sizes that can fit in my messenger bag so that I don't have to carry other unnecessary bulk. Things happen for a reason, and this new interest will be a great solution to traveling with paint. I am heading to Madrid in a week and I would love to get some plein air work done there, but I was skeptical about carrying oil painting supplies. With a few prepared light weight boards and a small selection of pastels traveling light is feasible.

Paintings from Sagamore Hill

2011-09-13T18:36:00.011-04:00

Cold Spring Harbor, Sagamore Hill, 2011, oil on linen, 9 x 12 inches

Here are the paintings I completed at the Sagamore Hill Plein Air Competition, I haven't done this much painting in two days ever, but as you can see I had fun and was able to experiment with different styles of painting.

Cow Pasture, Sagamore Hill, 2011, oil on linen, 11 x 8 inches

Field at Sagamore Hill, 2011, oil on linen, 9 x 11 inches

Sagamore Hill, Afternoon, 2011, oil on linen, 9 x 12 inches

Palette & Place: A Plein Air Exhibiton at the Koening Center (Oyster Bay Historical Society, 20 Summit Street, Oyster Bay, NY) will be on through October 4. Come and see the work of the talented chosen thirty five plein air artists.

Sagamore Hill Plein Air Competition

2011-09-13T11:37:00.017-04:00

This past weekend I took part of a plein air competition coordinated by the Teaching Studios of Art. The location was Sagamore Hill, Teddy Roosevelt's "Summer White House", located in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Thirty five chosen artists descended on the grounds on Friday morning for an intense two day painting experience that culminated in an exhibition and award ceremony.
This 83 acre estate offered a variety of subjects for the artists to paint; wooded areas, fields, a nature path, a creek, and a beach. Mr. Roosevelt had it made in this fine little piece of land of his!
After getting our canvases and panels stamped, without missing a beat, we all got to work, the quicker you walked to your destination the better the chance of getting a good spot. After all this was a competition and $1000 were on the line...you better paint, paint it good, and choose a good spot!
Going into the competition I was very relaxed, after all I have spent most of the summer getting ready for this, but after seeing all the artists come out of their cars with their painting gear reality set in and I became nervous.
I headed straight towards the beach, I knew that I might find a good scene to paint there, and I was right, everywhere I turned I saw a painting in the making. It was hard to settle on one spot, and at the same time I didn't want to be too close to other artists out of fear that I would get distracted.
Little did I know that half of the artists wanted to paint at the beach. Talk about important real estate!
After walking down the bridge connecting the beach to the nature trail I saw these trees gracefully moving upwards. I wanted to paint them, and I also wanted to paint part of the beach.
I found a spot I thought might work for me, little did I know I was going to spend most of the day working on that one little painting. I'm stitll not sure how I feel about what I painted that day, I had something else in mind and not achieving that, kind of bummed me out. Different variables came into play for my lac of focus, the sun was intense and there was no hiding from it; I have the farmer's tan to prove it! Intimidation got the best out of me, but that night I relaxed a bit more and forced myself to do better the next day.
We were allowed to stay on the grounds until sundown, and everywhere you walked artists were busy at work capturing the magic of the Long Island sunset.

For more images of the event click here and here.

A Scary Start!

2011-09-03T14:39:00.005-04:00

Last week I started work on this new painting, a large landscape of a path through a wooded area. The way I begun this painting is a little different, I usually tone the canvas with burnt sienna and make a quick sketch using the same color and a little burnt umber for the darks. This time I'm using color triads, a process used by Tad Spurgeon. I've been a fan of his work for quite some time and going through his website can be such an educational experience. On the image above I started mapping out the composition in a loose manner using the first color triad, made up of burnt sienna, alizarin crimson, and ultramarine blue. Following Tad's technique I started a rough sketch with burnt sienna. After capturing the overall feeling of the landscape, alizarin crimson was added to the composition, defining areas a little better. Then comes ultramarine, which starts to define the painting's lights and darks.
Over the first pass using the first triad, the second triad gets added on top. This new color harmony is made up of manganese blue, yellow ochre, and gold ochre. I didn't realize until a week ago that manganese blue and yellow ochre can make such a beautiful green! I started mixing on the palette more than I should, I believe the lesson in this technique is placing pure colors next to each other on the painting surface and letting them mix there or play optical illusions of mixed colors.
Here's a closer look of both triads at play. When I was done with the first pass I became scared that I had ruined a perfectly good canvas. It was bright red, and although I knew that the red tones would come through the greens on top making a beautiful color harmony in the end, I still could not help to think that this was looking more like a Fauvist painting. Once I laid over some green I could see that nice red tone coming through. I have spent more time working on this painting, and although I admire and respect Mr Spurgeon's knowledge and work, I went back to my usual color palette and technique. So far this painting is coming out nicely, I'll have more images on the progress in the coming weeks.

This Week's Plein Air

2011-08-31T19:29:00.004-04:00

Astoria Park, August Afternoon, 2011, oil on linen, 10 x 9 inches

Irene came and left last weekend, the city was at a halt trying to get ready for a hurricane that threatened to do a lot of damage to the tri state area. MTA, New York's public transportation system made up of subway lines, buses, and commuter rails going in and out of the city were shut down on Saturday afternoon, leaving millions of people without ways of getting around. Irene's heavy rain and wind knocked down trees and flooded neighborhoods close to the water, but things seemed to get back to normal on Monday.

Central Park Tree, August Afternoon, 2011, oil on linen, 11 x 9 inches

The sun came out and I could not stay cooped up in my apartment any longer. I spent two days enjoying the weather doing some plein air painting, hoping to catch the beautiful golden light of summer afternoons. I have been focusing on tree studies, trying to find the perfect painterly way of describing them without overworking the painting. So far I haven't reached that perfect balance of big shapes versus more detailed marks, but I'm working on it. More painting get done next week, stay tuned.

New Plein Air Paintings

2011-08-23T19:50:00.007-04:00

Tree by the Pond, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 10 inches

I spent two full days at Central Park this week. After days of rain the sun finally came out and without missing a beat I went out to paint. I have been trying to get some outdoor painting time in the last month, mainly because I wanted to practice and perfect my technique as much as possible.

Driprock Arch, 2011, oil on linen, 9 x 10 inches

Something clicked in me these past two days and the quality of my work improved. My colors are more alive and my attention to detail is getting better, I have also noticed that I have a better handle of paint. All this is making me very happy.

Kerbs Boathouse, 2011, oil on linen, 9 x 11 inches

After getting home from the park tonight I pulled out some of my old plein air paintings, some from this year and some from 2009. The change is tremendous, I can't believe how much I have grown as a plein air painter. More to come.

Working on a Portrait

2011-08-21T00:04:00.006-04:00

August has not been a good month for painting outdoor. On my days off it has been raining or things come up that keep me from getting work done. Even trying to find time to go for a run has been difficult this month. I started working on a new still life but after the third night I set it aside, things weren't going well with that. I was inspired to start a new portrait of Jarod, a small one that would be good practice before starting a bigger more complex painting.
On the first night I started by drawing out his face with burnt and raw umber. I refuse to draw it out in pencil on paper and then transferring it to the canvas, so that I could then proceed to paint within the lines. I like what happens when you develop and correct the painting without having guidelines. It looks more painterly and fleshy that way.
After figuring out the features I moved on to adding color trying to stay true to the under layer. Not bad for one night's work, but coming back to it the next day with fresh eyes, things start to stand out and changes become necessary.
After letting the painting sit for a day, looking at it, corrections start to take place. On the second night of painting I start measuring things and moving the position of the eyes, shortening the length of the face, changing the lips a little, etc. So far this painting is not so bad for a guy how doesn't do portraits. There's more progress to be done here, but it seems like this painting might be done sooner than expected. More to come.

Life is a Beach...

2011-08-10T23:05:00.007-04:00

Jones Beach Before a Storm, 2011, oil on linen, 9 x 11 inches

At least it was for a few hours yesterday afternoon. It's so hard to believe that summer is coming to an end and yesterday was the first time I went to the beach this season. It may not have been the perfect beach day, but it was enjoyable to lay on the sand and hear the waves crashing on the shore. I was not going to pass up on the opportunity of doing a quick plein air painting at Jones Beach, and it went smoother than expected. I thought that I would get sand everywhere, but by now it seems that I am able to keep debris away from my work. I finished this painting just in time before the rain came down, as soon as we made it back to the car it began pouring. Man was I lucky! It's funny to me that the two paintings of Jones Beach I have done have been stormy scenes...I swear Long Island has plenty of sunny days and I've enjoyed my share of them, but stormy days do make an interesting painting. More plein air painting to come.

Updating Images

2011-07-31T23:59:00.017-04:00

Maintaining a website or blog can be hard, time consuming work! Perhaps this is the reason why my official website hasn't been touched since it was launched in 2006; it makes me cringe every time I look at the outdated, poor images. Updating this blog has been a long project as well. Through the years I have been learning how to understand HTML, or at least recognize the things that need to be changed and substitute it with a different code. I'm always getting new ideas to keep this blog fresh, and so I've changed the banner and the side menu among other things. Tonight I decided to update images of my work, which means that I had to go through all the entries that had finished pieces since 2006. This little assignment I gave myself tonight took a good chunk of my painting time. Regardless, I feel better now that I have updated a lot of images of my work, colors look better and the details can be better appreciated. If you have time, please have a look through the archive, specially the first few entries of 2006 which show my early still lifes in a much better light. Thank you for reading and for following this blog!

Weekend in Woodstock

2011-07-26T19:36:00.006-04:00

Woodstock Morning, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 8 inches

I was in Woodstock, NY, this past weekend with a group of friends. This is our second year doing a three to four day getaway trip to the country, something we call "Gamping". If you're wondering what that means, the word is a composite of two, which are gay & camping. Yes, gay boys enjoy the outdoors just like every one else, but we also like to travel in style and to have all the comforts of a five star hotel wherever we go. Last year was Rhinebeck, NY, the town where Chelsea Clinton was married, this year the city boys descended upon the land of hippies and rock & roll. The two paintings featured in this blog post were completed in one day, both of them showing the view of the back of the house we rented, from above and bellow.
Woodstock in the Afternoon, 2011, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches
The first painting, Woodstock Morning, was a fun three hours of work. I enjoyed every minute of it, everything seemed to be working for me. The second painting was not so fun! I've always known that painting scenes with dense foliage can be difficult, reason why I stay away from them. On this particular afternoon though, I felt a bit daring and decided to place myself in an area full of trees and leaves, and there's was no way of making out what was near or far from me. Light was more difficult to handle as well, there were areas where the afternoon sun would hit some leaves and make them scream with color. The same sun would also wash out some colors and it all turned into a golden grey haze. Woodstock in the Afternoon is the result of that difficult area and time of day. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I see it as a learning experience.

City Life at Salmagundi

2011-07-20T17:19:00.003-04:00

I am pleased to announce that one of my small plein air paintings, Astoria Park, will be part of an exhibition called City Life at the Salmagundi Art Club through August 5, 2011. Reception and award ceremony will take place on Thursday July 28 from 6-8pm in the lower gallery. If you are in the area please come out and support New York artists and the Salmagundi Club. City Life is open to the public at no charge.
Info: 47 5th Ave., NYC (between 12th & 11th streets) 212.255.7740

Lower Gallery, July 18-August 5

Viewing Hours: Mon-Fri 1-6pm; Sat & Sun 1-5pm

Reception & Awards: Thursday, July 28, 6:00-8:00 pm

New Painting: Poet's Walk, Rhinebeck

2011-07-14T09:01:00.011-04:00

Poet's Walk, Rhinebeck, 2011, oil on linen, 14 x 14 inches

If you haven't been to Poet's Walk Park in Rhinebeck, NY, well you are missing out big time. This 120 acre park, designed by Hans Jacob Ehlers in 1849, has a hiking trail that takes you through meadows, dense forest areas, and offers great vistas of the Hudson River. The name pretty much says it all, it is a great source of inspiration that not only poets and painters can benefit from. More paintings to come.

Pier 54 Ventilation Tower, Sunset

2011-07-12T12:49:00.002-04:00

Pier 54 Ventilation Tower, Sunset, 2011, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

It's been a while since I've gone out doors to paint, and on Sunday my desire to enjoy some sun and warm air by the water was raging. After work I walked down to Pier 54 right off Canal Street and the West Side Highway, I had some vague idea of what I wanted to paint but I wasn't sure if it would work out. To my luck I found a nice patch of grass with a good view and out of the way of all the Sunday afternoon runners. I love plein air painting, there's something peaceful about it even when you're painting in the middle of the city. What I could do without though are people who like to hover over me while I paint, and on Sunday it was no different. A few little kids, a young woman, and an old lady later I had a nice little painting going.

