Charmed and Still Life Opening

"All The Donuts" 16x20"

"Oh Honeybear" 6x8"

  On this Thanksgiving I'm feeling thankful for the charmed life I have been lucky enough to experience. Not charmed in the "I'm rich enough to frivolously buy sleeveless sweaters!"  or have driven a golf cart to go get my mail but in the little things and quirky art viewing experiences that have happened to me.

When I was very young, I vaguely remember (or imagined very well) seeing a very life like painting with a person wearing  red right in the middle of the image, not showing their face. My mother many years later told me she had brought me to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum when I was a little kid. ( I was too young to know where I was, But that painting..! Oh boy, i remembered that.)  I connected the two, this painting was most likely the eventually stolen Vermeer. It is Vermeer's Quirkiest piece in my opinion. Worth Looking up.

 Then Years ago, I was still doing odd jobs and proving that the only job i was gonna hold was painting (Long story there..)  Visiting Newport Rhode Island doing the tourist thing and walked into a gallery (sorry I forget the name) and the show up was a collection of the most beautiful, subtle color harmony filled gauche and oil sketches by William Trost Richards. ( I command !! you to look him up if you are not aware of his work) This show had everything from him, His sketchbooks, watercolors, Gouache, oil sketches, finished pieces even his easel and a self-portrait by him. I was blown away..  His plain air sketches would be of a simple wave, not a ferocious crashing wave, he did those also in his finished but of a simple non crashing wave.. These waves were just a vehicle to show you the harmony of greens, regal blues and soft grayed yellows. I remember thinking " There must be a thousand different colors in this piece!!" ha! They struck me and very much influenced my search for color change within a shape.


I am Also thankful that the show I'm part of (at the Landing Gallery here in Rockland) with three other very accomplished artists is finally opening tomorrow night! I have poured myself into this show and contributed 40 pieces to it. I really tried my best to listen to my tastes, be honest with myself (especially when it hurts) and make paintings I would want to see. I hope you can make it to the opening, if not I hope you enjoy the online presentation. I warn you though, I'm known for bad photography of my work.. :)
 Here is the gallery LINK.
 Hopefully they will have the available work on their website soon. I will have it on my website by Saturday, here is a LINK.

Quote: "He only is great who had reached the heart of a thing, and this in the inner most holy place"

William Trost Richard