In loving memory...
/After 96 years my Grandmother passed on to a higher place today. My last painting of her and my son, Cole.
Cold weather days ahead for painting!
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Now that there's two months of winter painting left, I need to break out the new winter gear. *photo courtesy of Tony Calabro
Happy New Year!
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I hope my friends that you find 2016 as the amazing and incredible opportunity that I do!
Test 2
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Test
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StarWars Fan Art
/I've had the chance to play around with an iPad Pro and Pencil using the Notes app. I have to say it's an amazing tool. Here are my StarWars fan art.
Awards and New Paintings
/I was stoked to discover that my alleyway painting in Norfolk for the 6Squared Juried Exhibition won a $250 award. Considering all the great work from amazing painters, this was a huge honor.
Afternoon Alleyway
Last night I finished up two paintings. One from the legendary band, Pat DiNizio of Smithereens. I had the opportunity two photograph and meet him in Richmond, VA in 2003. I had started a second painting of him after delivering the first, but the second was lost in a move. Finally, I got around to painting this.
Pat DiNizio
The second painting I did last night was of my friend and neighbor, Ryan. This is the start of a new on going project of painting portraits of my friends, so stay tuned for new ones.
Ryan
Painting in the living room for a change.
Solo Exhibition dates have been extended until February 29th!
/The fine folks at the RunnyMeade Corp asked if I would allow the work to be exhibited until the end of February. So I was more than happy to oblige them, in addition to update the show with two new works to replace two that had to be delivered to a new home in time for the holidays! I would love to hear your responses if you have the chance to stop by to see the show. Don’t forget the work is on almost all of the floors of the Pavilion I building, so start at the top and work your way down.
Sunday Bible Reading
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"Sunday Bible Reading" 16x20 oil on linen. I've really struggled with this personal piece of my grandma and my son for awhile. It's too personal to be objective while painting. I started off from life, which was amazing because in that moment she knew who I was and she knew I was painting her. She posed for me and keep still, and for a time, we had a connection that we hadn't had since her heart attack and stroke. The tough part was finishing this up in the studio, to try and remove myself as a person and be a painter. I may not be done with this, but I have it at a stage now to where I feel ok showing it. I hope I captured the humanity of what was before me as I saw and painted it. Most of all, even though she can no longer see, I hope it would have made her proud.
Solo Exhibition Dates extended to Feb. 29th.
/Just got word that my solo exhibition has been extended another month and will now be on display until Feb 29th. The Gallery at Pavilion I located at 2101 Parks Avenue, Virginia Beach, VA 23451 9am-6pm M-F.
Norfolk Alleyway Plein Air Time-lapse
/6x6 Oil on canvas plein air painting in Norfolk, VA alleyway.
Last nights painting from the Norfolk Drawing Group
/Latest time lapse video of figure painting in progress.
The work is not good enough and I know it.
/My work is not good enough.
There. I said it.
Being my worst critic is tough. It's not easy sometimes to post up subpar work for the rest of the world to either condemn or praise. But if I'm to be honest here, I want the mindset of pushing my work to the next level, being critical of the work is absolutely necessary. I've been accused of beating myself over my work, but who else is going to make me realize that last night's painting wasn't good enough? I'm lucky to have family that knows to be honest with my paintings. Tonia here, has really wide shoulders, unfortunately, I made the mistake to over exaggerating them. I'll go back and correct them tonight. Sometimes time away helps me reevaluate the work and identify problems in the painting.
Tonia 12x16 oil on board.
SOLO EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION THURSDAY OCTOBER 29TH
/Show on display from October 29th thru January 15th. Hours 9am-6:30pm.
Well, it's been a rough two weeks for me with losing my voice and other non-painting related issues. However, I'm almost back in the saddle and my voice is almost back. If you happen to make the opening reception after 6:30pm, I'll be there holding doors open to let people in until the last person leaves. This exhibition will have over 50 of my paintings up on display.
I've been absent from the site for awhile...
/Right after I blogged my winter painting session, I was thinking, "Wow!" I really need to ramp up my painting while I can. And then everything stopped. My father in law had a heart attack while in the Philippines and a month long process to get him back to the States began. All of our passports had expired and it was a major obstacle to get them renewed. All the while we began to wonder if it we would reach him too late. In the end, he managed to get back to the Virginia. Within that time period, my Grandmother had a heat attack and stroke. It was devastating and by a miracle, she survived to make it back home in hospice care. At 96, we know that her long life journey has neared it's end. Her memory is fractured and at times dementia clouds what little memory she has left. In April, my close friend discovered he has a life threatening disease. It is no small statement that he has been an inspiration and key influence to the developing of my work as a painter. If you have followed me on my social networks, you have noticed the trickle of posts during that time. This blog came to a full halt. I just didn't feel like writing much without addressing these events. My father in law is recovering. Grandma is hanging in there and was happy to have us as company last week as I painted her. It's sad to know her loss of sight has robbed her from seeing my latest works. My friend is preparing for a special treatment that may have a chance to give him a second lease on life. Since this post, I have been in two plein air events, Olmsted and Easton. I have been also juried into Bath County this September. And from there, life goes on and so does painting. As long as I have time.
Cole reading the book of Genesis to Grandma as I prepare to paint.
Birthday Plein Air Session at Turtle Pond.
/I found an amazing place to paint to keep me busy for a while. Here's from my first session painting here during the snow, which of course was on my birthday! Very rewarding to also have several inquiries for the paintings. As of this blog post, the top painting, "Winter Turtle Pond" is available. But "Turtle Pond Tree" has sold.
Winter Turtle Pond
Turtle Pond Tree - SOLD
Painting Process Time-lapse Videos
/Hey everyone, if you have been following me here on the blog and have liked watching the time-lapse videos of my painting process, great news! I've collected them all on my Videos page, (CLICK HERE)
February starts out with more paintings and awards!
/I've tried to stay busy and keep up the momentum with painting. This week I have seven paintings to talk about. The first and most recent is the submission for THE SHOW, "Bank Noir II", which won an Honorable Mention Award. It was a great show with amazing local work. Very proud to be a part of this.
"Bank Noir II"
My second painting is a demo that I did at the Governor's School for the Arts. Great group of kids that are quick learners. We discussed painting and drawing techniques when drawing from life. Teaching them for the afternoon was a blast.
Painting Demo at the Governor's School of the Arts
I was very happy to learn that my Pittsburgh Street Light" sold at the Randy Higbee 6 Squared Show! I looked online at all the entries and it was amazing to see all the great work. Looking forward to next years, and I should have more than one painting to submit next year.
Pittsburgh Street Light
Got outside to paint plein air and even though it a couple of storm fronts pushed through, staying inside the truck, I managed to get a fun painting of a spot I had my eye on for sometime.
Farm & Engine
The Norfolk Drawing Group had it's painting night and I think I got a good one done and was able to incorporate more paint into the canvas than I had been previously.
Alicia
My "Night Boat" is still a work in progress, I hope to finish it soon.
Work in Progress
And if that wasn't enough, I got to play around with painting digitally on a Wacom and ArtRage this week for a super quick demo.
ArtRage 4 and Wacom Demo
Original studio painting by Doug Clarke. 24x36" oil on cradle board in black floater frame. Oversized shipping.
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