A Self Portrait

2011-07-11T18:50:00.004-04:00

Self Portrait, 2011, graphite in moleskine sketchbook

This drawing came out of pure boredom, which to me shouldn't exist because one can always be busy doing something! In my years of painting and drawing, the number of self portraits have been very limited, mostly because it feels strange looking in a mirror for so long...I tend to start criticizing myself and it ends up bad. I need to shave, I need a haircut, my skin looks so bad, ewww what's up with the dark outlines under my eyes, and the worst of all...I need to lift under my chin! That's just the start of it all, but criticism aside I was able to complete this small drawing in my moleskine sketchbook. I'm still debating about turning this into a painting, mostly insecure about it because I look a little angry in this. I guess we'll see what comes of this in the future.

Drawings from Colorado

2011-07-05T22:25:00.006-04:00

Colorado Sketch 1, 2011, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

My recent trip to Colorado was packed with fun activities and lots of driving, this didn't keep me from getting a few sketches done. All three of these drawings were accomplished while on the move from the back seat of a Subaru Outback. I have sketched in moving trains before, but sketching in a moving car presented a greater challenge. The ride is bumpier and unexpected turns can take the pen gliding across the page making unwanted marks. The drawing above is the first one, reason why it's a bit more rough. Here I was trying to get used to the movement of the car, all while trying to capture the landscape before we passed it. Talk about speedy hands!

Colorado Sketch 2, 2011, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

The second drawing, above, is more detailed and better resolved. I had to capture the big shapes of the mountains and clouds first before missing the scene. Then I looked out the window closely and made mental notes of where there were trees and what parts were bare land. I continued working on the finer details of the landscape, by now it seems like I had better control of the pen while the car was moving.

Colorado Sketch 3, 2011, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This drawing was also a quick one but the good thing was that by now we had come to a full stop. I am planning on turning this sketch into a painting, since I feel that in color this landscape was very pretty. I had set a day aside to do so painting, but it turned out impossible, not because of time constrains but because the paints I had bought were the cheapest and worse kind I have ever worked with. Let's just say I learned my lesson and I will never buy this British company's paint ever again.

New Painting: Astoria Rooftops

2011-06-30T10:29:00.003-04:00

Astoria Rooftops, 2010-11, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

I began this painting as a plein air study last August from the rooftop of my building. It was one of those impulse paintings when you don't care about the time or place, you just have to do it. After getting home from work one evening, I went up there and loved how Astoria looked from above at sunset. Because it was so late in the day I had limited amount of time and light, and so the painting was left unfinished. Later through the fall and winter it became a studio piece, but I never fully committed to it, at least not until the last couple of weeks when I decided I couldn't drag this one out any longer. I got to work and was able to finish it last night. The painting is a bit more detailed than I originally intended, but I didn't fight it. I'm proud of this little piece, and I think this may have sparked a series of Astoria rooftop paintings.

New York Makes History!

2011-06-25T18:42:00.013-04:00

It was what we've all been waiting for, what most of us didn't think would happen, but it did! Last night the state of New York said yes to gay marriage and it couldn't have come at a better time. Thousands of LGBT people in New York City were out on full force kicking off Pride weekend, and just in case the bill was passed, they did not want to miss out on the celebration. At almost 10pm at night, my partner, a friend, and I were at Boxers Bar eagerly awaiting for the vote, thinking what an amazing thing it would be for us not to go out of our state to get married, and that we could take part of this historical moment. As we got ready to order our first round of vodka tonics in the last few minutes of open bar the DJ turns down the music and announces that all votes were on our favor, it was now legal for us to join in marriage.
A loud cheer broke out as we raised our hands and let out some emotional howls. Hearing the DJ's voice saying "it's official!" was moving and I will never forget the look of my partner's face as he got teary eyed smiling at me. My partner and I have been engaged for over a year, and the question of where we would get married always loomed over, but we had no clue as to where to go. We really wanted to marry in our city, with our close friends and family, we didn't want to go to some random, meaningless place. Now we don't have to, because after 30 days we will be able to marry in New York City. This has been a long fight, lots of people were involved in the fight for us to get this right; people such as my friend, comedian Adam Lehman, who was always emailing and texting trying to get people to call our local representatives and press them to pass this bill. To all of those people who gave up so much of their valuable time we, the LGBT community of NY THANK YOU, from the bottom of our hearts!

Mindrelic - Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

Empire State of Mind played a few short minutes after the announcement, the ever changing New York made history, and this is why we love where we live. We have the privilege to live in one of the most amazing cities in the world, an ever changing concrete jungle that you love and hate, but like the song says:

In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh

There's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you, let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

If you don't feel love for NYC yet, perhaps you need to watch the amazing video above...this is my home town where I am proud to say that I have equal rights!

Central Park, Summer Dusk

2011-06-23T20:58:00.004-04:00

Central Park, Summer Dusk, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 10 inches

Last week, a day before leaving to Colorado, I went to Central Park to get some painting done. It was a little late in the afternoon, which makes it harder to paint since light changes faster at that time of day. This is the product of that afternoon's session, a piece a bit more moody than my previous plein air landscapes. I want to start introducing more color to my sky, I figure a good way to do this is to paint when the sun goes down, and all this is being influenced by my recent purchase of a landscape book, A History of American Tonalism 1880 - 1920. Most of the paintings included in the book are mesmerizing, and they are helping me fuel the fire in my stomach to create beautiful work. The large tome helped me find out about Charles Warren Eaton, a painter I am ashamed to say I didn't know about. Better late than never, now I can't get enough of his work. More to come.

O Beautiful For Spacious Skies

2011-06-23T00:40:00.020-04:00

Welcome to breathtaking Colorado! I just got back last night from a week stay in the land of "spacious skies", and it was a great tour. The first thing I noticed about Colorado is how the sky meets land, never have I seen such huge clouds hovering so close to the ground, and since there is nothing but open space, the sun never seemed to be hidden by them.
It amazes me how people live in the middle of nowhere surrounded by so much open land, but having a landscape such as the one above as your backyard, it kind of makes sense.
Mountains can be found all around, the Rockies, the Sangre de Cristo, and other monumental mounds. The image above is a little creek leading to the Natural Water Slides of the San Isabel Mountains. This was a tremendous hike, one that if you're not careful and don't watch where you step you might get killed...I almost did! That didn't matter much to me, I was surrounded by beautiful views from every point.
Destination spots for hikes and other natural outings are many, but the great thing about Colorado is that you don't need to go very far to experience the greatness of the land, you can just drive for a few minutes and encounter landscapes like the one above.
A nice surprise was going to a dessert like area, known as the Great Sand Dunes National Park, located in Alamosa. The dunes, the tallest in North America rise from the floor of the San Luis Valley and stretch to the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The dunes also feature a number of small streams coming down from the surrounding mountains. This little bit of water makes it a fun alternative to a beach, you can dig into the sand and water comes up to the surface creating pools.
When the sun goes down the dunes become more beautiful with rich colors. The San Luis Valley (bellow) also comes alive, and to see it all happen is pure magic.

Driving away from the Great Sand Dunes you can see more of the spectacle of the surrounding landscape. I believe that everything at sunset looks more beautiful, but nothing has been as beautiful as the vast landscape of Colorado at sundown.

As I mentioned before, driving from point A to B can still provide the traveler with captivating sceneries, such is the case of the view above, a drive at sunset from the Sand Dunes back to the town of Pueblo.
More mountains and grasslands can be seen on your way from Pueblo to Denver, and the scene above, again at sunset, was quite stunning.
This is Denver, the Mile High City, a beautiful town that offers its residents the best of city and outdoor life. A quick half hour drive from downtown Denver puts you at the foot of the Rockies. My short stay in Denver made me realize just how high above sea level we were, it almost felt like you could touch the clouds, something that was amazing and freaky at the same time.
The Colorado sky is something this city boy has never experienced before, it opens up, becomes heavy with clouds, and it opens up again, and then colors change, and so on...it's a dance of colossal scale.
Even from the heart of Denver one can experience the beauty of the Colorado sky, and the picture above can explain it better than I can. It is no wonder that America the Beautiful was written high atop Pikes Peak overlooking Colorado.

Studio Clean Up

2011-06-14T00:35:00.008-04:00

It was time again, the much dreaded studio clean up. This week I spent two whole nights cleaning and straightening up my studio after many months of neglect and junk pile ups. I always come back to the same spot, where so much clutter takes over my space to the point that it is impossible for me to think and work. There was no floor room, piles of clothes, supplies, and mail covered much of the room; but I had enough! I made room on my studio desk for books , exhibition and auction catalogs, and my laptop. I cleared out some shelves for canvas storage; I keep buying stretched linen and I had run out of space to store them...so I thought.
Now that the space is tidy, my supplies can be displayed in a better, pleasing way. Having them in neat stacks, like my drawing paper above, inspires me to work.
It didn't take long to get started, now that I have more moving room painting has become less of difficult task. The clean up helped me uncover some unfinished pieces, some that had no hope what so ever, and some like the piece bellow, that have great prospect.
I had begun work on this cityscape a year ago, shortly after my move to the new place. I had worked on this from the roof top of my apartment building, and has now become a studio piece, working from reference shots taken on that evening. A year ago this 8 x 10 canvas was a challenge, today I see it as a fun painting I can't wait to see it completed.

One More Landscape Please!

2011-06-10T08:40:00.006-04:00

Astoria Park, 2011, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

It's been a busy couple of weeks, I have been painting more and enjoying the summer heat. This is the fourth plein air landscape in two weeks, that is a whole lot more than what I accomplished last summer. I feel more motivated this year, and I have set some goals for myself this summer, one of them is to paint at least two landscapes outdoors per week. It seems to be working so far! I'll be going away for a week in the coming days and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any painting done, this means when I get back to New York I'll have to make up for days missed. Stay tuned.

Living Craft

2011-06-08T00:33:00.005-04:00

I am very excited to announce that Tad Spurgeon; a gifted painter I admire, has just printed his first book on artists' materials and precess. This volume is perhaps the most comprehensive study of a the painter's craft that has been published in years, and I think it's a must have for all artists who respect and care for their profession. I have been following Mr. Spurgeon's blog for a number of years, and his vast knowledge of mediums, grounds, paints, and theory, never ceases to amaze me. I'm sure there will be something for everyone in this book, and perhaps many questions might also be answered in the pages of this book. For more information on Tad Spurgeon's Living Craft: A Painter's Process, click here.

Painting in Hartford

2011-06-07T11:31:00.004-04:00

Hyland Park, 2011, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

This is the third painting I completed while visiting my family during Mermorial Day weekend, and it happens to be of a little park half a block away from my parent's home. This was a late afternoon painting, and as you can see the sunlight coming through the trees was spectacular. That's one of the things I miss most about living in Connecticut, sunset colors are so intense and beautiful, from the back of my parent's house you can see the orange, blue, and alizarin sky as the sun goes down, turning all the trees into a deep green and everything seems to glow. So far I started out this summer on the right foot, I'm getting more time off, I'm painting outdoors more, and it finally seems like I'm enjoying life...after all, this is the summer of fun! More plein air landscapes to come.

Painting in Central Park

2011-06-06T18:37:00.007-04:00

Bow Bridge, Central Park, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 10 inches

Here's another plein air landscape done over Memorial Day weekend, it is Central Park's iconic Bow Bridge, the inspiration of many paintings, photography, and movies. I love painting in Central Park, it is a magical place and during the first few weeks of warm weather the park has such a positive energy unlike I have ever seen any where else. People come out for walks, jogs, bike rides, picnics, and to catch up on their tan. Everyone seems to have a smile on their face, something hard to see in one place in New York City. I began painting in late afternoon, when the sun was not beating down on me, this time of day has the best light and it brings out beautiful, intense colors on the grass and trees. This is the moment I was trying to catch, a time when everything seems peaceful.

