Marion Square

    

oil study: 10" x 15"

     I've decided to continue the with a series of paintings of Charleston from an elevated vantage point....my parking garage series. The highest points downtown (besides the church steeples) are the top floors of parking garages, and they offer me a good spot to paint. Nobody's there, the parking fees are low and the views are great. 
     This one is of Marion Square, a large public square at the heart of downtown. I was there a few weeks ago for a holiday celebration for my kids' school, and afterwards I went up to the roof deck to check out the view. A large "X" forms as two walking paths cross diagonally across the square; I found these shapes interesting...a pattern only appreciated from this elevated view. I decided create a symmetrical composition with the steeple of the Baptist church in the center and having it slightly off-set with this large X.

charcoal: 22" x 30"

       I did a few drawings in my sketch book and returned to do a larger charcoal drawing. A few weeks had passed and most of the leaves had dropped from my initial viewing. A few of the trees had wonderful yellow leaves, and I would have liked to had them to work from for the painting...The small oil sketch has them, but now the landscape looks somewhat more barren and muted. The sun is extremely low in the sky now, so there are some nice raking shadows to play with. Not sure how this will evolve as I just started the larger painting. I've got some photos to work off of, but it might be interesting to work on it through the winter and see how the scene changes with the coming of the new leaves in the spring. Another advantage of working in the South is that the Winters are really mild and short....I might have leaves start coming in March.
     I'm planning out another Angel Oak painting which I will blog about soon, and I will also be working towards putting a show together of about 12 paintings and drawings to show in Charleston in May. Check back soon for more updates...

Charleston Rooftops finished

25" x 34"

     Here's the finished painting "Charleston rooftops".  I've been working on it obsessively for the past 2 months or so and I feel like whenever I do a large involved painting like this, I can no longer "see it". When I get to that point it's time to wrap it up, sign it, put it away. Sometimes I'll pull out a painting after a few months of not looking at it, and instantly see a change I need to make. I used to be very strict about not working on a painting after signing it (for me the signature was always like some door that was locked, and you could never go back to working on it again). Now I'm a bit more casual about it. I have a painting of mine hanging in our bathroom, that I stared at for about 3 years, until I was able to figure out it needed a few more brush strokes in certain areas. Paintings can never really be finished for me; there is always something that can be improved, moved, heightened or done better. At a certain point, the artist just has to leave it alone...nothing more can be gained from the experience. Of course there are always areas that need to be freshened up, a color that goes dead or a line or brushstroke that isn't animated, but this process can go on endlessly. It's always better to not overcook it...the painting will let you know if it needs more.

Here are some details:

 

Charleston Rooftops

     I've got a new, larger painting going on in my studio right now. It's a view from a parking garage in downtown Charleston,  and is 25" x 34". I've wanted to do a series of paintings downtown since I moved here, in particular, scenes that depict rooftops and the architecture. I got the idea for this one on the way to an opening a few months ago. It had just rained and the light was beautiful as it was setting behind the city, a hazy blue-grey light with reflections in the puddles on the roof. I snapped a quick picture with my phone and mentally ear-marked it to return for some drawings later.

     I knew that this was going to be a complex painting, not only because of the size, but the location from where I wanted to paint. The view from the parking garage is pretty dark and there's not a lot of room to set up an easel and paint. I decided for a more synthetic approach to working on this one, a combination of drawings and photos. I might try to return to the site with the large painting or maybe do a smaller oil study...I 'll have to see how it proceeds. I started with my drawing pad made some initial compositional sketches, and took photos:

     With the photos I constructed a mock-up collage, similar to some of David Hockney's photo work from the '70s. From the same position in space, I took a series of shots with the same depth of field as I turned my head. I then mounted these on a large board of foam core and gridded it out. Between the sketches and the photo-grid, I was able to determine the size and cropping of the scene.

     I did do some bending of the space, especially the edge of the building in the foreground. In actuality the roof slants severely to the right; in fact a lot of the buildings in Charleston are askew for one reason or another, either by sagging from age or damage from earthquakes or hurricanes. The slow frontal curve of the building mimics the panoramic view and leads your eye back into the space. Here's a progression so far in the studio:

    I prefer working from observation, but in this instance, the photos have proved useful to me. First, since I have a new infant son, my working time now is mostly only at night, for about 3 hours. With my studio at home and the photos, I'm able to jump right in and paint. Plus the light is stable, and things like the clouds have been easier to develop. Things that I'm missing with the photographs: atmosphere and clarity of color. It will force me to do some inventing...
   
