Spring Mosaic

I am drawn to this style of painting -- big, playful, colorful, abstract. Sure it's one of my own paintings --granted -- but I enjoy looking at this piece just as much as I enjoyed composing it. I know some people find abstract painting frustrating and perhaps allowing my abstract paintings to mingle [haphazardly] with my more realistic works is off-putting to some, but it is a tendency I cannot abstain from. It is the artist in me. The untethered creative in me. I am, after all, a composer of paint, of shape and line and color and texture. I am artist.

Spring Mosaic, 48x54"

I am drawn to this style of painting, yes, but it does not come naturally to me. Abstract painting, while easily achieved by adventurous four-year-olds the world over, is something that must be learned -- speaking now of good abstract painting, of course, paintings with hopefully more artistic merit and sophistication than early refrigerator art. One must learn the principles of art and design and then learn how to bend and break the rules -- that's where individual style comes from perhaps. Breaking the rules . . . your way. So, anyway, I've learned the rules and I've learned to break the rules, but it's still a piece of art. So the challenge is still there, and perfection is still the unattainable goal.

And this one? This one is pretty good, I think. And it's much better in person, of course -- much more impressive. (click the image to see a larger version)

Update

on 2011-05-02 14:20 by wessf

By the way, I might make minor changes before applying magic gloss varnish/finish. I'm gonna look at the painting some more first.

Big White Boat

Big White Boat, 30x24", $400

Forgive me, I don't know what kind of boat this is and my Google powers don't work on Mondays. This was one of the paintings I did onsite during the Madisonville Art Market while my wife watched the booth. I joked with the owners of the boat that I was about to take a break and then realized the boat I was painting could leave at any moment so continued painting to get as much detail as I could. Later, the boat did leave before I could get a lot of the rigging details and whatnot on canvas, turning my jest into a serious concern. But I got most of it right and finished the painting moments ago here at home.

Duck!

Duck, 16x16", $200

Painted this duck (female mallard?) from a reference photo in just under an hour. Total. To be sure this is one of my quickest "times," if we're keeping score, but still . . . that's pretty fast right?! This is painted on a somewhat heavy masonite-on-one-and-a-half-inch-wood-backing-board. I do like painting on smooth hard surfaces like this because of how the paint sits up on it -- I realize now that it's hard to explain the difference -- though the same effect happens once a canvas has been painted over several times.

Anyway, I like how this painting turned out. I'm sure it'll sale quickly. [pound for pound, it's priced to sell]

Sailboat on the Tchefuncta

Sailboat on the Tchefuncta, 30x24", $400

At the Madisonville Art Market last Saturday, I spent much of the day painting. This is one of those paintings. That's pretty much the story on this one. The end.

lemons and colorful people

Bowl of Lemons 12x12" $100Captive Audience #13, 24x30" $400

A quick reminder. I will be at the Madisonville Art Market this Saturday [April 9th, 10am-4pm]. The wife will be there helping me and I will be painting throughout the day under the live oaks. Should be a beautiful day for it. Come by if you can.

• Also look for my booth at the next Palmer Park Arts Market in New Orleans, Saturday, April 23rd.
• Also, if you're in the New Orleans area, I now have a variety of paintings hanging in Piece'a Work art gym (3436 Magazine Street - www.pieceawork.com)

Thanks to everyone who braved the perfect weather and made it out to the Palmer Park Arts Market today [though it was not exactly ideal for canopies and paintings and small dogs and anything else susceptible to strong gusts of wind]. I gave out a lot of business cards and talked to a lot of new people interested in art. I was even surprised to meet [finally] a person I've sold many paintings to in the past but never met face to face before [thanks for coming by Tim!].

Now I'm sunburned and worn out. Next art market I plan to attend is the Madisonville Art Market -- Saturday, April 9th, 10am to 4pm. I will be painting throughout the day while there [for all to see] -- hope you can make it out. I plan to have lots of new paintings too.

That is all.

Five Geese, 5x7" $30A Captive Audience #12, 12x12" $100

Sparrows, 28x11" $200The design of this painting came fully formed out of my head -- it doesn't usually happen that way but sometimes it does. I'm pretty sure it comes from an image I've seen before. Maybe a painting, maybe an illustration, maybe an ancient Chinese watercolor scroll -- I don't know.