Plein Air Season

2011-06-02T23:03:00.004-04:00

Goodwin Park, 2011, oil on linen, 8 x 10 inches

Cold weather is out the door and hot summer days are here! This is the time of year I enjoy most, having been born in tropical climate, east coast winters kill me. I don't think I need to say any more about how unbearable this past winter was, and with Memorial Day weekend's nice heat wave I kicked off plein air season. I spent three days painting outdoors, the small landscape above is from day one, done on site at Goodwin Park in Connecticut. This park is located a few blocks away from where I grew up in Hartford, and although it is mainly a golf course, it holds nice memories of my time growing up there. A little concrete path winds its way through the whole park allowing runners and bikers to enjoy the open space, I know I did when riding my mountain bike under the afternoon sun. I've experienced this park in many ways, going to the public pool in hot days in middle school, or skinny dipping at night with friends in high school. This park also proved to be a an enemy when school brought us there to run and it would leave me in pain days after. Some other good memories are the tennis matches and practices that took place there after school in the spring, now I go back there to capture it's magic with paint. More to come.

Prints of My Paintings

2011-05-14T00:22:00.003-04:00

Prints of my work are now available through Imagekind.com. Click on the image above and you'll be linked straight to my profile where you can buy prints in a variety of papers, frames, mats, and canvas. So, what are you waiting for, fine art is just a click away!

Something New

2011-05-09T20:42:00.004-04:00

Usually when I talk about doing something new, it means I'm working on a new painting. This time not only have I started a new painting, but I'm also working with a new format. In the last couple of weeks I became interested in a circular shaped canvas. Chardin's paintings using this shape or the oval, are some of my favorite works of his career; there's something very dream like about them and also more complete. I wanted to find out if I could work with this shape, and I gave in to my impulse and bought a 12 inch circle. I didn't waste any time, I haven't been excited about a painting this much in a long time; I set up a number of possible arrangements in my kitchen counter, set up my paints and easel and I began work on this still life. What you are seeing is the first layer of paint, the rough lay out of shapes, tones, light and shadow, etc. This fast sketch only uses earth tones, little by little I'll be adding more chromatic colors to make the painting feel contemporary; I love Chardin, but I don't want to copy him. Crossing my fingers this turns out well.

Farewell Atlantic!

2011-05-07T11:02:00.018-04:00

Welcome to Atlantic Book Shop, a cozy little used and rare book shop located in Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. I found out about this place a while back after their move from downtown Manhattan, and since I've been wanting to visit and rummage through the stacks but, as many New Yorkers will know, you only go into Manhattan and back to the neighborhood you live in. Living in Astoria, Queens, the thought of making a hike down to Brooklyn on a day of can bee a little too much to ask for.
This week I had to get myself together and go and see for myself what this place is about. Most of the reason for finally getting there is because I found out this wonderful shop will close it's doors at the end of the month, and all books are at 30% off. Not bad for a place with a great selection of books at an already low price.
I was in a candy store, my hands were all over the stacks pulling books from left and right, eventually I made a stack of my own which had to be carefully looked over with discriminating eyes to whittle it down to the must haves. Luckily there were little circular rolling stools for one to sit on for this kind of occasion.
With titles under art, music, theater, film, poetry, psychology, cooking, etc. there sure is something special to please any one and every one.
Rare books? Sure they have them, even this beautiful Italian nine volume collection of Vasari's Lives of the Artists. Believe me I was tempted to spend the $100 on this collection, but I don't speak Italian and neither do I have the space for them, besides, I had my own collection going on another shelf near by.
Still can't get enough? Around the corner you will find more and more books ready to tickle your brain!

I thought I was done after I picked seven art books, but as I walked deeper in the shop more books caught my attention. One of those books was this one of sonnets. I had to leave it behind, my wallet and arms could not take any more of the stress!
Some of the vintage books available were so delicate, I was afraid to pull them from the shelf. Such was the case with the ones above and some other large size books that seemed straight out of the 17th century!
Don't wait too long to visit this piece of NY history, many similar places are closing their doors due to the economy, the take over of technology, and to big name chains. Atlantic Book Shop is located at 179 Atlantic Ave (between Clinton & Court streets), Brooklyn, NY 11201

Drawing of Dyanna

2011-05-01T18:47:00.003-04:00

Dyanna, 2011, graphite on paper, 15 x 11 inches

This is April's figure drawing from the Teaching Studios. I'm starting to see more growth as I keep working on these month long poses. To start, I had no difficulty fitting the whole figure on the paper, this is a bit hard for me at times, legs get cropped, or heads end up too high on the page. This time Dyanna sits comfortably on a stool, leaning against the wall, with her left leg crossed and it appears intact on the paper! The shadow in this drawing is darker and sharper than previous drawings, this is helping the turning of forms be more defined. For the month of May a male model has been hired, which is something I'm excited about since muscle masses in the male figure are more apparent, creating bigger plays of light and shadow.

Working on Roses

2011-04-29T01:35:00.005-04:00

I have been doing a little bit of work on my first tromp l'oiel of roses. So far no major breakthroughs, but the progress is steady and without problems. I'm expecting to have some technical issues once I get to the photo booth strip behind the roses. I am not an expert in portraiture, especially miniature size, so this poses to be a huge challenge.
I began blocking in the photo strip, but most of my attention has been on the roses, which are a very deep grey red. These are a couple of 1 year old dried roses and they have lost their deep red intensity, but still remain dark, almost brown and burgundy. I'm beginning to see that recreating the texture of dry roses is a trickier than I anticipated. Never the less, I keep working, trying to pull it together.
This is a close up of tonight's work, which has been on the rose on the right and stems. More to come soon.

A Drawing of Anna

2011-04-18T23:43:00.004-04:00

Anna, 2011, graphite on paper, 11 x 15 inches

Meet Anna, the most recent figure drawing to come out of the Teaching Studios of Art in Brooklyn. This was March's pose, and just today I had the chance to photograph it. I'm learning so much as I do these one month poses, and with Anna the subtleties of her soft curves presented a big challenge. Light hit almost evenly throughout her body, making it difficult to identify muscle areas. I had to emphasize the shadow running on the left side of her body a lot more to get some sort of drama in the drawing. Perhaps the most difficult areas for me were rendering the foreshortening of the hand and of her feet. The hand had to be redrawn about four to five times, and thanks to Adam Miller I was able to grasp the concept of simplifying things to geometric shapes. I wasn't able to complete the drawing, but I did get the most important information down to make it a good looking one. At the moment I'm working on another month long pose, I will post it as soon as the month is over.

Drawings from the Met

2011-04-12T13:52:00.016-04:00

Christ Child after Rubens from The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth, St. John, and a Dove, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

My trips to the Met Museum continue, it's a place where I find peace and inspiration. I always bring my moleskine sketchbook with me, at times I come out with about three drawings in one visit, and sometimes none at all. It all depends on my mood I guess. When I visit I don't go in with ideas as to what I'll be drawing, it always happens by surprise, when standing in front of a work of art automatically drives my hands to respond by pulling out my pen and sketchbook. Such was the case with the drawing above, a quick sketch of the enchanting Rubens. His work always captures me, there is some much movement in his paintings, and in this sketch I was trying to capture that kind of movement happening in the body of the Christ Child.

From the Birth of the Virgin after Francesco Solimena, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

I'm usually happy with my sketches, specially since I'm drawing with an unforgiving tool such as a pen. There are times though wen I fail, and the drawing above is a testament to this. I don't know what happened here, perhaps I was drained from looking at so much art, but the bottom line is that I drew it, and badly. The Birth of the Virgin is one of my favorite works in the Met, the size of this painting is very large and the composition has so much going on. I couldn't choose which part of the painting to draw, and so the figure that was closest to me seemed to be a good choice. What I found interesting about the this figure was the way her arm went back in space into a shadow area, her delicate hand catching some light at the finger tips. I heard somewhere that if you can paint or draw and hand correctly you can pretty much execute anything. I don't think I was ready for that test yet as this drawing shows my lack of ability to draw a good hand. It's all a learning experience though, we all learn from our mistakes.

Dancing Fawn after Gaspero Bruschi, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This Dancing Fawn has a little story behind it. Previously, in 2008 to be exact, I found this beautiful male nude sculpture by Gaspero Bruschi in one of the little galleries tucked away in the first level of the museum. I drew it in my sketchbook then, sometime later at the end of the year by messenger bag was stolen from a Bar/Restaurant in Manhattan. In that bag was my moleskine sketchbook containing the first drawing of Bruschi's sculpture. I never had a chance to scan the drawing, and now it is lost forever. In 2009 I went on a scavenger hunt in the Met trying to find this piece again so that I could draw it. Eventually I did and here it is, the new Dancing Fawn.

Venus Giving Arms to Aeneas after Jean Cornu, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

Next to Bruschi's sculpture was another breathtaking piece by sculptor Jean Cornu. It was the three dimensional equal to a Rubens painting with Venus floating on the top coming down to face Aeneas, as he looks up curving his torso backwards. I drew Aeneas' face, it reminded me of the ideal male beauty established centuries ago by Michelangelo with his David and with the depiction of Adam the Sistine Chapel.

Left: God Confronting Cain after He Slew Abel after Francesco Fontebasso; Right: The Young Bacchus Kneeling in a Landscape after Guercino, 2010, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

These two drawings were done on a visit to one of the recent Met's exhibitions on Italian drawings. I forget what exhibit this was, but I can assure you it was incredible.

Portrait of a Man after Workshop of Velazquez, 2010, graphite in moleskine sketchbook

It is very rare that I draw with pencil in my sketchbook. the smoothness of the paper doesn't allow the pencil to remain in place too long, reason why I draw with pen. I have been venturing into using pencil and I don't mind the look, but what I have noticed is that it takes twice the amount of time to do a pencil sketch than with a pen. Pencil automatically makes me get very detailed, and I become obsessed with shading. This is the second time I've sketched Portrait of a Man, but this time around it turned out better. In this drawing I can see my growth in drawing, I admit once again, cast drawing does help tremendously! To see the first drawing from 2007 click here.

On the Works

2011-04-09T22:01:00.007-04:00

Work continues in the studio as I await the arrival of spring. Time is flying by, we're almost at the middle of the April and all I've accomplished is one small still life. I'm trying to finish a few things before the lazy summer days begin.
I have been working on this still life, and the closer I seem to get to the finish line the more things I need to tweak. There was something off with this painting, and thanks to someone very dear to me, I was made to see that the background was too bright. It was competing with the the objects on the counter. I toned the white background to this light grey, and immediately I saw the painting change for the better. I was supposed to finish this piece more than a week ago to get it ready for a show entry, but things don't always go as planned. At least now I have the frame ready, waiting to be installed.
This is a close up of the towel. I have been working hard on this, building texture and trying to capture the soft changes of light that take place throughout. The left side is more finished than the right, but no worries, I'll get it all to look even.
I recently started working on this tromp l'oeil, my first, and so far I'm happy with what I see. I have been noticing that my drawing skills have been getting better, and I'm also getting better with my value range. I guess cast drawing once a week for almost two years is paying off.
This is the first layer of color, although the camera didn't catch it, there are a few light areas on the roses. I'm also learning from my mistakes, reason why I'm trying not to add too much white to the wall. I've been using a color call Zinc Buff by Williamsburg, I have to admit I have been obsessed with it for a number of years. Its rosy warm tone allows me to have bright areas that are not too cold or harsh. More to come.

Single Fare 2, The Opening

2011-03-21T19:24:00.017-04:00

N Train Riders 1, 2, and 3 by Luis Colan; top right Conduct by Jarod Neelan

Thursday March 17, was the opening night of Single Fare 2, and just as I was expecting the turn out was unbelievable. The energy was high and the creativity on display was truly amazing. For this blog post I will let the images speak for themselves, and if you didn't get enough by the end of this post, then check out the link directing you to my flicker album for the full show!

Jean-Pierre Roy

Alyssa Monks

Melanie Vote

For more images of Single Fare 2 click here.

Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again

2011-03-11T23:38:00.007-05:00

There are many things that unite New Yorkers of all walks of life; the high cost of living, every body always knows somebody, privacy is a luxury for most, and our unanimous hate for the MTA! Prices for metro cards have skyrocketed since 2004 and subway services have been cut causing longer, crowded commutes, and delays! Well, this blog post is not to voice my already apparent negative opinions about the MTA, but to celebrate it's little bright yellow cards. Last year two New York City artist, Michael Kagan and Jean-Pierre Roy, came up with the concept of creating art on metro cards. This led to an exhibit open to all artists who wanted to turn in cards. The show was a success and it has grown into something bigger. This year, Single Fair 2: Please Swipe Again will be held at Sloan Fine Art from March 18-26. This is an open call to all artists and all metro cards will accepted, exhibited, and sold.

