Christopher Stott

Group Show - George Billis Gallery, LA

2012-01-01T11:47:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

I'm starting the year participating in a group show at the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles from January 7 - February 11, 2012.

Antique Books I

30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

Available through the George Billis Gallery, LA

Antique Books II

30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

Available through the George Billis Gallery, LA

Find the gallery — click here for a map. If you are in the LA area, please check out the gallery and paintings.

I am showing five new paintings featuring books. The two paintings above depict 17th and 18th century historical essay and natural history texts. Below are primary school texts from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Equality, The World of Today

18" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

Available through the George Billis Gallery, LA

Brave and Bold, The Early Modern World

18" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

Available through the George Billis Gallery, LA

Anything Can Happen, Down The Road

30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

Sold

Antique Swedish Telephone

2011-11-25T12:42:00.001-06:00

This past summer, I received this magnificent early Swedish telephone as a gift from a long time collector in California. It's a fantastic telephone and a great addition to my growing collection. I think it would look great painted along side some other telephones in a larger painting.

Antique Swedish Telephone
24" x 20" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Available through the Elliott Fouts Gallery

Red Dot Fair - Miami

2011-11-25T12:33:00.001-06:00

I will have three paintings showing at the Red Dot art fair in Miami from November 30 - December 4, 2011.

The first is with the George Billis Gallery out of Los Angeles:

Anything Can Happen, Down The Road
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

As well as the two Coke paintings that were recently showing at Mason Murer Fine Art in Atlanta:

The Stars Will Always Shine
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Available through Mason Murer Fine Art


In Perfect Harmony 30" x 30" \| Oil/Canvas \| 2011 • Available through Mason Murer Fine Art

Quint Magazine & Two New Paintings

2011-10-19T11:53:00.000-06:00

I recently did a brief interview with quint, a new arts and culture magazine out of Dubai. You can view and read the magazine (issue 9) online and see the 15 images they generously shared.

There are also two new paintings at the Elliott Fouts Gallery — a fan and a study of some new (old) books.

Zero
20" x 16" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

Vintage Book Study - "Here And There"
20" x 20" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

Vintage Rotary Phones

2011-09-30T15:29:00.000-06:00

The annual Still Life Invitational group exhibition is on view at the Elliott Fouts Gallery from October 1 to November 2. Below are two more contributions I have for the show.

Say, have you noticed how many people use the vintage rotary phone ringtone on their smartphones? Remember the patience and concentration required to dial a long distance number?

Yellow Rotary Phone
24" x 24" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Available through the Elliott Fouts Gallery

Red Rotary Phone
24" x 24" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

Two Group Shows

2011-09-14T13:19:00.000-06:00

I'm participating in two group shows in the coming weeks. The first I was invited to opens this Friday, September 16th at Mason Murer Fine Art in Atlanta, Georgia. The show is called "The Real Thing" and several artists are contributing Coca-Cola themed paintings to commemorate Coke's 125th anniversary.

I took my inspiration for the Coca-Cola paintings from a few classic ads. The first is from the early 1970s, the song is "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing". A perfectly naive and optimistic song for the time. The second is from the early 1990s, "Always Coca-Cola", another up-beat pop song that drilled itself into your brain.

In Perfect Harmony
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Available through Mason Murer Fine Art

The Stars Will Always Shine
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Available through Mason Murer Fine Art

The second show is at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California, and opens at the beginning of October. I am again humbled and flattered to participate in a group show with several top notch painters.

Anything Can Happen I
18" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

Anything Can Happen II
18" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

Sold

Over the next few weeks, I'll share some progress photos of paintings I'm working on for yet another group show in Los Angeles in January 2012.

What Next?

2011-06-17T19:23:00.000-06:00

I had a great time in California. I met some long-time collectors and had several fantastic culinary experiences.

The show has been received very well, but now I have to seriously start thinking about what comes next — both exciting and intimidating at the same time. But I feel confident and up to the task. I just need to focus, lock myself in the studio for about 6 months and paint, paint, paint.

On Subjects

2011-06-08T09:15:00.115-06:00

My second solo exhibition is now up and running at the Elliott Fouts Gallery. I live remarkably far from the gallery, but at the same time, I'm remarkably close. I get constant updates, phone calls, emails, from my friends at the gallery. The opportunity to fly down to California and visit them is one of the high points of my entire year.

Remington Standard No.10
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

Baggage II
36" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

Baggage III
36" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

I like letting serendipity decide what I'm going to paint. Much of the luggage in this show came from a good buddy of mine, who one day suggested I check out an online listing for 60 pieces of vintage luggage someone was selling. Then my wife comes home from a thrift store with a piece of luggage. Friends on the other side of the country hear I'm looking for some old electric fans, they put the word out and suddenly I have an amazing collection of fans after they lugged them through airports and delivered them to my door.