     Finally, here's the completed painting that I wrote about on the last post:

New Studio

   
     So I recently moved my studio into a different room in our house. I was in our study previously, and had done a few paintings of that space last spring. At the back of our house, we have this great room with high ceilings and awesome light, which we had used as a guest room. Being that we only have a few guests a year, it was a shame not to use it more, so I decided to move my studio back there, and my wife moved her studio to the study I was in.
  

     Even though I mostly work on my french easel, it's nice to have a large white wall to view current work on. I constructed this temporary wall using plywood and 2x3s and can place my palette stand directly under it. The daylight is very adequate, but I've also placed clamp lights overhead for working at night or when I need extra light. With views of our garden and tree house in the back, it's been really great so far.
   
     My first painting in the studio has been of the day bed in the room at night. The patterning on the pillows and floor make a nice contrast of textures. I've also included the reflection of my easel in the windows, but my 'portrait' is blocked in the cross hairs of the window moulding. I've got a ways to go still on this, but the painting displays a sense of solitude and quiet reflection that I'm feeling in the space right now.

 

in progress- 22" x 28"

The Gift

  

18.75" x 22.5"

     I've been working on a new painting over the past few weeks, another interior my house.  My initial idea for this painting came late one night as I was walking across the room depicted. Since I usually have my Iphone on me, I quickly snapped a picture. I've been doing this a lot lately, sometimes using the photo to mark a location outside or just capture an initial idea for a painting. In this instance, the whole painting appeared at once...one of those "this would make a great painting moment".  The light in the room was so mysterious and beautiful, with the deep recessed space through the pocket door and the cat peering in. Any painting with a cat in it usually reminds me of Balthus, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Right next to the open door, is our TV cabinet, which we use to "close off" the TV while we're not using it. Here I saw these 2 different opposing rectangular shapes: one hollow, and one full, one protruding and one receding. The 2 aqua vases act as a  nice accent amidst the sea of browns. Again, the heavy patterns became an emphasis in the room, both the ornate rug (which I painted before when it was in our bedroom in Brooklyn) and the different grains of the wood.
     In a lot of these recent interiors, either because they exist in the actual space or are projections of what I'm feeling, I'm painting spaces that are hidden or unknown; somewhat mysterious and 'heavy'...corners, hallways, stairs, dark shadowy spaces that are undefined, both literally and metaphorically. My family and I are anticipating the birth of another child (a boy) in few weeks, and for me, this painting captures some of the mystery and anticipation of this. I've told my wife that watching her go through pregnancy is like staring at a large gift box for 9 months and not being able to open it. While she's experiencing the changes in her body and the movements of the baby, I'm only able to observe, watch and wait...for the gift that is to come.
     Here's the sequence of the painting as it progressed along the way:

 

Downtown Charleston

     Here's a few new ones that I've been working on, both done in downtown Charleston. The rooftop one I started a few months ago, and though I'm not sure if it is entirely finished, it's far enough along to photograph and view here. I like the format of it, the double square, and the complementary colors of red and green create a nice balance. I was attracted to the elevated vantage point and I'm thinking that I'll do a few more from this same location.

12" x 24"

     This second one was done on the harbor side, right next to the aquarium. My kids love the aquarium, so we go a lot...they have this great view looking north, with a few giant cranes used to lift the containers off the large ships after they pull into Charleston harbor. The spot reminded me of the cranes I used to paint in Red Hook, Brooklyn. While I was there, a few ladies stopped by, and while we were talking, they told me they were visiting from New York, and that their father used to work at the Navy Yard in Brooklyn in the 1940s and 50s. They thought my subject matter was interesting; I said I thought so too.

12" x 16"

      I painted this one fairly quickly, over 2 days, in about 5-6 hours. I started first with a drawing in my sketchbook, which I did to map out the composition. I usually like to work my paintings out by doing a drawing first, where I can determine the position of the different elements, as well as, the over-all scope of the scene. From there, I generally determine the canvas size and build and stretch one accordingly. I do, however, usually have a bunch of random sized canvases around my studio, to do 'quicker' paintings such as these. I try not to over-think these a much, and generally try to keep them loose and fresh...this one falls into the later category.
     It was blazing hot both days I painted, with the temps hovering around 100 degrees. Good for having the paint dry quickly but not so good for my stamina. I like the trio of primary colors (Red, Yellow, Blue) and the different structural and linear elements...I plan on doing a few more of these industrial based landscapes this summer.

Studio Visit-Volume Eighteen

    I just received the latest copy of Studio Visit Magazine, where my work appeared on page 190-191. It's nice to see the work in print, and even though the left image came out a little darker than I'd like, I'm happy to be included in this magazine...enjoy!