N Train Rider 1, 2011, graphite on metro card, 3 1/2 x 2 inches

I created three small drawings for the show. Trying to find a subject matter that might work for such a small format can be tricky, but many of the participating artists have found imaginative ways of making art out of the cards. I opted for a quicker medium, something that would allow me to turn in my pieces on time. I decided to make portraits of subway riders on the metro cards. I originally intended to make self portraits, but thanks to my partner's quick way of thinking he thought I should go through my archive of subway photos and draw those. The portraits stemmed from that idea.

N Train Rider 2, 2011, graphite on metro card, 3 1/2 x 2 inches

I have sketched subway riders in my moleskine before, they were exercises on achieving quick gestural lines and capturing the moment. I approached the metro cards in the same way this morning on my way into work, and at night on my way back home.

N Train Rider 3, 2011, graphite on metro card, 3 1/2 x 2 inches

This turned out to be a fun project and something different than the usual painting I do. I have some ideas floating through my head thanks to this, I might be working on more of these cards and might take it a bit further. For more information on Single Fare visit its site here.

Study of Jarod

2011-03-03T00:08:00.005-05:00

Study of Jarod, 2010-11, graphite on paper, 13 1/2 x 11

I began this drawing of Jarod on Christmas day of 2010, it is not meant to be a preliminary sketch for a painting, I'm only trying to better myself in portraiture. Not bad, I think, but it's also not at the level where I want to be. More to come.

New Painting: Tea Time

2011-03-02T00:13:00.004-05:00

Tea Time, 2011, oil on linen, 11 x 14 inches

I began this painting out of impulse, I needed something to get the new year started on the right note. This piece has gone through a number of stages, mostly on the background, and that process was recorded in this blog. On the last post about this painting I thought I had it all worked out, all I needed to do was just finesse the objects, but I guess I was wrong. One random night I walked in the studio and started changing colors, again, it was in impulse. I thought there was too much brown in the painting, and so I began adding cerulean blue to the brown grey I had been working with. Other small changes followed, and this is the final outcome.

Goodbye Manhattan, Hello Brooklyn!

2011-02-24T23:56:00.005-05:00

Trevor, 2011, graphite on paper, 15 x 11 inches

No I'm not moving, I don't even live in Manhattan, but I have stopped attending the Art Students League in exchange for the Teaching Studios of Art in Brooklyn. I have been taking drawing and painting lessons from Robert Zeller since the summer of 2009, and since then his small studio is growing into an atelier with more classes and faculty during the week. I enrolled at the League last summer to be in a different atmosphere, it was a no brainer since the school was closer to my apartment and classes were very inexpensive; but things aren't always as good as they may appear. Leaving the Art Students League was not very hard, after trying in out for a few months things weren't really working out for me. I wasn't getting the instruction I wanted, classes were jam packed with students, which makes it hard for instructors to spend more than five minutes with each one per session. This month I have been in Brooklyn working on figure drawing, and it has been great. Number one, I'm guaranteed a spot, and number two, I get more instruction. The drawing above was completed in about 21 hours. From this 1 month pose I have learned so much. Next week we'll start on a new pose, and I can't wait to see the results.

This Weekend at the Met

2011-02-23T22:13:00.018-05:00

Filippino Lippi (Italian, ca. 1457-1504), Madonna and Child, ca. 1485, tempera, oil and gold on wood, 32 x 23 1/2 in., The Jules Bache Collection, 1949, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

I took an unexpected trip to the Met Friday night, it wasn't an easy one, since the city was being blown in all directions by cold hurricane like winds. Sometimes facing the wrath of mother nature has to be done, my visit that night was long overdue, and I was in desperate need to rejuvenate my soul in the place I call my sanctuary. I walked around the galleries without having any plan as to what I would like to see. I didn't fallow my usual paths, and the outcome was like magic. The first surprise was Filipino Lippi's recently restored painting of Madonna and Child. This painting is to take part in an exhibition about the artist in Rome next year, and it is due to this occasion that the painting was sent to the conservation department. According to the Met's website "a test cleaning revealed that beneath a thick, discolored varnish there was a beautifully preserved, richly colored painting." This description does not over embellish the truth, the intensity of Lippi's colors commanded attention as I walked into the gallery where the painting hangs. The ultramarine blue cloak is electric, and the rich reds pulsate off the picture, it is almost too daring to be a 15th century painting, but there it is hanging in all its glory in a gold ornate frame.

Francesco Francia (Italian, Bologna, active by 1482, died 1517/18), Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Jerome, 1500-10, tempera on wood, 27 1/2 x 22 1/4 in., gift of George Blumenthal, 1941, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Lippi's Madonna inspired me to look closer at the Met's Renaissance collection. Thinking I had seen it all after years of visiting the museum regularly, I strolled through the galleries, and slowly gems of Italian art kept appearing before me. One of the first paintings to catch my attention was Francesco Francia's Madonna and Child with Saint Francis and Jerome. Here, I thought, was an exquisite work, with beautiful saturated blues, greens, reds and golds. I have always admired Renaissance painters because of their ability to achieve incredible color harmonies using a limited palette of high key colors. Perhaps their advantage over modern painters is that during their time they had a limited choice of colors in the market. These days color makers try to out do each other by giving artists endless choices in colors. No wonder why we are so confused!

Michele da Verona (Michele di Zenone), Italian, Veronese, 1470-1536/44, Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, probably late 1490's, tempera and oil on wood, 29 x 22 3/4 in., anonymous gift, 1927, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

I usually know right away when a painting interests me or not and for what reasons. When I encountered Michele da Verona's Madonna I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I thought the Madonna was beautiful, a bit on the Michelangelo side, and I loved her almost masculine hand popping out of the picture. I was also taken by the intricate gold and black wood frame. So what bothered me so much that kept me looking at this painting longer than others trying to decipher it? I guess the Christ Child is oddly shaped, and the young Saint John looks a bit like a paper cut out glued down onto the surface of the picture. I did love the warmth of the colors, and the longer I looked at it the more it grew on me. In the end, even if I tried to attempt this kind of work I would fail miserably, with that in mind I consider this a great piece.

Italian (Lombard) Painter, first quarter 16th century, Christ at the Column, oil on wood, 24 x 16 in., private collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Luca Signorelli (Luca d'Egidio di Luca di Ventura), Italian, Cortona, active 1470-died 1523 Cortona, Madonna and Child, ca. 1505-7, oil and old on wood, 20 1/4 x 18 3/4 in., The Jules Bache Collection, 1949, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

If I thought that da Verona's painting had an intricate frame, then I was not ready for the framework on both of the paintings above. I think we can agree that the painted surfaces are delicate and , yes, beautiful, what gives these two works more presence are their architectural frames.

Filippo Tarchiani, Italian, Castello, 1576-1645 Florence, Saint Dominic in Penitence, oil on canvas, 52 x 43 in., private collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

In the same gallery where the previous three paintings hang, this painting by Filippo Tarchiani stole my heart. I have a soft spot for dark moody paintings, and this piece immediately reminded me of Zurbaran's Saint Serapion. I have never seen this painting on display at the Met, and there was no sign of it being a recent acquisition, but who's complaining, I got to see it and I'm glad I did.

Andrea del Sarto, Italian, Florence 1486-1530 Florence, Madonna and Child, oil on wood, lent by Mrs. Alfred A. Taubman, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Another work pulled out from storage, so it seems, is this painting by Andrea del Sarto. If this painting has been hanging in the same spot for years and I never noticed it then I must be really blind. What pulled me into this painting was the emerald green backdrop emerging from the dark. The composition is simple, but the drama is in the way del Sarto worked with light and shadow.

Francesco Francia, Italian, 1450-1517, Madonna and Child with Saints Francis and Jerome, oil on panel, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

My last pleasant surprise at the end of the night was this second painting by Francesco Francia. This beautiful work was tucked away in a dark corner of the Lehman Collection, poorly lit and almost lonely looking. I walked up to it and I thought I was going crazy because I thought I had just seen it on the second floor galleries. Does the Met have two of the same paintings? I went through all the photos taken that night, and yes, I did see another version of it by the same artist. At first glance both paintings may appear to have the same composition, but a closer look reveals subtle differences. It was an exciting find and definitely a good end to my visit.

Progress Report

2011-02-03T23:57:00.003-05:00

It may seem like I may have fallen out of the face of the earth, that's if you go by my last blog post, but I'll have you know I'm still here, alive and kicking! This winter has been brutal on us here in New York. It has been snowing and raining at least two days a week since Christmas, and the cold has kept me indoors as much as possible. Not going out isn't so bad though, it has kept me occupied and very productive.
I have been working on the new still life, and I'm surprised how fast I'm getting it done. Since the last blog entry this painting has come a long way, specially the background. I was convinced that the ideal background for this painting would be a deep rich black, and was planning for the objects to emerge from the darkness. Not realizing it, I was being influenced by Zurbaran's still life. The idea of it was intimidating, didn't want to be considered a copy cat, not to mention that my take would fail miserably. I kept woking on it despite my insecurities, and one night I looked at the painting and thought "who am I kidding?" I gave up black backgrounds years ago, besides, I was itching to introduce another color and play with light and atmosphere. Once the color was changed the painting started heading on the right direction.

New Year, New Painting

2011-01-20T00:30:00.008-05:00

Study of Lemons, 2006, oil on canvas panel, 5 x 7 inches

Work continues in the studio on old paintings I haven't finished from the previous year. It can be hard at times for me to focus on one piece, sometimes my mind keeps running with different ideas for paintings, and when all these come to mind at once I feel overwhelmed by their bombardment. I was finally able to clear my head the other night and I decided to start a new painting. I started going through all my reference photos I took in 2005, yes I have images and ideas that go back that far. I opted for a simple still life of lemons, a cup of tea, and honey. As it turns out I had already started work on this in 2006 when I made a little study of the lemons (above) of this composition.
For this painting, I began by laying down shapes and tones using unbleached titanium white and raw umber. This grisaille is a little more developed than what I'm used to at this early stage of painting. Usually I lay down a quick rough sketch using burnt sienna and burnt umber, but here it is and I think I like working from this starting point.
Day two of the painting; I began working in some earth tones, I'm trying to stay away from prismatic colors in the early stages. I'm hoping the warm, dark, and grey tones of the earth colors will give me a nicer depth once they start to come through the brighter colors I will glaze later . At this point I still don't know what to make of the background. To me the background is one of the most important elements of the painting.
Day four of painting; as can be seen from this picture, I made the background black. I see this painting as a night still life, something inspired by 17th century Italian and Spanish paintings. I'm going back to my roots as a painter in this one. I used to paint still lifes with dark browns and blacks in the background, it's been years since I've done this and I'm afraid I might be setting myself to fail. The picture above shows the two layers of back, on the left the new layer with a bit of oil medium, on the right the dried black applied with straight turpentine. I'm using mixtures of browns with the black so that the color doesn't appear flat, as I keep working the background, I will glaze viridian and alizarin crimson with black to give me the richest black possible. I have also started working on the lemons, adding layers of raw sienna, ochre, indian yellow and lead white. By the end of the fourth painting session I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and so far I like what I see.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T16:41:00.004-05:00

Another year that flashes by, leaving me a bit confused, stumbling, and tired. 2010 was an intense year full of happy and sad times. So much has changed in my life, not always for the best. One thing that 2010 did show me was that I have an amazing group of friends who love me and who I love very dearly. There are also other people outside of my close circle of friends who have also shown their love and respect towards me and most important, my art. To all those people who have touched me in a positive way this past year I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and wish you all the love, joy, and success life can bring this new year and forever. Good luck to every one in 2011...I in the mean time, will start working on my new year's resolution, which is to become a better person.

Color Palettes

2010-12-11T17:27:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Robert forwarded me a link of another blog about artists' color palettes. I have always found intriguing the color choices of different artists throughout history. Some color ranges are very limited, mostly because of what is available at the time in certain geographic regions. What is most amazing is the how the same artists with limited color choices were able to do so much with the mixtures they were able to make. I learned about working with a limited palette in 2009, and I think narrowing down my choices has worked so much better for me. Above is my plein air color palette made of Ivory Black, Ultramarine Blue, Kings Blue, Viridian, Sap Green, Burnt Sienna, Red Ochre, Yellow Ochre, Nickel Yellow, and Titanium-Zinc White.
Here's the link to Oil Color Palettes. Enjoy!