I placed all the major elements on the canvas in paint, then refined the tree limbs, then found a few sparrow reference photos to refine the birds. I kept the neutral color palette but just had to add my signature spots or squares to the plain background (hey, it works).

I think the bird on top is the winner. Is that how that works?

Five Trees, 18x24" $300

This is a smaller version of my "Seven Trees" painting, which received a lot of positive remarks at various art shows. I had a feeling that a smaller version would work as well and have the added benefit of a lower price tag. I'm sure this won't be the last of this new series -- in fact, I think this image is ripe for postcards or prints. It's simple but compelling.

Update on 2011-11-28 07:18 by wessf

This one is sold.

Mason

After an off-handed comment the other day from the wife -- something about me not painting any new paintings for our own walls for quite some time -- I set about painting her an early Valentine's present. This, a painting of our son Mason, was meant to be a quick paint-sketch, but I kept going with it -- perhaps too far, perhaps not. It still has some of the "freshness" I wanted from the beginning though it lost some of the delicate brushstrokes in the face. The mouth, teeth, and jaw are probably a bit off as well, but I'm done with it and happy with it. Hard to look at it without tilting my own head to the right.

Mason 2-11, 12x12, N/A

The reference photo was of Mason and "his" dog Molly . . . his arm half-strangling her and Molly squinting and waiting patiently for release from the uncomfortable hold. It was cute, but I wanted a painting with Mason's head filling most of it, so I dropped the Molly part -- maybe in another painting -- and replaced her with a pillow of sorts [to explain the head tilt, I suppose]. The painting took around three hours, give or take -- hard to keep up with time when creating. Finished three other paintings yesterday -- I'll post those later. That is all.

one big one small

Louisiana Roadside, 25.5x36" $500 Red Boat, 5x7" $30

Update on 2011-11-28 07:19 by wessf

These are both sold.

Four More Paintings

Dragonfly on Green, 5x7" $30Sailboat #2, 5x7" $30Slow River, 5x7" $30Candy, 5x7" $30I wish I were more productive with my time. I am supposedly getting ready for the Palmer Park Arts Market (this Saturday in New Orleans), and it's taking me far too long to complete a few small paintings. I guess that's how it is though -- that's life. Still, four more paintings is better than none, and I have three more days 'till the event. That's all for now -- back to painting!

Update on 2011-11-28 07:19 by wessf

All four of these are sold.

12th Captive Audience Painting

A Captive Audience #12, 9x18" $120

Update on 2011-11-28 07:19 by wessf

This is sold.

2nd Bluebird painting

Bluebird #2, 7x5" $30

Update on 2011-11-28 07:20 by wessf

This is sold.

Bike Sketch

Art Markets this Month

I generally get sick by the end of the year and I'm usually too tired to think about showing artwork in January, but this year I intend to show at two -- count 'em -- two art markets this month. Come find me at the following locations (follow the annoying cough-cough-cough sounds to find my booth):

The Madisonville Art Market -- Saturday, January 15th (that's this coming weekend) on the Tchefuncte River
The Palmer Park Art Market -- last Saturday of the month (Jan. 29th) in New Orleans Palmer Park

See you there!

First Painting of 2011

I got sick somewhere between Christmas and New Year's, and I'm still living with a hacking cough. So my return to painting (or anything creative, for that matter) has been a slow one. That said, I am pushing paint around now and there are five or six canvases in my studio with the beginnings of paintings on them. The first one to reach completion is pictured below:

Bull Terrier Stare, 30x24", $300

It's a bit stiff in style, but that's part of its charm -- that, along with the color pallet and the textures -- and as the wife pointed out, bull terriers are a stiff and angular dog breed . . . and that's just how they look.

Touché, wife. Touché.

December Art Markets

I have two art markets this month

I will have a booth at the 7th Annual Christmas Past Arts & Crafts Street Festival in Mandeville on Girod Street (from Trailhead to Lakefront) on December 11th -- that's this Saturday -- from 9am to 3pm.

I will also have a booth at the Palmer Park Art Market on Sunday, December 19th from 10am to 4pm -- located at Palmer Park in the Carrollton Section of Uptown New Orleans (At the corner of S. Claiborne Ave and S. Carrollton Ave).

I will be at the Madisonville Art Market this Saturday (Nov. 20th) from 10am to 4pm. Stop by if you're in the area -- sorry for the short notice, I only just entered the show. Thanks, that is all.