One Down ... One to Go

Pin It

"Waiting On a Sunday Morning"

Oil, 12" x 24"

Sold

This painting sold at the auction fundraiser last night. I am so happy that a good friend of mine got it and more happier that the fundraiser is over! Yippee! Now I can paint 100% of the time (except for an occasional break for food and sleep). I will have the paintings for my upcoming show "Headlines" completed soon.

I was pleased to see the local newspaper featured a story on my "Headlines" show on the front page this week. Tip - if you create a theme for an art a show based on old headlines from a local newspaper, there is a good chance the newspaper will provide lots of publicity for the show! Confession - when I came up with the idea of the show, this thought actually never occurred to me. Duh!

Daily Painter's Cafe

Pin It

"After A Long Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" om canvas panel.

$250 framed.

I have been very fortunate to be featured on the Daily Painters Cafe this week. If you want to know a LOT more about me, click here. Just scroll down to the second interview posted. Enjoy!

Olympic Dreams

Pin It

"Whistler II"

Oil on canvas panel.

$350.00 framed

I painted this painting a while ago and it seemed like a good one to post after watching the Opening Ceremonies last night. I am a HUGE fan of the Olympics and as a kid I always dreamed of swimming in the Olympics. Of course I had absolutely no chance of fulfilling that dream but thirty years later I came close when we were able to watch my son compete at the Olympic Trials (in swimming). The Olympic Trials were the single best sporting event I have attended in my lifetime.

Although yesterday's Opening Ceremonies were clouded with tragedy, just watching the hopeful expressions of the athletes and knowing what they had to accomplish to get there was amazing. Many years of determination, hard work and dedication all come down to what happens in the next two weeks. There is one thing about the Winter Games that I don't like ... too many of the events can result in defeat with a mere fall ... skiing, figure skating, speed skating, snowboarding, ski jumping, etc. In one second, with a mere slip in concentration, the most talented athlete can be out of the Olympics.

Whereas in the Summer Games it is highly unlikely that the fastest swimmer or runner is going to fall (or dive in the water and hit their head on the bottom of the pool!). Usually the most talented athlete finishes on the podium. But with the Winter Games, it's different ... there are too many chances for the great ones to falter. Perhaps that is what makes the Winter Olympics so wonderful. You never know what might happen ...

Overlooking USC

Pin It

"Overlooking USC"

Oil, 8" x 8" on canvas panel.

$450.00 framed.

I have so many friends that are associated with USC and I wanted to be sure and include a "Trojan" painting in my series this week. So I have done Stanford, Cal and USC. Tomorrow I will finish the Mayfield Senior School painting and then I need to find time to honor my alma mater, UCSB! Go Gauchos!

A Day of Reflections

Pin It

"A Day of Reflections"

Oil, 12" x 12" on canvas panel

$650 framed.

This past weekend was simply amazing. It was all about art and I loved it!

The weekend started out with the Pasadena ARTWalk and it was a great show. The positive feedback I received was overwhelming and the sales were great. One of the paintings I sold was "Castle Green". It turns out three people wanted to buy it. I think I am going to try to paint more urban scenes ... maybe less boats?

The painting posted here is the painting I worked on while I was at the ARTWalk. It was a blast to paint and it led to very fun and interesting conversations about my palette knife painting technique...

After spending all day at the ARTWalk, we participated in the South Pasadena Preservation Society House tour. Actually ... our "house" participated. It was one of the homes on the tour. Saturday night we hosted 120 people as part of a progressive dinner and Sunday we opened the house (all three floors) to tours. I made some wonderful new friends and I think met some new fans of my artwork. And yes, my house is so clean ... I am ready for the holidays and it is only October!

We also attended the California Art Club opening on Saturday night of the exhibit "City of Trees" in which my painting "Library in Bloom" is on display. We could only stay a short time but it was amazing to see my painting hang amongst so many other wonderful paintings. What a fun night!

One of the things that came up many times this weekend is whether I would consider teaching a palette knife workshop. It sounds very interesting but I am just not sure if it makes sense. Anyway, I practiced teaching my youngest son and here is his first painting. I did help him and re-work it, but his first attempt at painting with a palette knife is amazing!

"Michael's First Painting"

6" x 6", oil on canvas panel.