In Good Company

2010-12-04T17:50:00.007-05:00

OnlineGraphicDesignDegree.com

A few days ago I received news that Online Graphic Design Degree had chosen this blog as one of fifty recipients of their 2010 Top General Painting Blogs. This comes as a nice surprise, sometimes I wonder if any one out there is reading or looking at this blog. I'm glad some one is paying attention and finds the information I publish in this forum useful. This award inspires me to keep blogging and has made me think of new fun things to publish. Thank you for reading and hope you're holiday season is off to a good start.

New Painting: Small Yellow Onion

2010-12-03T00:26:00.006-05:00

Small Yellow Onion, 2010, oil on canvas, 8 x 7 inches

Here's one more onion for the collection of little paintings of onions. After painting a complex landscape I felt the need to go back to something simple. I had nothing in mind when working on this small piece, I just wanted to have fun in capturing the colors of the little onion I came across in my kitchen one night. These small paintings of onions allow me to try new things such as paint brand, paint application, and colors. In this still life I made used of more transparent, high chroma colors such as Old Holland's sap green, Williamsburg's Indian yellow extra deep and transparent red ochre. The two Williamsburg colors are not part of the regular line, they are limited edition colors made in small batches, and I have the luck to have access to such colors. I tend to use Naples yellow when working on my onion still lifes, but this time I decided to stay away from that and used mixtures of yellow ochre, Indian yellow extra deep and nickel yellow. I like the results, and I think I'm hooked on the limited edition Williamsburg paint. I'm not sure what will be next, there are a few projects I need to finish and a few more I would like to start soon. Breath, breath, and take your time I tell myself. More to come!

This Week's Figure Drawing

2010-11-17T18:25:00.005-05:00

Seated Female, 2010, graphite on paper, 15 x 11 inches

This is the latest figure study from my night sessions at the Art Students League. Not bad for a two night drawing, but I could have done a little better. I used hot pressed Frabriano Artistico, a paper I've never worked with before. I was attracted to the warm tone of the Traditional White, and to the almost plate finish. It wasn't until I began to layer the pencil tones that the paper started to become a little rough, causing smudge like effects in the area where I was working most. The back of the model became smudgy and grainy, my F and 3H pencils weren't doing the trick. I had to work in a very thin HB mechanical pencil for me to even out some rough patches. It's all a learning experience, now I know what to expect from this paper and I'll be able to handle it better next time.

Study of Sky

2010-11-12T00:50:00.006-05:00

Study of Sky, 2010, graphite on paper, 13 x 10 inches

This study was done in the figure drawing/painting class I'm taking at the League. Working on a small scale does mess me up a bit when dealing with proportions and trying to fit the figure on the page. I'm too used to the 18 x 24 inch format. Regardless, I'm happy with this drawing, it's only a study, so I don't feel too bad that it didn't turn out a master piece.

New Painting: Asheville Trail

2010-11-11T00:22:00.004-05:00

Asheville Trail, 2010, oil on linen, 20 x 24 inches

I embarked on a three week journey not knowing if I was going to be successful in creating a good landscape. I started working on this image late in 2008, and as work continued through the first months of 2009 I started seeing that I was not getting anywhere. I wasn't ready for a painting with this many elements, and yes, this much green! As with many things I'm unhappy with, I discarded it, telling myself that I would work on it when I was ready. That time came, after taking landscape classes with Robert Zeller I learned a great deal on the subject. It was time to proof myself I could do this, and a little extra push came from the possibility of earning an award for "Best Traditional Landscape" at the Salmagundi Club. Ok, so all that aside, back to the journey. Well it hasn't been easy. Most nights I wanted to tear the painting apart, but at the same time I kept seeing the end of it. It became an obsession, and the possible prize no longer mattered. I turned to landscape paintings from the past, especially Courbet, and I also turned to landscape paintings from the present. I am very well aware that I can't copy others' works, but I do hope to learn from them and take that and apply it in a way that I can develop my own voice. Asheville Trail will be exhibited in the 127th Annual Members' Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club, from November 15 to December 3. Reception and awards will take place on Monday November 22, from 6-8pm. Salmagundi is located at 47 fifth ave. (between 12th and 11th streets), NYC 10003.

A Date with Courbet

2010-11-07T16:42:00.023-05:00

Gustave Courbet, Louis Gueymard as Robert le Diable, 1857, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Saturday night I rushed to the Met from work in hopes of getting at least an hour of viewing time. Trying to make it uptown from downtown on a saturday night can be a huge task, especially when there is limited time, cabs are full and trains run less frequent. I was on a mission, I needed to see some Courbet paintings. I needed to get a grasp of the way he handled paint and color.

Gustave Courbet, The Sea, 1873, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

After walking through the first galleries of 19th century French art, where Manets hang in all their glory, I came to the landscape galleries. The first Courbet I saw was The Sea, a moody and intriguing painting with undeniable energy.

Gustave Courbet, The Sea (detail)

Courbet's use of texture is admirable, I could see his use of a palette knife in the sky, quite poetic really.

Gustave Courbet, The Deer, ca. 1865, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Another moody dark painting is this one of two deer. The browns in the background are rich and applied softly, a big contrast to the heavy impasto in the foreground depicting the snow covered ground.

Gustave Courbet, The Deer (detail)

The deer blend in with the dark colors surrounding them, and most of the focus is on the textured snow.

Gustave Courbet, The Deer (detail)

This is the bottom left corner of the painting, where different colors come through.

Gustave Courbet, The Source of the Loue, 1864, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

This is perhaps one of the most stunning paintings I've seen by Courbet. There is a daring way in which he went about painting this canvas. The water of the River Loue comes cascading down to the bottom with such convincing force one can almost hear the roar of the water bouncing of the rocky walls of the cave.

Gustave Courbet, The Source of the Loue (detail)

Looking at this canvas up close is mesmerizing, layer upon layer of paint can be seen, and what intrigues me most is how did Courbet do it? Was there a palette knife involved, or was it all done with a brush? He is unique amongst painters, his build up of paint is intense, very similar to Rembrandt's thick layers.

Gustave Courbet, View of Ornans, probably mid-1850s, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

This is an early Courbet landscape, it is a bit more delicate and the shapes are more modeled, but it still has some of the paint build up I was hoping to see.

Gustave Courbet, View of Ornans (detail)

Gustave Courbet, Young Ladies of the Village, 1851-52, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

This is the largest Courbet painting on display at the Met, and it is also a great piece. The green used on the ground is beautiful and full of light. According to the Met "when the work was exhibited in the Salon of 1852, critics bitterly attacked it, finding it tasteless and clumsy..."

Gustave Courbet, Young Ladies of the Village (detail)

Was it clumsy because the surface wasn't pristine as Ingres? I find paintings with painterly effects and texture to be more interesting. They have more soul. It is difficult for me to believe that painters such as Courbet, Manet, Pissarro, etc., were criticized during their day, but time has been kind and they are all now seen as incredible artists.

Gustave Courbet, Young ladies of the Village (detail)

Studies from Three Sessions

2010-11-02T23:52:00.006-04:00

Crossed Leg Female Nude, 2010, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

Female Portrait, 2010, oil on linen, 12 x 9 inches

These are the latest figure studies from the last couple of weeks I worked on at the Art Students League. This was originally a three week pose, but since I'm a part time student I only had a chance to work on it for only three sessions. On the second Monday and Tuesday of the pose I worked on the grisaille of the full figure. On the last Monday, I worked on the small portrait. Having only a limited number of sessions with the models is forcing me to move and see things quicker. These may not be masterpieces in the world of figure studies but hey, I'm just starting.

Second Stage

2010-10-27T23:56:00.007-04:00

Work continues fast and steady on this landscape. On the second night of work I had covered most of the canvas, blocking in general shapes and tones. Although my speedy progress looks promising I'm still afraid that I might make the same mistakes I made on the first try. Things can't be as tight or forced as before, I have to keep reminding myself to keep the paint loose. Easier said than done!
I admire the Barbizon school of landscape painters, I love the poetic and wispy movement of their brush. Those guys were loose, they had a tremendous amount of courage and confidence when translating the French country side into an ideal pastoral scene on canvas. How did they do it? My biggest problem is I think too much and don't do enough. I need to enjoy the process and have fun with it, in the end that's why I'm a painter. Not because I hate it, but because of the pure joy I feel when pushing paint around on canvas. To aid me on the search for the ideal landscape I have been looking at Courbet and Inness closely.
After looking at paintings online and in books I realized that these guys were not trying to paint every tree leaf; with paint they were laying down general gestures, ideas of the dense foliage of trees. Innes was more atmospheric than Courbet, who was all about texture and layers. Taking some hints I began painting with a palette knife, something I haven't done since my abstract days in 2003 and 2004. I have to admit, it was fun and scary at the same time. On the first few tries I was having problems with the palette knife, paint would smear in strange ways, sometimes in random jagged forms and sometimes in straight hard lines. I wasn't going to give up, and so I knifed my way through the night adding layer upon layer.
I got the texture I wanted, the trees look like they are moving about as they get lit by the sun, but all the sharp edges are starting to worry me. Thanks to the Italian wax medium I'm using; based of lead, linseed oil, and beeswax, the drying time of these layers will be faster, allowing me to glaze over them and knock them down sooner than expected. More to come...happy painting!

Trying This Again!

2010-10-24T09:58:00.008-04:00

I'm currently working on a new landscape, which I had started in 2008. After a couple of months of working the painting to death and failing at achieving a something I could be proud of, I decided to tear it off the stretcher bars and would give it a shot some other time. That time is now. I will be recording progress of this painting in this blog, maybe seeing all my steps will help me learn something about my working method, and with that make the necessary adjustments to achieve a better painting. These are the first stages of the painting, above I'm in the process of applying a warm earth tone on the linen.
Here I'm laying down the first few sketchy strokes which will determine the composition.
Since the first layer of paint was wet I was able to rub it off in the highlight areas. This would give me a better sense of what I'm dealing with.
Why stop at the sketch? I plowed on through the night adding colors that would give a general description of what I'm looking for in the final stages of this painting. Things can change from here, I could go cooler or warmer, or even darker. So far I think this is a good start, but the past keeps haunting me and I'm afraid that I will mess this up again. Time will tell...more to come.

October and it's Patron Saint

2010-10-18T18:20:00.000-04:00

Since 1687, Lima the city of Kings, as it is known through its history, celebrates every October the religious festival of El Senor de los Milagros (Lord of Miracles). On the 1st, a one day precession signals the arrival of the purple month, a color adopted from the habit of the confraternity of the Lord of Miracles.

Photo by Joselito Calbanapon

The main dates for the month are October 18 and 19, when the procession of the crucified "black" Christ travels through the main streets of the capital city. On both days, from 6 am to about 2 am, the heavy silver and gold framework and walker is carried on the shoulders of the brothers who take turns every few minutes.

Photo by Juan Manuel

The air is filled with incense and with the voices of a large group of women singing prayers. The National Guard Band plays non stop accompanying the procession, and as the image makes its way through, believers from every walk of live push their way through, trying to get as close as possible to see or even touch the venerated image.

Offerings of flowers are passed to the front, with hopes that the flowers will yield blessings and perhaps a miracle to the donor. Peruvians from every corner of the country travel to Lima to have their prayers heard. This has been recorded as the largest procession in the world, and it is said that it keeps growing every year.

Photo by Reinhard Agustin

Whether you are a believer or not, the intensity of this procession is an amazing experience. The faithful pour their hearts out, emotions run high; sounds of song and music fuse with car horns and ambulance sirens. The sun cast its rays on the image, and the reflection of its precious metals can make it seem like you are witnessing an apparition.

Photo by Lucyta Gomez

This dark painting, of Spanish Colonial influence, was my first taste of art and it's power when I was a little boy. I grew up with this, and I would force my father to take me to see the Lord as close as we could get. I grew up drawing and painting replicas of it, and as I mentioned once before, I swore that one day I would paint my own take on the subject.

For more on the history of this Peruvian Catholic tradition click here.

