New painting

Well I've been busy painting but have not been able to post any updates since the subjects of the painting were not to see it till it was done.

So here we go.

My Sister-In-Law and Brother-In-Law's son (Joseph) is engaged to be married to Gabriella. So they wanted me to do a portrait of them. I agreed and they sent this picture to me.

OK, well I had some issues with the background so I made a couple of changes with Photoshop and then we went back and forth a bit. I was using Sylvia Shap's portraits as a starting point. You can find more of her work here Sylvia Shap Contemporary realist portraiture

I liked the figures floating on a solid background of color but everyone seemed to like them to be sitting on something. Needed to add a bit of discordance to add more action to the painting I found a picture that had a niffty couch in it and decided to use the couch as a base for them to sit on.

So Photoshop to the rescue, lopped off the couch and flipped it so the pillow would be next to Gabriella and changed out the background color.

Felt that there might be some concerns with the Gabriella's hair being up so I found some other pics of Gabriella with her hair down and did a quick edit to see if they wanted hair up or down.

Hair up was chosen so the painting started.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Final 24 inches by 16 inches

Long time no post.

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay in posting but... been busy cleaning up from our trip down south and finishing off the kitchen rehab.

In between all the tasks I have been working on four pieces of art for the RoCo 6x6 art show coming up next month. More posts on the trip down south will end up on the Prius Camping for Three Blog later today.

In the meantime here are the 6x6 art bits that I have been working on.

Skull 6x6 inches

Boy's Thoughts 6x6 inches

Girl's Thoughts 6x6 inches

Acrobat 6x6 inches

Hanging out at the Sands of Islamorada

Well we found a nice place that would take dogs here in Islamorada, and Boo loved being off leash and running with other dogs and swimming in the ocean. We checked in at the "Sands of Islamorada" at 11:30AM this morning and got to just hang out all day. Going off to an outside restaurant called the "Islamorada Fish Company" tonight and they will let Boo stay with us on leash at the table. BONUS!

Here is an Osprey her chicks that is roosting on the boat house next to hotel. Really cool. 

Close up zoom.

Here is a quick painting I did of the boat house and the nest.

"Islamorada Fish Company"  

Well not much art work getting done on this road trip

No work but lots of fun!

The pics should speak for themselves but more information can be found at my other Blog:
http://prius-camping.blogspot.com/

Heading down south for a change of scenery and sun

So we are heading down south this week and most of the fun stuff will be on the
Prius Camping for three (Us and the Dog) Blog site but I'm bringing my old college pochade (fancy work for painting) box. So I can use 12 x 16 inch 1/4 inch luan panels to paint on. The night before we left I used the table saw to cut out a bunch at the right size and then gessoed the lot of them.

Here is a pic of them stretched out on the easel to dry.

More later as time and free WI-FI permits. Engoy!

Kitchen Renovation

Well here we are two months into this project and I can really see the end now. I just finish installing and wiring the last of the recessed lights. Then crawled around and used painters caulking to fill any of the gaps in the floor trim and then onto the latter to to the same to the top of the cabinets where the trim touches the ceiling.

Old house painters trick. Then you paint right over with your colour.

Here are the three new recessed lights right by the cabinets 

Here are the three new recessed lights by the Patio door
  

  So the counters are coming in on Thursday and then back splash goes in and .... paint goes on.

Can not wait till this is done so that I can get back to my art work. 

Award! Traffic Control Box project

Got an email today that says "Congratulations on having your robot artwork chosen for one of the Neighborhood of the Arts traffic control boxes and iris artwork chosen one of the green Neighborhood of the Arts utility boxes. You have been chosen to do robot artwork and painting on the GleasonWorks traffic control box and yellow/red/ multicolor tropical flower artwork painting on the 1033 University utility box. "


Yeee Haa!

What a month! Next ... the Louvre! 

And ... now an update on the Kitchen Renovation.

Here is where we are after day one of Kitchen Cabinets going in.

Day One after 3 hours the uppers are in with trim work to be done

The pantry cabs are in and I was quick to get the new microwave back in action

Half Bath redone and working again

End of the second day the base cabs are in and now to wait till tomorrow

All in and semi back in use. Microwave in its spot and dishwasher pushed in out of the way

Different view.