GE Vintage Electric Fan
28" x 22" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
Sold

I could go on about where my subjects come from and you'd start to wonder if I made any effort at all in getting them. I do seek out a few with specifics in mind, but there's something really cool about stumbling upon them, like the old typewriters and the primary readers. One hot summer day last year I took my family for a walk through a heritage village only steps away from my grandparents house, and in the back of an ancient town hall was a room stacked to the ceiling with old typewriters an adding machines. Three decades earlier my brother and sister and I played around the old village buildings, and the park near by. We used to peer through the windows at all the old artifacts and curiosities. And now, decades pass, and I've come full circle and am allowed to borrow these objects for subjects to paint.

Wizard
40" x 20" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Available through the Elliott Fouts Gallery

And sometimes, a box will arrive at my door, a gift from Elliott, and inside is a total surprise, like the Wizard gumball machine.

Exhibition Catalog

2011-05-31T09:45:00.059-06:00

Michelle Satterllee at the Elliott Fouts Gallery designed the 32-page catalog. I am so pleased with the way it turned out. The 20 paintings for the show are represented. Michelle is a fantastic designer. It is refreshing to have your work handled by someone who knows what they are doing.

Christopher Stott - New Paintings | June 4-30, 2011
Exhibition catalog available at the Elliott Fouts Gallery

Quartet
24" x 48" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Sold

Black Vintage Electric Fan
28" x 22" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Sold

The Girl Next Door
20" x 20" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Sold

American Art Collector, June 2011

2011-05-20T11:45:00.108-06:00

I did an interview with American Art Collector magazine for the June 2011 issue, which is now out. There is a preview of some of the paintings for my show. It's humbling to have my work in the pages of a magazine along with some of my favorite contemporary artists.

American Art Collector , June 2011

Good Times
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2010
• Sold
• Available as a limited edition print

Baggage
30" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Sold
• Available as a limited edition print

Oliver
30" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Sold

What Next?
20" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2010
• Sold

Last of the progress photos...

2011-05-08T10:10:00.014-06:00

I have officially completed the 20 paintings for my June show. Between Anthropologie and J.Crew, I honestly didn't think I'd meet my goal. It feels mighty good to have accomplished so much in the last 6 months and I'm looking forward to seeing all the pieces hanging in the gallery.

Another round of progress photos...

2011-04-22T11:03:00.003-06:00

Work continues on paintings for my June show and I am happy to report that I am nearing completion. The last four paintings have been conceived, and I have a few precious weeks to finish up the work.

J.Crew

2011-03-22T11:40:00.004-06:00

I'm pleased to share the news that five of my paintings, including the two below, now belong to J.Crew's corporate collection.

Someday Soon
30" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2010

Remington Standard No. 10, Profile
30" x 36" | Oil/Canvas | 2010

Moving right along...

2011-03-19T11:26:00.003-06:00

Over the past several weeks I've been able to complete some paintings that I'm happy with. That's a peculiar thing for me to say.

A few years ago I worked fast, alla prima, completing paintings in only a few quick sittings. Over time, I've found myself slowing down considerably and becoming much more focused. Slowing down has given me the opportunity to approach challenging and highly detailed subjects.

Below are some black and white photos of some of these recent paintings on the easel. As spring rolls along I'll be sharing these in color along with more pieces I've got in the works.

Anthropologie

2011-02-21T09:40:00.002-06:00

Recently I had the honor of painting five pieces for Anthropologie.com. They were really cool people to work with and I'm flattered that they enjoyed my work enough to invite me to do some paintings for them. During the week of February 21 - 28, 2011, the paintings were on the landing pages for each department in their online store.

Shoes & Luggage
20" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011
• Sold

At Home - Six Anthropologie Pulls
20" x 30" | Oil/Canvas | 2011

• Sold

Works in Progress

2011-02-08T12:51:00.009-06:00

I have a room in my basement where I prep and store canvas, and box up finished paintings before I send them off on their journeys to other lands. Right now it's kind of intimidating walking in to the room because I'm greeted by way to much blank canvas.

Over the next 3.5 months I have to complete at least 15 paintings, and in order to do so I have had to employ serious organizational skills.

Below is a glimpse at one piece in progress, an old Remington No.10 typewriter. Last summer I took my family to visit my grandparents and the town was holding their annual summer festival. They open up the buildings of a heritage village — a collection of buildings, like the old town hall, the doctor's house, blacksmith, church, schoolhouse, etc. — all reassembled to form an idealized main street from the past. In one building they have an old-tech graveyard where heaps of adding machines and typewriters sit abandoned for what will likely be the rest of eternity. That's where I step in. To the confusion and amusement of the committee responsible for the buildings, I convinced them to lend me several pieces, and will likely return again and again.

