It's 2013!!!

"Hagey"

7" x 7", oil on canvas

It's been a lonnnng hiatus, and I'm wondering why there aren't two of me -- one of which would do nothing but sit at the computer, uploading and posting and generally handling all forms of electronic communication. The other would, of course, just paint.

It's Second Saturday at Winter Street Studios, and my door is open to the public, as usual. We consistently get more new visitors, even after several years of doing this. On any other Saturday, I would be painting. That's the thing with working in a building with other art studios. You are more directly involved in your own promotion. There are 70 studios and about 120 artists at Winter Street, and it's a very active environment, with frequent happenings that allow me to open my door to the public. Great exposure, but it means actually CLEANING UP my space and GIVING UP painting time in order to meet and greet. And hopefully sell.   Not complaining, just saying.

"Hagey" is one of several holiday commissions that kept me busy in December. I was very pleased with the result. But, then, who could resist that face?

A Creek Runs Through It

50" x 40", oil on canvas

A recent commission for a really nice couple who wanted a scene from the creek on their ranch.  I really enjoyed painting this one. 

All she wrote . . .

Untitled, 42" x 42"

oil on canvas

Here it is, number four, the final of the four-painting campus life commission. As my daddy would have said, "that's all she wrote." The four pieces have been framed and installed in the brand new UAC building at Texas State University in San Marcos. I haven't visited the building yet but have received positive feedback on the paintings. 

Now for some nice simple landscapes!

Number three . . .

Untitled, 42" x 42"

This is the third in the four-painting campus series -- and another that almost rendered me goofy. I had eye strain from trying to sort out all those bicycle parts.

Second of the big four . . .

Untitled, 50" x 40"

Here's another of that four-painting commission. I happened upon these guys just after they'd settled in for a guitar session in the campus Quad. 

I Got Some 'Splainin' to Do . . .

Untitled,  50" x 40"

I'm still around in case you were wondering. Just been totally absorbed with a four-painting commission for a Texas University. They're large pieces (two 50"x40" and two 42"x42") with lots of figures and detail work, and they took over my life for the last few months. Did I mention there was lots of detail?

Above  is the first painting. The scene has 21 figures and nine thousand steps in case you were wondering. I painted this one first, because I figured it would be the biggest challenge to my sanity. But there's another one that was equally challenging in terms of hair-pulling detail; I'll get to it in another post.

A job of this magnitude can be tricky, especially when there's  a short timeline on top of multiple trips to meet with a committee and to get plenty of photo references. I was in the studio seven days a week for most of that time, sometimes till 8 or 9 at night. (Okay, it's true I don't start painting till around midday, after I've put in several hours with the business side of my career -- and other, uh, business.  Still.) 

AND there's a chance I may have emerged from the project as a total wino. But maybe that will turn out to  be a good thing. We'll see.

Anway, I DID emerge -- with most of my brain cells intact. So I'm celebrating. The paintings have been hung, and the reviews are all good. Doing the happy dance here. 

Much work in progress . . .

Thank goodness we have periodic openings at Winter Street Studios! Otherwise, I'd never clean up my space. Next thing you know, I'd be featured on Hoarders, and my studio would be quarantined, if not condemned. Right now, I'm busily getting ready for the upcoming Spring Open Studios -- cleaning, framing, re-hanging, and re-considering the whole process. Meanwhile, I've put aside commission pieces until the dust settles and the show's over.

Just three days away, (Saturday, April 28th from 3 to 9 p.m.) this show will feature all the Winter Street and Spring Street artists in their native habitat.  Visitors will be free to roam among us, wander the studios, sip some wine, and take in a huge array of spectacular art. 

So, if you're in Houston, come on down to Winter Street Studios and check us out. I'm in C-5 on the east end of the building, and I'll be looking for you. For a map and directions, look here: 

http://www.winterstreetstudios.info/directions.html

Going to the dogs . . .

"Noche"

Gouache, 7"x7"

See? I can paint something besides cats! This fine pooch is Noche, a Portugese Water Dog (just like the one in the White House) who belongs to my friends Cookie and Ric Ashton. Cookie is another great artist friend and has a studio right down the hall from mine at Winter Street Studios.

Polyptychs

"Lazy Afternoon"

Oil on canvas

Tetraptych, 32" x 32" overall,

each canvas is 16" square.

The big problem with painting polyptychs (multiple paneled paintings) is not how to keep them all balanced on your easel -- it's what to call the complete piece. Yeah, we've all painted diptychs; that's a no-brainer. Even knocked out a triptych or two. But what about four or five or six panel pieces??? And, if you don't remember that bit of trivia from school days, that, my friends, is what Wikipedia is for. Once I'd conquered the balancing act and finished this one, I thought I'd better figure out what it was in "tych" speak before someone asked. At least, I want to give the appearance of knowing everything about something I've produced. (No, that doesn't carry over to the subject of my kids.)

So here's the rundown on multiples: Diptych = 2; Triptych = 3; Tetraptych = 4; Pentaptych = 5; Hexaptych = 6; Heptaptych = 7; Octaptych = 8.  If you're working on nine or more, you're on your own.

Way Out West

"Way Out West"

14" x 56", oil on canvas

A road that wanders through the vast land known as Big Bend.