Tom Otterness "Shot Tom Film"

Tom Otterness "Shot Tom Film"

So I finished my Kinetic Sculpture piece where you turn the crank and a dog stands up, raises a front leg with a gun it it, shoots a carved Tom Otterness with a bang. Then the Tom Otterness figure then collapses. As you continue to turn the crank it all goes back to the setup and then repeats.

BTW Please note the RED Dot... I SOLD IT! My first in a LONG time.

Here is a video of the mechanics of how the sculpture works.

I hand made the gears out of wood, the rest was not to hard but getting it all to work without binding etc. was hard. I also had to replace the lever that puts the tension on the strings that pulls the Tom O figure up with a longer one for more leverage. 

An then I added a turnbuckle to add more tension to the nylon string when it starts to stretch. Much learned on this one.

Part 3 - New Sculpture - Tom Otterness Automata piece

Well had a busy day today. Finished carving the Tom O figure and then drilled it and added all the string to make the animation possible.

Here is the string and carved bits with the glue drying.

Under all that string and junk is my Tom O.

Here is what the Tom O figure will be doing. Falling down and getting up, over and over. Lets hope that the string that I used holds up!

Base made, first hand cut gears made and ready to be installed. Now all the magic and swearing begins as we try and make all the mechanical stuff work as dreamed about.

Gears are in and working. Man that was a lot of fiddling around. I need a drill press!

Part 2 - New Sculpture - Tom Otterness Automata piece

Well I have been working on this one all day and here are some progress shots.

Puppy is put together but missing ears but all that will come after the mechanics are all done and working

3/4 view of the Puppy

Legs and arms carved and before sanding

Detail of hands 

Tom O's head and body carved. Hands are sore!

Part II -New Years Painting Marathon @ Shoe Factory Art Co-Op

Went for the last of the “A New Year’s Painting Marathon!” was held yesterday. Noon till 4pm. Here is a pic after an hour of futzing about.

More play with colour

Here is were I stopped to take it home to the studio. It still needs work and I will be working on it next week between all the other projects. More later!

Blog look change

Sorry that I had to change the design of the blog page back. I liked the new look but .... none of my tools worked (widgets) and it was very annoying. So until the Dynamic HTML5 design is ready for prime time I will stick with this template.

Thanks for understanding!

New Sculpture - Tom Otterness Automata piece

We have a new show at the Shoe Factory Art Co-op (http://www.shoefactoryarts.com/CallforArtists.html) with the title of "Unconditional Love: Cats and Dogs". Due to the Tom Otterness sculptures going up here in Rochester this show is a tribute to our feline and canine best friends!


"Otterness is being exposed as a killer. In 1977, he made a film in which he "rescued" a dog from a shelter, tied it up and, as the animal wagged its tail, shot it dead. The movie, which Otterness called "Shot Dog Film," repeatedly shows the brutal execution.

Otterness has been apologizing for his despicable act ever since it came to light a few years ago and began to threaten his lucrative public support. In 2008, he said, "Thirty years ago, when I was 25 years old, I made a film in which I shot a dog. It was an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for. Many of us have experienced profound emotional turmoil and despair. Few have made the mistake I made. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me." By James Panero - Daily News

So I have decided to do a Kinetic Sculpture piece where you turn the crank and a dog stands up, raises a front leg with a gun it it, shoots a carved Tom Otterness with a bang. Then the Tom Otterness figure then collapses. As you continue to turn the crank it all goes back to the setup and then repeats. 

Should be fun! So I have working on my Tom Otterness Automata piece this week and after a day of thinking, I tinkered for a couple of hours and came up with this method to have the dog stand up point its leg at the Tom Otterness figure so that it can shoot him! Ouch!

New Years Painting Marathon @ Shoe Factory Art Co-Op Pictures

Well the Painting Marathon was a big success. Lots of people showed up, we all had a lot of laughs and met new people.

I was wore out at the end of the evening and could not wait to get home for a nice Vodka Gimlet.

Here are some pics!

Finished my 4.5 X 3 foot stretcher for my painting to be done on Friday. Now off to stretch the canvas and gesso baby gesso!

This is the flower I'm going to be painting tonight. 3 X 4.5 feet in three hours.. Got'a paint real fast!!!

The Start at 5:45 PM

6:30 PM

8:15 PM

9:15 PM
But... still not done!

Hard at work.