Happy Busy New Year!

2011-01-03T09:57:00.003-06:00

The first half of 2011 is going to be one of the busiest 6 months of my life. I have a stack of commissions I'm working on, many of which I'll share here in a few months, and I'll be working on 20 new paintings for another solo exhibition in June at the EFG.

I'll do the best I can and share some images of work in progress as I go along.

I hope you had a great holiday season and Happy New Year! Now back to work...

William Landay

2010-11-25T14:39:00.003-06:00

Writer William Landay recently wrote a blog entry about my work after discovering it on the web. Check it out, I think he does a very good job of capturing my motives as an artist.

1¢ Gumballs

2010-11-10T16:16:00.003-06:00

1¢ Gumballs
40" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold (Collection of J.Crew)

This has been a familiar theme of mine for the last several years. There's something to behold with these large scale bubble gum machines. There's no way you can tell while looking at the 2.5" thumbnail on your computer screen, but this painting is large. The vibrant blue of the machine and the mutli-colored gumballs pull me in.

I can distinctly remember how quickly gum would lose its flavor when I was a kid. But still, seeing a vending machine was always exciting and worth every penny. I guess the best thing about recreating them in paintings is that it helps the flavor last much, much longer in my memory.

Empty Bottles

2010-11-10T16:13:00.005-06:00

Five Empty Bottles
20" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

Three Empty Bottles
20" x 30" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold (Collection of J.Crew)

Uppercase Magazine

2010-11-01T15:54:00.006-06:00

This past August I did an interview for Uppercase Magazine, and the issue (#7) is now available. The magazine features creative professionals from many different backgrounds, and you are bound to learn something new and be impressed and inspired by the image-rich layout and design. It's more like a book than a magazine. And I was excited to participate.

I'm keeping rather busy working on numerous paintings, many of which will be in my June 2011 solo show at the Elliott Fouts Gallery.

A note to anyone interested in the paintings: please contact the gallery — efgallery@sbcglobal.net — to get on their mailing list if you want to see the paintings first. I won't be sharing them until early spring on this blog. However, you can look forward to some in-progress/studio documentation of the pieces in their unfinished stages.

I hope you have a great November!

9:00, 2:00, 5:00 & American Arts Quarterly

2010-10-09T09:25:00.006-06:00

9:00, 2:00, 5:00
20" x 36" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

I'm pleased and honored to share a review of my solo exhibition this past June by American Arts Quarterly. Click here if you are so inclined to give it a read.

Three Vintage Fans & American Art Collector Magazine

2010-09-30T16:10:00.002-06:00

Three Vintage Fans
30" x 48" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

The painting above is one of three that I'll have participating in the upcoming Still Life exhibition in October at the Elliott Fouts Gallery. The show will feature paintings from many artists that I'm familiar with, including; Teresa N. Fischer, Craig Stephens, Katherine Lemke Waste, Derek Gores, Paul Coventry-Brown, Sally Tharp, Philippe Gandiol, Donald Bradford, Daryl Gortner, Neil Hollingsworth, Alvin Richard, Shawn Kenney and Otto Lange.

The show is being promoted in the October 2010 issue of American Art Collector magazine. Click on the bottom image to read the article.

Type A, Type B & Popular Etiquette

2010-09-25T11:41:00.011-06:00

I was having a conversation with Cynthia, an art consultant at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, about one of my paintings. Apparently someone was looking at one of my unruly stacks of books and said they'd constantly be compelled to organize the books, straighten them out and make a tidy pile.

I like hearing about how different people interpret my paintings. And the idea occurred to me then to honor different personality types and how they relate to each other and can be integrated in to the same relationship, or paintings, in this case.

Type A, Type B
20" x 36" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold

Type B, Type A
20" x 36" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold
• This painting will be part of the October 2010 Still Life show at the EFG

A good friend of mine brought me an old paperback re-print of a Victorian era Popular Etiquette Book. Leafing through it, I have to say that although there are definitely missing virtues in today's world, Victorian's really made things uncomfortable for themselves with the litany of rigid rules and guidelines to follow.

Popular Etiquette
16" x 20" — Oil/Canvas — 2010
• Sold
• This painting will be part of the October 2010 Still Life show at the EFG

Popular Etiquette — Detail

40 & Under

2010-08-11T19:14:00.001-06:00

The 40 & Under show is up at the Elliott Fouts Gallery and runs until September 3. If you're in the Sacramento area, be sure to check it out. There are some great artists participating and I'm honored to be sharing the gallery space with them.

I've been trying to balance working in the studio and enjoying the summer. Every other week we're out visiting family, going to weddings, the lake, the park or pool all day long... every year that's a serious challenge for me as I'm always excited and anxious to keep things burning along on the easel. Breaks are needed of course, it's the frequency that drives me a bit nuts.