Get This Out

Digital Color Study

2011-08-04T19:50:00.000-05:00

Calla Lily

2011-08-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

Calla Lily
Oil on Canvas
6" x 8"

Digital Color Study

2011-08-02T19:10:00.002-05:00

Digital Color Study

2011-08-02T19:09:00.002-05:00

Digital Color Study

2011-07-27T04:00:00.000-05:00

Digital Color Study

2011-07-20T20:45:00.000-05:00

Digital Color Study

2011-07-18T22:10:00.002-05:00

Another digital color study. Somewhere around an hour for this one. From some photos I shot of a band at the Bitter End in NYC.

Digital Color Study

2011-07-16T12:08:00.000-05:00

Here's another digital color study. Tried out some new techniques, but tried to do too much, I think. Was able to salvage it at the end, though. About 30 minutes.

Digital Color Study

2011-07-14T20:04:00.002-05:00

Another digital color study. About an hour.

Digital Color Study

2011-07-13T19:10:00.002-05:00

Digital Color Study

2011-07-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

Another one from a few weeks ago. From Madison Square Park.

Digital Color Study

2011-07-09T11:04:00.001-05:00

I finally got my Tablet PC running reliably, so I've been doing a bunch of digital color studies. On nice days I get over to the park near my office; otherwise I try to find interesting photos to work from. Here's the first, done a couple weeks ago. More to follow.

Digital Painting

2011-06-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

I've just recently been playing around with some new digital painting techniques to focus purely on shapes of color. I'm thinking it might be helpful for planning out paintings, as well as in & of itself...

Wedding Portrait

2011-05-21T09:15:00.001-05:00

Here's a portrait of my brother and his wife on their wedding day. It's a very-late anniversary present for them.

I've had a terrible time getting a decent reproduction of this one due to the glossy varnish. I was able to get something passable by scanning it in parts and piecing it together in Photoshop. Could still be much better, but at least I can get it on the web for now.

"Nat & Kathrin"

Oil on Canvas

10" x 15"

Not for sale

Oil Sketch

2011-04-02T13:36:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick oil sketch from imagination...

Work in progress...

2011-03-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a piece in progress. It's the first painting I'm working on in my new studio. A fun illustration idea I found in an old sketchbook. I think it needs more castle...

Salmagundi Club Thumb-Box Exhibition

2010-12-05T13:36:00.001-05:00

I have a small still life study (pictured below) in the upcoming Salmagundi Club Thumb-Box Exhibition. The exhibition is on display from Dec. 6, 2010 to Jan. 1, 2011. All works in the show are 8"x10" or smaller. The Salmagundi Club is located at:

Salmagundi Club
47 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003

"Old Friend"

Oil on Canvas

5x7

$280

Black Hills Pine

2010-12-05T13:28:00.001-05:00

Here's another quick landscape from our road trip photos. This was from a beautiful vista in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Black Hills are a really fantastic landscape- not huge and majestic, but simple and satisfying. Also, there were practically no mosquitoes, which is always a plus.

Black Hills Pine

Oil on Canvas

8" x 10"

Available

Low Frequency Sketches

2010-12-05T13:22:00.000-05:00

Recently I've become very interested in the idea of spatial frequency in relation to painting. As such, here are some sketches practicing low-frequency drawing. Most of these were done on the subway or Metro North.

A Business Parable for the Artist (sorta)

2010-11-22T22:48:00.003-05:00

This parable comes from Merlin Mann's excellent blog 43 Folders:

http://www.43folders.com/2010/11/04/suddenly-last-sandwich

This parable is directed towards business owners and freelancers (particularly web designers), but it resonates for the artist all the more- artists in particular seem to have trouble when it comes time to start charging for their artwork. I know it's something that I still struggle with. This parable speaks to that business side, and to remember that if you make a good product, there are people out there who are willing to pay good money for it- even if it's artwork.

Being a Parable for the Ediﬁcation of Independents Seeking Independence

THE PARABLE
THE OSTENSIBLE CUSTOMER enters a deli and saunters up to the counter. The deli is tended by its rakishly handsome owner, THE SANDWICH GUY.

“Hi,” says The Sandwich Guy. “What looks good to you today?”

“Slow down,” says The Ostensible Customer, as THE LUNCH RUSH starts trickling in. “Lots of delis want my business, so, ﬁrst I need to really understand what you can do for me.”

“Well,” says The Sandwich Guy, “I guess I can try to do what I do for everybody here and make you a customized version of any of the 15 awesome sandwiches you see on my menu. What’re you hungry for?”