A Nice Day in the Studio

2010-10-11T17:07:00.011-04:00

The sun was out and light filled my studio. This always puts me in a good mood, I love bright days, bright rooms, and sunlight reflections. Daylight is the best to paint in, colors are more true and it's better for your eyes.
I'm trying to finish this still life I started early in 2009. The towel is looking good so far and I have about half of it done.
I've added the reflection of the towel on the pan, was a little hard to do at first but once I thought about it in a more abstract way it got easier.
I have to keep my colors clean, reason why I'm using a different brush for the four stripe colors of the towel.
Freshly squeezed paint on my palette, while the sun lights it up. Recently I changed the set up of my studio. I decided that I'm happier painting on a wall as opposed to an easel. It allows me to move freely and act quicker when making decision or reaching for materials around the room.
The new set up has allowed the room to become bigger and brighter. I used to have a large black work table in the middle of the room and it sucked the life out of the studio. Now this table is against a wall and it doesn't seem as intrusive as before.
More sunlight coming into the room as I worked. I love how it hits my pigment jars!

New Painting: Sliced Red Onion

2010-10-08T08:45:00.006-04:00

Sliced Red Onion, 2010, oil on canvas, 12 x 16 inches

I feel relieved I pushed myself to finish this painting. It's been dragging for too long and for no reason, only that I haven't been working. This painting is a bit different from the other still life pieces I've done. Composition is a bit more complex, integrated; I'm trying to stay away from the single object still life. What's more noticeable about this painting is the cooler palette. The cool white gray background and the white table give this piece a more contemporary feel. This was not out of accident, since I've been pushing for that cool modern it factor, while keeping things warm and familiar. I find it hard to believe that the year is almost over, and with that in mind I'm scurrying to complete some unfinished pieces, like this one, that have been abandoned out of lack of discipline. Next are two landscapes, one still life, and I'm planning on a new portrait. More to come.

A Message from Mark Golden

2010-10-02T14:13:00.003-04:00

On September 11 I published a blog post about changes happening to the Williamsburg color line after Golden Colors purchased the oil color maker. Mark Golden responded a couple of weeks later with a very nice note, assuring that Williamsburg will not suffer any changes in the color line or the quality of the paint and that Carl Plansky's standards will remain intact. You can view the original post and his comment here. I would like to thank Mr. Golden and his Technical Services Supervisor for taking the time to read and respond to the post. After reading their letters and receiving their invitations to tour the new Williamsburg premises, I feel more at ease with the transition of the two color makers. Golden Artists Colors, Inc. welcomes any questions and comments any one may have about their acrylic or new oil color line. Happy painting to all.

Notes on Rothko

2010-09-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1969, Collection of Christopher Rothko

I thought it was a frame blending beautifully with the stark white wall. A white frame for a Rothko painting works great, I thought. Walking closer towards Untitled, 1969, I realized Rothko had taped off the edges of the canvas, creating a flatter, print on paper like impression of the painting. This was the first time I stood before a late Rothko. To see it reproduced in a book does this piece, or any of his paintings, no justice. This horizontal painting of stacked black and gray rectangles had movement and atmosphere, despite the hard line of color separation. The bottom portion, made up of two grays, one cool one warm, shows Rothko's brush work dancing vividly across the canvas. There is more action in this section of the painting than I had anticipated. When I think of the paintings from this period I tend to see dark flat spaces that sit still on a wall, no movement, color, or atmosphere emanating from them. This doesn't mean that they aren't any less than his brightly colored "classic" style works. They are more quiet, perhaps a bit melancholic and visibly minimalist. Two dominant gray tones did not take away Rothko's sense of drama, encountering a large dark canvas, like the ones in the Rothko Chapel, can be menacing to some, and to others they are a revelation. In the darkness of his colors there's still a warm glow reaching out to the viewer prolonging the time we spend looking at them. As I stood admiring a "flat" painting of rectangles, while skeptics leaned close, looked at the label on the wall and laughed. There is no shock or point of view that's blatantly spell out for the viewer, the painting reveals itself to those who are willing to see it, to optically peel away the layers of color.
Rothko's Untitled, 1969 is on view at the Pace Gallery in Chelsea as part of the exhibit 50 Years at Pace.

Study of Raven

2010-09-23T01:05:00.003-04:00

Study of Raven, 2010, oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

This grisaille of Raven was accomplished in two days, about 5 hours total. As a part time student at the Art Students League I don't get the luxury of working from the model for long periods of time as the others artists do. Knowing that I only had two sessions to work from, I had to move fast, and had to nail it in the first shot. I am very happy with this study, although working fast made me neglect some important things in the figure, like more curves which can show the movement of the body even when standing still. Perhaps the hardest part in this study was getting the positioning and weight of the legs. On the second day I forced myself to work more on them, especially the feet, since I had managed to ignore them completely. Dan Thompson came around and gave me some instruction, apparently my neglect with Raven's legs was apparent, and so Dan drew a little sketch of the construction of the leg next to my figure. I was planning on painting it out since what he was showing me was recorded in my brain, once I get taught something it stays up there. Tonight I decided that I would leave his sketch, I might learn more from it than I think. Next week another pose, another model and another grisaille.

Tuesday Night at the League

2010-09-16T01:01:00.004-04:00

Seated Female Nude, 2010, oil on cotton, 14 x 11 inches

Here she is, Tuesday's attempt at another painted figure. I think this isn't bad for an hour and a half pose.Dan Thompson was in that night and did a demo in which he taught us how to construct the figure out of a few lines, similar to a stick figure. There's always a search or lines in the figure, the direction of the torso and how it relates to the legs, and the direction of shadows which join other lines of the body. All interesting stuff, can't wait to see what else he has in store for us.

Monday Night at The League

2010-09-14T10:41:00.009-04:00

I was a man on a mission last night, going to class early to secure a spot should have been easy, but being a part time student in a class of full timers means that I can get the shaft on dibs for a good spot. Two models are always present, one end of the room is for short poses, the other is for long poses that could last weeks. If I'm painting I want the long pose! To my luck there was an easel not called for and I claimed it right away. The photo above is the set up of the long pose, my painting can be seen on the far right.

Female Figure Study, 2010, oil on cotton, 22 x 18 inches

This is what I was able to get done in three hours. I am very happy with this study, after all this is my first time painting a nude. I've done figure drawing plenty of times, it's actually one of my favorite things to do, but I've always been scared to try it out with paint. Not any more! I loved this and can't wait to try it some more. Round two is tonight.

New Painting: Self Portrait

2010-09-13T00:05:00.007-04:00

Self Portrait, 2010, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

This is a more polished version of the first self portrait of August 24. The first take seemed funny, not to mention the color was a bit dull. I think that it was a good painting given the fact it was a two hour study, but I wanted to take it further and capture my likeness better. Maybe I was inspired by Holbein's portraits, by their delicate beauty and liveliness. I recently bought a book of his work and I have been looking at it from time to time. He had a touch like no other, and his use of color was rich and bold. A bold background is what I was after, something to make this portrait modern while at the same time linking it to the past. Is this a masterpiece? I certainly think not, but I'm very happy with the result and with what I learned.

Sad Changes for Williamsburg

2010-09-11T15:33:00.005-04:00

In June of this year, Golden Artists Colors, Inc. bought out the much loved Williamburg Oil Paint company. Finding out about this I feared Golden would make changes to Williamsburg's great paint line. Golden promised that no changes would be made and that they would continue Carl Plansky's legacy by not compromising the quality and integrity of the paint brand. Changes do happen no matter how much the opposite was promised. I just got word that Golden has discontinued production of four colors from Williamsburg's color line. The colors are Permanent Red Orange, Permanent Yellow Green, Cobalt Green Pale, and Indanthrone Blue. This has come a few short months after Golden discontinued Intense Black. The discontinuation of the these five colors does not hinder my working process, but I'm sure that there are other artists who might depend on these colors for their work. The biggest offense to me is that Golden is tampering with a high quality product that needed to be left untouched. What's next for the future of Williamsburg? I am not a Debby downer, but I'm starting to see grey skies and, hopefully not, poorly made paint. Oh, FYI, according to Golden, Williamsburg's Sun Thickened Linseed Oil is "temporarily" unavailable.

Workshop Magazine

2010-09-09T23:55:00.008-04:00

The fall 2010 issue of Workshop Magazine, published by American Artist, is out on news stands. This may not be big news to anyone, but this specific issue came as good news to me. Workshop Magazine covered the Central Park plein air workshop I participated in back in June 5th of this year. The article focuses on Bennett's approach to landscape painting, and has some shots of him with the different workshop participants. As I painted I could hear the camera snap behind me, and all I could think of was "please make me look good, please, please!"
And so, my face, well the back of my head to be exact, has made it to page 23 of the issue mentioned above. Although my name was not printed bellow my photo, I'm still very excited to have made it in. There was a cool shot of my hand working on my thumbnail sketches in my moleskine that never made it to the final copy of the magazine, but I did get to see it during the preliminary stages of page layouts for the article. As I had mentioned in June, this painting method required four steps; the thumbnail studies, drawing the final composition on to the painting surface, applying transparent washes of color on top of the drawing, and finishing with thicker layers of paint. In the photo above, I'm on stage three of the process. Bellow you can see the final result.

Central Park North, 2010, oil on canvas, 8 x 10 inches

Upstate NY Getaway

2010-08-30T18:44:00.005-04:00

Pleasant Valley, NY, 2010, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

A group of friends and I took a getaway trip to upstate NY this weekend. On the first morning I walked around the area hoping to find a corn field we had passed by car the day before. I didn't find the corn field but I did find a baseball field, and next to it this open space with a beautiful tree.

Backyard, Pleasant Valley, NY, 2010, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

This painting was done behind our rental house. The backyard was a great open space with a big pond right behind. The light in the Hudson River Valley area was incredible, the sun reflecting off the trees and barns was an incredible experience. I have the itch to go back for more!

Self Portrait

2010-08-24T11:07:00.006-04:00

Self Portrait (first layer), 2010, oil on linen, 10 x 8 inches

I am not one to do self portraits, as a matter of fact the last time I painted one was ten years ago! Why start now? Disillusion after finding out that summer classes at the League were over last week is what drove me to look at my self in the bathroom mirror for three hours. I wanted to paint a portrait, that's what I got ready for, and since there was no class and no model, I subjected myself to pose for myself. I admit it was very strange to see me develop on canvas, but at the same time I was surprised to see all the things I've learned come to play nicely in this self portrait.

Back to the League

2010-08-23T11:15:00.005-04:00

Julie, 2010, pencil on paper, 18 x 14 inches

For the month of August I'm back at the Art Students League. My last class there was in 2007, since then I've been wanting to go back and finally I did but not sure for how long. Above is last week's two session pose. Tonight I'll give painting a shot.

Steven Assael at Salmagundi

2010-08-20T17:56:00.008-04:00

Two nights ago Steven Assael held a portrait painting demo at the Salmagundi Club. I have admired his work for some time and this was not to be missed. I didn't know what to expect, as usual though, there was large crowd trying to get a glimpse of the artist at work.
Surprise one was his palette set up, or lack of. Huge blobs of old and new paint took up most of the space. How can someone work like this, with no room for mixing or for even to see the actual colors? This isn't the first time that I've seen a messy palette coming from such a great painter though...at the Salmagundi Club, behind glass, one see appreciate the old, messy palette of George Inness.
Here's where the action happens, on the painting itself! On the top right edge of the circular canvas Steven Assael mixes his colors, a practice that he has in common with Christopher Pugliese.
This is the portrait midway through the second day of painting. There's a beautiful build up of paint, textures achieved by a quick hand dropping color and moving it around. Surprise number two came at the beginning of the session when Mr. Assael, in a Pollock like manner, started lashing and sprinkling oil/painting medium on the surface. Some of those drips are still visible in this picture I took during one of the breaks. I've heard of "oiling out" before, I always thought it was an even thin application of oil throughout the painting surface after some paint had dried. His way was not even or thin, but whatever it was it works for him.

Landscapes from The National Gallery II

2010-08-14T18:33:00.007-04:00

Eugene Boudin, French, 1824-1898, Washerwoman near Trouville, oil on wood, c. 1872/1876, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Here are few more of the beautiful French paintings I recently saw at the National Gallery of Art.

Jean-Charles Cazin, French, 1841-1901, Paris Scene with Bridge, oil on wood, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Jean Beraud, French, 1849-1936, Paris, Rue du Havre, oil on canvas, c. 1882, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Lancelot-Theodore Turpin de Crisse, French, 1782-1859, View of a Villa, Pizzofalcone, Naples, oil on canvas, c. 1819, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Jules-Roman Joyant, French, 1803-1854, The Scuola di San Marco, Venice, oil on paper on canvas, c. 1830, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Working on...