“Easy, easy, Ricky Roma! Before I make any decisions here I’m going to need to know a lot more about my options. Why are you so obsessed with ‘what I want?’”

“Okay, sorry,” says The Sandwich Guy, uneasily eyeing the growing queue of The Lunch Rush now piling up behind The Ostensible Customer. “What else can I do to help here?”

“That’s better,” says The Ostensible Customer. “Let’s start by sitting down for a couple hours and going over all the ingredients you have back there.”

The Sandwich Guy laughs congenially and hands The Ostensible Customer a menu. “Friend, I can make you whatever you want, but, if it helps, the 15 sandwiches listed here show all the ingredients–right there between the name and the price…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! The price?!? Already you’re reaching for my wallet? Jeez, I barely just arrived.”
The Lunch Rush is getting restless and grumbling audibly.

“Well. You know. I do sell sandwiches for a living,” says The Sandwich Guy. “Did you have a certain budget in mind for your lunch?”

“Oh, God, no. I’m nowhere near that point yet. I still need to learn a lot more about how you work, and so, obviously, I have no idea what I want to pay. Obviously.”

“Okay,” says The Sandwich Guy, “but…I can’t do much for you here without knowing either what you want to eat or how much money you want to spend. You get that, right?”

The Ostensible Customer is miffed.

“Listen, here. What I ‘get,’ so-called Sandwich Guy, is that you’re not going to rush me into some tricky lifetime sandwich commitment until I understand precisely who I’m working with. And, so far, I do not like what I see. Still. I intend to ﬁnd out more. So, meet me in Canada tomorrow to talk about this for an hour.”
The Lunch Rush begins waving their wallets as they lob their completed order forms at The Sandwich Guy’s face.

“Sorry,” says The Sandwich Guy. “I can’t do that. How about I just make you a Reuben. It’s really good, it’s our most popular sandwich, and it only costs eight bucks.”

“WHAT! EIGHT DOLLARS! ‘Dollars’ with a ‘d?’ That’s way too much!”

“I thought you didn’t have a budget,” says The Sandwich Guy.

“Well, I don’t. And, besides, I don’t really ‘need’ a sandwich at all. Now, kindly ﬂy to Canada.”

“That’s not going to happen, sir.”

“Also,” says The Ostensible Customer, “if I do decide to get a sandwich from you–and it’s looking increasingly less likely that I will–I’ll absolutely expect your deeply discounted price to reﬂect the fact that I’m not particularly hungry right now.”

The Lunch Rush begins lighting torches and chanting a guttural chant, not unlike the haunting overtone singing of Tuvan herdsmen.

“Look,” sighs The Sandwich Guy, “it sounds like you need a little more time. Here’s a free Coke and a complimentary bowl of pickles. Please have a seat, take all the time you need, then just come on up whenever you’re ready to order, okay?”

“‘READY?!?’ TO…‘ORDER?!?’ Are you out of your mind?”

“Mmmm…apparently.”

Presently, The Ostensible Customer turns beet-red.

“This is an outrage! I can’t even imagine how you stay in business when you treat your customers like this.”
The Lunch Rush grows silent as The Sandwich Guy slowly leans over the counter and smiles–his nose one slice of corned beef from The Ostensible Customer’s nose.

“Sir. First off: you aren’t my customer yet. Right now, you’re just some dude holding a bowl of free pickles.”
“Buh?” fumbled The Ostensible Customer.

“And, second, the way I ‘stay in business’ is by making great sandwiches and having as few conversations like the one we’re having as possible,” The Sandwich Guy coos.

“Because, the truth is, my real customers are actually all those nice people standing behind you. They’re the people who buy my sandwiches with real money over and over again. I really like them, and so I give them almost all of my attention.”

The Sandwich Guy waves at The Lunch Rush. The Lunch Rush waves back. The Ostensible Customer looks stunned.

“Sir,” says The Sandwich Guy “enjoy your Coke and your pickles with my compliments. But, please step aside. Because right now, there’s a whole bunch of hungry people trying to buy sandwiches that won’t require me ﬂying to Canada. Next, please!”

The Lunch Rush roars approval. The Ostensible Customer is still stunned. Which is unfortunate.
Because, several men from the back of the line spontaneously rush forward to drag The Ostensible Customer, screaming and grasping, onto the busy sidewalk outside, where they proceed to devour his ﬂesh like those street urchins who eat Elizabeth Taylor’s cousin in Suddenly, Last Summer.