2010-08-13T13:26:00.007-04:00

The unbelievable summer heat we've had in the North East has finally passed, or so it seems for the moment. It's the middle of August and summer is coming to an end; it has been a fast one, and I wish I could say it's been a fun one too. Many things I had to take care of got in the way of summer loving and sumer blasts. With all that behind I resume work in the studio, picking up unfinished pieces from the floor on to the easel.
I am forcing myself to finish this painting first. I think I've dragged it out long enough. I've been painting on panel and very smooth linen, and going back to cotton canvas is a little strange. The surface is a bit rougher, and I have to layer more to get the effects I want. Been doing more glazing, using Indian Yellow and Alizarin Orange has helped punch up the intensity of my colors. The onions in this painting seem like paper cut outs, I know, but this is only my second pass on them. They will be more integrated to the painting tonight.
I have been having fun working on this painting of Astoria rooftops. Using a nicer smoother linen than usual, and also using Galkyd lite. I'm not a big fan of Gamblin's products, but after being turned into Galkyd in Bennett's workshop I got to see how useful this medium can be when painting outdoors, or when fast results are needed. Not my favorite medium but it does the trick so far. More to come soon.

Rooftop Plein Air

2010-08-08T14:03:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to paint on my rooftop for a while. Even before moving to my new place two months ago I knew I wanted to do a couple of paintings from here during the summer. Inspired by the landscapes from the National Gallery, one late afternoon after work I, took all my supplies up 3 flights of stairs to paint what remained of the day. It was great, standing from this spot I get a view of the north of Astoria, a little to the right I can see the Triborough Bridge (now the RFK Bridge), and further right I have a view of Manhattan. At night, when the city lights are on, this roof can be quite magical. Above is a shot of one and half hours of work...shifting light can be very fast at this time of day. Summer is coming to an end and I'm not sure how many more bright afternoons I'll have before I can finish this painting. I will be working on this in and out of the studio. Let's see how this turns out later.

Landscapes from The National Gallery

2010-08-07T12:29:00.011-04:00

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French, 1796-1875, The Island and Bridge of San Bartolomeo, Rome, oil on paper on canvas, 1825/1828, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

I recently took a trip to Washington DC for a weekend getaway. The town is beautiful, but the biggest treat about going to DC is always The National Gallery. It houses some of the greatest works of art hung in a maze of endless rooms. I spent two days there and I still have yet to get through it all.

Leon-Francois-Antoine Fleury, French, 1804-1858, On the Bay of Naples, oil on paper, c. 1830, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

I did get to see some gorgeous landscapes, which was number one on my list "To See." Here's a small sample of the landscapes found in their Small French Paintingssection in the East Building.

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, Danish, 1783-1853, View of the Cloaca Maxima, Rome, oil on canvas, 1814, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Henri-Joseph Harpignies, French, 1819-1916, Landscape in Auvergne, oil on canvas, 1870, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French, 1796-1875, Beach Near Etretat, oil on canvas, 1872, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Giuliano de' Medici

2010-07-13T18:25:00.005-04:00

Giuliano de' Medici, 2010, pencil and white chalk on paper, 17 x 14 inches

In January I began work on this cast drawing of Michelangelo's Giuliano de' Medici's head. I never anticipated that a detailed and accurate drawing of a three dimensional form would take close to six months, but it did and I'm glad. The time spent on this drawing, every Tuesday morning (aside from the five week hiatus I took to get ready for my Gourmet Garage show), has taught me patience and to see with a more keen eye what is presented in front of me. Now that my friend Giuliano is done we can part ways and I can move on to the next project. Another cast is in the works, and I will show and tell soon.

Blob Blob, Brush It Baby, Make that Texture Crazy!

2010-07-12T17:21:00.005-04:00

I set fear aside not so long ago and dove into the the colorful textured folds of the towel I'm painting for On the Pan. It has taken some time to get the hang of it, I even had to bring out Yellow Heirloom Tomato to study it and figure out how I accomplished the final look.
Looking at the older piece helped tremendously. As it turns out, the layers of color and texture were uneven, which is the total opposite of how I was approaching the new painting.
The blobs of paint looked too organized in the first passes I did, the only way of knocking that down was to take a blade to the painting and shave off some of the work I had done. I started adding paint in a looser manner, trying to stay away from the dotted Seurat look, pointillism is just not how flow. I knew that this piece would require a lot of time and work, but in the last couple of nights progress has been steady and painless. I'm hopping to finish this painting by the end of the month, so it has time to dry before varnishing and framing it for a show in August.
This detail of the painting is what I had done two nights ago. More has been done and it's looking better. More to come soon.

Work in Progress

2010-06-20T21:47:00.005-04:00

I'm back to work in my new studio. Things are moving at a slow pace for the moment, but I'm happy to be back at work. I began a new painting last night, a landscape of Kennebunkport Beach in Main. The image above shows the very first lines of the composition. I tried putting to use the new technique I learnt in last week's workshop, but I'm too impatient to deal with the required first steps. After I had a quick sketch done, I started going over some of the lines with paint instead of a micron pen.
This still life is coming along nicely. All the shapes have been blocked in, now it's a matter of building up paint and fine tuning the shapes. I'm still not sure about the pale green background. It's not bothering me a whole lot, but it's also not wowing me! More to come in the next few days.

Plein Air Workshop

2010-06-14T16:16:00.011-04:00

On Saturday, June 5th, I took part of a plein air workshop in Central Park with Bennett Vadnais. With rain in the forecast it was decided that the show would go on, and so we met at the northeast corner of the park. This workshop was designed to show us Bennett's technique, a five step process I was not used to in plein air painting.
We were to walk around and make some thumbnail sketches of possible subjects. I immediately fell in love with the building on the other side of the lake, and no matter how far I walked with my sketchbook, I kept going back to it. After three quick sketches I decided this would be it.
After we chose our scene and the thumbnail depicting it, we had to draw the composition in pencil on the canvas, blocking in major forms.
Once the shapes were blocked in with pencil, inking began. We had to go over each outline with a micron pen, or any waterproof pen, to make our drawing more permanent once paint and solvents were laid on the canvas. The first layers of paint were transparent washes of transparent pigments and galkid lite. I hardly work with transparent colors such as phthalos or quinacridones, I find them to be too intense and unnatural. Once all these different components were set in place, the real fun began.

Central Park North, 2010, oil on canvas, 8 x 10 inches

In time I got a handle of the transparent pigment palette and I was able to make them work for me. From 11 a.m. to about 6 p.m. I worked on this little painting. In that amount of time, in the past, I have completed two paintings, but this process was so involved and detailed that it took twice the amount of time. None the less, I enjoyed the process and I may keep working this way.

Moving...again!

2010-05-28T15:16:00.003-04:00

I've been spending the last month getting ready to move. The big day is this coming Tuesday, and it may take another couple of weeks after that before I can start working again in my new studio. Have a save and fun Memorial Day weekend and see you soon.

Landscapes from Central Park

2010-05-18T16:11:00.004-04:00

Tree, Central Park, 2010, oil on linen, 11 x 9 inches

Conservatory Garden, 2010, oil on linen, 11 x 9 inches

These are two paintings I did in Central Park yesterday afternoon. I spent most of the day painting, trying to get back into the plein air groove. Not bad for a guy who hasn't painted outdoors since last summer.

All Them Trees

2010-05-13T21:52:00.007-04:00

Leaning Tree, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

I once drew a tree on a bus ride from Connecticut to New York. This tree was an imaginary tree, it was something that came to my head on that boring and bumpy ride. I wanted to see how well I could capture images from my head. That tree sparked a series of other imaginary trees in my sketchbook. The one above turned out to be a bit more scary than I wanted, but I do like how it feels like it's moving.

Tree II, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This tree reminds of the fairy tale kind, it almost seems too perfect and static. Not so sure where I was going with this one but it exist in my sketchbook.

Tree III, 2010, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This tree was not done completely from imagination. When I was out jogging in Astoria park one night, a tree caught my eye. I studied it while I was stretching, as it leaned towards the running track. It's delicate curve and downward movement attracted me to it.

Union Square Tree, 2010, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

I know that trees in real life are more complex than the ones I have been drawing. Their shapes are more delicate and more alive. New York might be a concrete jungle, but through out the city beautiful trees can be seen in parks and residential streets. The one above is from Union Square Park, a busy area with college students, merchants, artists, street performers and tourists.

Shepard Fairey @ Deitch Projects

2010-05-01T13:19:00.008-04:00

Shepard Fairey, the man who brought you this now iconic and historic poster of President Obama, is having a one man show at Deitch Projects tonight.
Unlike any opening some of us are used to seeing, Deitch has the artist signing special edition posters during the day. People came out in masses today in Soho for this special occasion.
To the luck of these people, the sun was out and heat of spring was not too bad for a little waiting in line.
The line young crowd, most in their twenties, wrapped around the corner of Wooster and Grand streets.

At some point in the afternoon things got a little too crazy, the number of people attending the show was so large that the party spilled on to the street.
Many were not able to get in and were forced to see the show from afar in the street or even worse, from across the street.
Below is a video of Mr. Fairey at work.

Shepard Fairey from Arkitip, Inc. on Vimeo.

Miike Snow "Animal"

2010-04-29T23:47:00.005-04:00

I heard this song last night while having a few drinks with friends at a Brooklyn bar. This is such a feel good song and I just wanted to share. Enjoy!

Another Towel

2010-04-27T19:05:00.007-04:00

I gave myself a challenge a few years ago when I painted on onion still life with a towel. It turned out to be a royal pain in my ass but I was so happy with the end result that I challenged myself once more. In 2008 I completed a small still life of an heirloom tomato wrapped in a colorful towel. That was the hardest thing I had done in terms of creating texture that was believable. I set to top myself once more last year. Since then I've been slowly working on this still life, perhaps the slow pace was preventing me from working on the towel, which covers more space in this painting.
I have been so afraid of the time and pain I would invest in this piece that I keep setting it aside, and if I do work on it, it's to "fine tune" the onions and tomato, but how much fine tuning can I do?
I had no choice and I had to start working on the towel. By now I have thought about how I'm going to approach it but after thinking about it for a year my mind has gone blank and I don't know what to do. I try to remember how is it that I worked on the last towel, but as I remember it that was also another battle!
I have been adding dots, blobs, color upon color trying not to get an even pattern. The texture of the towel needs to bee more random, I think, for it to look right.
So far I don't know if I'm succeeding, all I know is that I'm chiseling away hoping of the best.

Work Continues

2010-04-20T16:53:00.008-04:00

I have been painting on and off, working on multiple pieces such as Jarod's portrait, and three still lifes. I became blocked with the portrait, and to my aid came this beautiful onion I saw at the market when shopping for dinner one night. Immediately it found a home in my studio sitting atop a blue dish. How can I resist painting two beautiful colors such as blue and orange?
The sketch for this onion is a bit rough at the moment, I'm letting the paint settle on the ground for a few days. The gesso ground I have on this surface is too porous and paint sinks in. Hopefully in a couple of days I'll start working more on it.
I've also been working on this still life on canvas. Once again, an idea came to me as I was cooking. I guess this is a good thing, cooking allows me to see possibilities in subjects but the bad thing is that it delays my dinners!
I have added a little color, working on it sporadically as it sits on the studio floor. It seem I'm all over the place these days, I can't focus on one painting. For the moment the plan is to finish a larger still life I've been working on since last year, and to finish the Jarod's portrait as well. We'll see how I handle it!

Drawings from the Met

2010-04-14T22:30:00.013-04:00

Juan de Pareja after Velazquez, 2009, pencil in moleskine sketchbook

It's been a while since I've posted images of my moleskine drawings. I still carry three moleskines in my bag, that has never changed, although I haven't been doing as much drawing as before. I do get a lot of drawing done when I visit the place I call my sanctuary, the Met museum. The few pages posted on here are some of the drawings I've done during my visits in 2009. This is also my third moleskine sketchbook, which was begun after the second book was stolen in December of 2008.

Visiting the Greek and Roman sculpture galleries has been fun. It's such a pleasant experience to draw from these amazing marble sculptures while hearing the sound of running water from the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. This area of the museum has become one of the main destinations within the museum for artists. You can see many with their sketch pads and drawing tools trying to capture the grace of these stone figures.

The Lute Player after Valentin de Boulogne, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

I try to visit the Met at least once a month, and after six years of doing so I have memorized the location of most of the works on view, at least the paintings hanging in the European galleries. This is why it's a nice treat to run into a new painting that has been brought out from storage or that has just been recently bought. This was the case with The Lute Player, a beautiful work done in the style of Caravaggio by the french painter Valentin Boulogne.

Marble Torso of a Boy, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

Marble Head of Herakles, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This is the second time I've drawn the head of Herakles. I was very proud of the first drawing, and after I lost the sketchbook I felt the need to re-draw it in the new one, hoping that I would do a good of a job as the first. I say this is okay, but I still prefer the first one.

Marble Statue of Herakles Seated on a Rock, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This is perhaps one of the most beautifully sculpted torsos in the history of art. Every view of this piece is breathtaking, and it took me a while to make up my mind as to which side I would draw.

Detail from The Holy Family with Saints Francis and Anne and the Infant Saint John the Baptist, after Peter Paul Rubens, 2009, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

The Holy Family by Rubens in one of my favorites in the Met's collection. He has such a way of creating movement in his pictures, everything seems to be in circular motion that takes you on a visual ride. I have always liked the way he portrayed the baby Jesus in this painting, with his little stocky body twisting and reaching as Mary holds him steady, graving to his naked rosy flesh. This sketch doesn't do Rubens justice, I know, but this was one of those quick sketches I squeezed in that night before the museum doors closed.

Blog accident!

2010-04-11T13:03:00.003-04:00

I have been spending time trying to get my blog back to the way it used to be. I lost all my links and other customized items when I tried to switch to a more current page layout. I was originally trying to change the way this blog archives past entries, I wanted them archived yearly and not monthly like it is now. It's too long of a list and it takes too much space. My settings don't give me the option for archiving yearly, but I have seen other blogs with the same template as mine that do. I thought they might have a more current template. I "switch" my template and all is gone and I still can't archive yearly! I have many hours of work ahead of my typing in the HTML template every single link I had built since 2006. Blog entries will be few in the coming days.

New Order

2010-04-02T22:25:00.014-04:00

My studio in 2009

It was one of those things that was never right. My studio always felt tight, messy, and had become an unpleasant space to work in. I wasn't sure what it was, and I always felt I couldn't do much with the small space I had and with all the furniture I had acquired. It kept bugging me, and Sunday it finally came to my head how it was supposed to be. I was about to embark on a huge project, rearranging my studio from top to bottom in hopes of attaining a better working space.

My studio now

I spent all of Tuesday moving book shelves, books, canvases, bottles of mediums, and countless other things I had cluttered my studio with. The end result has been more than I expected. I now have a much better, open space where I can be happy at work. I have room for two easels where I can work on multiple paintings.
Everything is within reach, and I'm no longer facing a wall like some punished child on time-out. I've been able to get a every piece of furniture to work together creating a much better system for storing, displaying, and working.
This spring cleaning also made me realized I have way too much paint! Aside from large tubes, I have also amassed a large collection of small tubes. To keep me from buying more I have them out on display on my painting table. I thought they looked great on the drawer and wanted to keep looking at them while I work. This will not only refrain me from buying more, but it will also make me aware the larger color range I can explore in my work.
I couldn't top taking pictures of my tubes of paint. They are like candy to my eyes and I thought some of my fellow painters might appreciate some artist's porn!

Since my studio remake, I haven't been able to stay away from it. This can only mean more painting to come.

A Portrait of Jarod

2010-03-21T19:44:00.009-04:00

I recently started a portrait of Jarod. This will be my most ambitious portrait yet, not only in size, but in composition. As the painting develops I will show just what I'm talking about. So far I've blocked in areas in the background, but I have been focusing more on the face. I started by doing a white and grey underpainting, and it was a bit scary because poor Jarod looked like a mime!
It's been hard trying to capture his features and his smirk, maybe the most difficult part has been rendering his eyes. Jarod has perfect elongated ovals for eyes, but if I were to paint or draw perfect ovals it would end up looking like a cartoon. I had to look closer at how light and shadow played with the shape of his eyes. I was finally able to see some angles and strait edges, this made painting them a bit easier.
Jarod's smirk was another element in the portrait I started having minor problems with. I didn't want him to look like he was giving me a full smile, but I also didn't want him to be too serious. I was able to capture his mouth somehow, one corner up, the other straight and then down. I'm very excited to see the end of this piece, and I hope to submit it to a show or two in the future.

In Memory of Stephen Pat Brown

2010-03-20T10:55:00.013-04:00

Stephen Brown, Self Portrait, oil on panel

With great sadness I found out yesterday afternoon that Stephen Pat Brown passed way on October 21, 2009. Stephen was one of the few who touched my life in a special way while attending the Hartford Art School. His work was something to be admired and it was a standard that many wanted to attain. This kind and loving man was adored by staff and students alike, and it was because he was happy doing what he did; painting. He used to tell us how amazing it was to wake up in the morning and make a cup of coffee, and with that in hand, to walk in the studio and begin painting. Good painting does not come from random inspiration we all need to wait for; it comes from working hard day in and day out, he once said. It was discipline, determination, and love all in one. Even on days when one didn't feel like working, it had to be done!

Stephen Brown, Onion on Bowl, oil on panel

I met him on the second semester of my freshman year of college. I was running late, and I remember going up a long flight of stairs to get to the room where he would teach me foundations drawing II. My tardiness kept recurring and disapproval came from his direction, but he was never mean or cold, he just made sure to push me harder. I would get frustrated from time to time because I felt he was picking on me. I was told by one of the students that he pushed me because he saw a lot of talent. As the semester came to a close, on the last day of class, we all sat and he went around the room and telling each student, one by one, what their abilities were, and how their character could make them into better artists. Stephen had an ability of getting close to his students, something other professors weren't able to do. He knew how to respect his students as artists and adults, he was able to see what each individual needed to reach his/her full potential. As his finger moved around pointing, it landed on me as he called my name. I'll always remember what he thought of me, with a little more focus I could be a damn good painter. I had a talent he wanted to see flourish into something great and I just needed to believe and work hard at it.

Stephen Brown, David, oil on panel

A drawing or painting could always be made better, and when I showed him an 18 x 24 still life, I had painted outside of my assignment load, he said that it was good, but that I needed some cools in the shadow. For Stephen it was all a play between warm and cool, and he made sure to ingrain that in his students. I liked the man, this six foot something guy who wore the funkiest shoes I had seen to date. Red Clarks clogs were not a regular thing where I come from, but there he was, wearing them with a few specks of paint, a pair of light washed jeans, a shirt under a sports jacket and a baseball cap. He always had a smile, and if approached, he didn't mind spending a few short, or long, minutes talking about just anything. He was open, and enjoyed chatting in his office about his school years, about his family, about his painting. Stephen loved his family to pieces. He always talked about his wife and kids with such joy. There was a time they visited him at school and he was so ecstatic to see them. They were his world, something that can be witnessed in the portraits of his son, Rush, and other family and friends.

Stephen Brown, After the Rain, oil on panel

Stephen was a kid at heart. His class was the fun one, notorious for going out to play dodgeball or frisbee in the park. It was one of those random things when the day was bright he would ask "who has a car?" I can fit this many in my truck, who can take the rest. And off we all went to Elizabeth Park. He would run, laugh, and play like a kid among his students. This was his way of connecting with us on a personal level, it was a learning experience for all parties, and it was a way of sharing the happy, simple things in life. This is what made Stephen the special human being he was.

Stephen Brown, Portrait of John, oil on panel

Stephen enjoyed life and wanted to share that with all. He genuinely wanted to learn from others, to have some sort of meaningful exchange. It is no wonder that three years later, in his advanced painting class, he would read to us part of the introduction to Hawthorne On Painting, and from there on it never left my life. I made the first sentence of that introduction the theme of this blog in 2006, and now I shall copy bellow the first paragraph in full and dedicate it to the man who changed my way of seeing and painting:

Anything under the sun is beautiful if you have the vision-it is the seeing of the thing that makes it so.The world is waiting for men with vision-it is not interested in mere pictures. What people subconsciously are interested in is the expression of beauty, something that helps them through the humdrum day, something that shocks them out of themselves and something that makes them believe in the beauty and the glory of human existence. (Charles W. Hawthorne)

Thank you Stephen for being a part of this earth, thank you for allowing me to experience the beauty and the glory of your human existence!

The Sandpit

2010-03-16T14:08:00.007-04:00

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

This beautiful video of "a day in the life of New York City," as New York Magazine calls it, was created by artist Sam O'Hare. Using tilt-shift photography, O'Hare was able to capture one of the grandest and greatest cities in miniature. Enjoy!

Cocina de Mama at Gourmet Garage

2010-03-11T15:32:00.004-05:00

My small scale solo show with Woodward Gallery is now on view at Gourmet Garage in Soho, 453 Broome Street, New York, NY, 10013. If you're in the area please stop by and have a look at the seven windows containing my work, on view 24/7. Bellow is a statement from Woodward.

L U I S C O L A N
Cocina de Mama
March - May 2010

Woodward Galley welcomes Luis Colan’s original, oil paintings at the Gourmet Garage, SoHo windows at 453 Broome Street, NYC. This is Colan’s first solo exhibition in New York.

This recent body of work reflects traditions from Luis Colan’s childhood in Lima, Peru. The paintings speak of warmth and home and sincerity. They fill our senses with a feeling of comfort. Some of Colan’s “bite size” canvases may be perceived as delicious samples from his mother’s kitchen, cocina de mama.

Colan reflects, “It was part of everyday life, the routine of going to the market late mornings to buy the freshest groceries for that day's lunch and dinner. This is how I grew up, accompanying my mother to one of Lima's open air markets, Limonsillo, to help her carry bags of meats and vegetables. Soon as we got home you could hear pots, pans and wooden spoons moving and shaking on top of an old stove, all in a hurry to get everything ready for noon or one o'clock. The smell at first was always the same sweet aroma of onions, garlic, salt and pepper. This is the ‘base’, as my mother calls it, for everything you want to cook… My onion and tomato still- lifes are self portraits of different stages in my life.”

Luis Colan was born in Lima, Peru. He graduated in 2004 from Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, Connecticut. Colan went on to attend the Art Students League in NY, and the Teaching Studios of Art under the guidance of Founder and Artist Robert Zeller in Brooklyn.

New Painting: Steve in a Tank Top

2010-03-06T08:51:00.006-05:00

Steve in a Tank Top, 2009-10, oil on panel, 12 x 9 inches

It was time tie loose ends last night, and so I was determined to finish Steve's portrait. I began work on this 8 x 10 last summer, and from the start it felt good. That was until it was time to paint his face. I think there might be three different faces underneath, but I would not give up . I decided at some point that making a drawing would help out. After completing the small drawing I left the painting untouched for a number of months until last night. Fresh eyes do help, I started to see what was wrong and it was smooth sailing from there on.

Three Studies

2010-03-02T09:16:00.005-05:00

Garlic, 2010, oil on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

Here they are, the last three paintings for the upcoming Gourmet Garage show. These three studies will complete a grid of sixteen PAD (Painting a day) paintings from the past. Forming a 24 x 24 inch grid of still lifes, the group will take up the space of one window.

Tomato Study II, 2010, oil on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

I haven't worked on these 1 hour studies for a year, and trying to get back into it was a bit hard, especially when using paint that's more wet than what I'm used to. For these I decided to try new paint, M. Graham & Co.'s walnut based colors, and Schmincke's Mussini line of paints.

Tomato Wedge, 2010, oil on canvas, 6 x 6 inches

I find it difficult to work with Graham paint, it's just too runny, and for this alla prima style of work I need something with more body. That's why I love using Williamsburg and Old Holland. Schmincke's Mussini has a good body, but I don't feel right working with paint that has dammar included in the binder. I remember talking to a conservator years ago, and he said that if artist could do without using dammar in the painting process all the better. Dammar darkens, and according to this conservator, who works for the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, is the leading cause of old master paintings' discoloring. It's alright if dammar is used as a varnish, since the layer sits atop the paint and it can be removed. But once dammar is in the paint film there's not much one can do. I hope Schmincke knows what they're doing and that their paint won't darken over time.