Meanwhile, The Sandwich Guy goes back to making sandwiches. And, The Lunch Rush goes back to eating them.

THE MORAL(S)?
The Sandwich Guy can’t do much for you until you’re hungry enough to really want a sandwich.

Once you’re hungry enough, you still have to pay money for the sandwich. This won’t not come up.

Few people become “a good customer” without understanding both 1 and 2.

Few companies become “a smart business” without understanding 1, 2, and 3.

Basing his business on an understanding of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 doesn’t make The Sandwich Guy a dick; it makes him a smart business.

If you vacation with Elizabeth Taylor? Seriously. Avoid provoking the cannibalistic rent boys.

THE HOPE
Me? I just very much hope it takes you far less than 15 years to see and accept these sorts of things. Both as a customer and as a business.

Guys, avoid working for anyone who’s not hungry enough to compensate you for your sandwich. It literally doesn’t pay.

El Capitan

2010-11-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick study of El Capitan from Yosemite. This is from a photo I took when my wife and I drove cross-country a couple years ago.

Digital Painting

2010-09-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

I'm finally getting some digital paintings done that I'm satisfied with. I'm trying to build a small portfolio together for fantasy illustration work. Here are two that I'm pretty happy with (the second one is still in progress):

Sunnyside Subway View

2010-05-05T06:58:00.000-05:00

I painted this a few weekends ago in my neighborhood, Sunnyside, Queens. The subway tracks are a distinctive feature of Sunnyside- they are above ground on a concrete structure with these great arches. It's common to see new visitors to Sunnyside discover that there is a big echo underneath these arches.

The light really changed as I was doing this one- it went from a sunny afternoon to an overcast late afternoon. The blue sky in the background remained the whole time, though it was cloudy overhead by the time I finished, with some gray clouds finally breaking into the picture plane. It was an interesting challenge.

Sunnyside Tracks

oil on canvas

8" x 10"

available

Experience Versus Knowledge

2010-04-25T18:55:00.000-05:00

One thing that's been sinking in as my life as an artist continues is that there is no replacement for experience. There's so much that can only be learned by putting in the hours with a pencil or brush in your hand. This is the physical side of art. Compared to, say, gymnastics or boxing, painting seems like it's not very physical, but really we can't avoid the fact the we must interact with something in the physical world to get our art created. Even someday when we can paint on the computer with our minds, there will be a level of experience needed to get that thing out there to do what I want.

And so we need to learn how hard to press, or how to sweep our arm, or how much of this paint to mix into that paint, or how this brush loaded with this paint will make marks on this canvas. The only way to get this kind of understanding is by doing it as many times as we can, and paying attention while we do it. Being humans, we can't pay attention constantly, but the extent to which we can will speed our learning. But the important thing is to get the hours in. It's popular these days to say it takes 10,000 hours to really master a skill. The saying is becoming a bit hackneyed in some circles, but unfortunately it's true. While it's ultimately better to do it with attention, we can't always force ourselves to pay attention. So, we need to give ourselves as many chances as possible to be able to do it with attention.

When I was a teenager, I spent an awful lot of time copying and regurgitating comic book drawings. I would basically memorize every line that an artist made with very little understanding of why he made it. Then I would dutifully recreate either the exact image or some very slight variation of it. For a time when I was older I considered this approach to be a waste of time- just rote copying with very little comprehension. In one sense, I was right in that this kind of learning is less efficient than others. But lately I've come to appreciate how valuable all that rote copying really was long term. It improved my dexterity, gave me something objective to work towards, and most of all when later I finally learned why the artists put lines here or there, I was able to execute that understanding almost immediately without waiting for my hands to catch up with my head.

While I think there are far better ways of learning than rote copying, there's still something valuable there: the fact that you cannot make up hours of experience. You only get so many in your life. Intellectual knowledge and comprehension comes fairly cheap by comparison. If you have the prerequisite knowledge, one read-through of the right text and you might have it instantly. But to get your hand to move just so- you can't get that for free.

So even if you're not sure what you should be doing, or what the right way is, or what's "correct", get out there and get working anyway. All that understanding can come later, but you're wasting hours worrying about it now.

Sunnyside Gardens Plein Air

2010-04-19T11:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was beautiful, and I decided to hop in the car to find a nice spot to paint and listen to the Cubs game. I didn't have to go very far- I found this nice spot in Sunnyside Gardens, a very nice part of the neighborhood in Queens I live in.

Sunnyside Gardens, Spring
Oil on Canvas
8" x 10"
available