Artificial View of the Sky

Artificial View of the Sky, 30x40", $700

Passing the Turing Test

This painting obviously has words on it (pun intended) and an anxious geometrical figure sweating it out as he speaks those words. To briefly explain the title and thus the painting [to my mom and other "normals"], I give you a link to an interesting wikipedia page: here.

I like the simplicity of it and the color, and I will probably be experimenting more with this style. Would love to hear feedback on this one!

Passing the Turing Test, 11.75x14.5", $200

N. O. Street Car #11

I'm calling this number eleven, though I'm not sure of the actual number---I lost track, plus this is a different version than my original street car paintings. This time I've injected more energy I think, leaving the details more raw and unrefined. And yes, I have also incorporated two bits of string into the painting.

N.O. Street Car #11, 24x30", SOLD

Brandy's Horse

American Flags #8 & #9

American Flag #8, 24x30", $300

Here are two more in my series of abstracted American flags. There's something fun about taking a recognizable image and altering it and, in the case of #9, stripping it down to its basic elements . . . color, shape, line. Stars and strips and red, white, and blue.

I'd love to hear feedback---I've enabled comments on this post and will do so in most future posts (I had turned off comments because of spam comments, but I'll just deal with that as it arises). That is all.

American Flag #9, 18x11", SOLD

Orange House Across the Street

Orange House Across the Street, 18x24", $250

plastic car sketch

Another sketch. This one is a fun example of blind contour drawing, where one does not look down at one's drawing until the thing is complete. It is an excercise in patience and slow deliberate following of---what else?---contours, the pencil following along with every inch of exploration of the eye. The result is usually an unusual but interesting drawing.

Slate and Marsh

Slate, 20x20", $250Louisiana Marsh, 18x24", SOLD

trees and boots

Forest for Trees, 24x24", $250Boots On, 24x18", $250

Update on 2012-03-04 20:56 by wessf

I'll be reviewing both of these paintings and I might change them. I think they can both be improved. I will probably either alter them or paint over them to reuse the canvases.

strawberries & landscape

Strawberries, 6x8", $50Aerial Landscape, 24x30", $300

pinecone sketch

As a working artist, I should be sppending more time working in my sketchbook. It's just never been a consistent part of my routine. This is a simple contour drawing I did yesterday of a pinecone---ten minutes of peaceful observation as I let my hands articulate on paper what my eyes measured before them---and the meditative attentiveness alone was worth my time. Not to mention the brief bit of what one might call "spatial practice" that I got out of it.

Louisiana Vista

Louisiana Vista, 25x40", $500

One of my first batch of paintings of the new year (I've gotten off to a slow start, yes). This is a simple generic landscape that could be found in any part of the country that is flat---but I figure it's somewhere in south central Louisiana where flatland abounds (you have to hike beyond the treelines of the interstates and beyond the houses and barns and streetlights where all the people live, but it's out there . . . and it's beautiful).

Red Dot Gallery in Ponchatoula

I've got a few paintings hanging now at the new Red Dot Gallery in downtown Ponchatoula -- below is a video of the owner, Nancy Perilloux, talking about the gallery.

Come for the grand opening reception of the Red Dot Gallery on Friday, February 3rd, from 5pm to 9pm.

Pugs commission

pugs commission

Blue Crab

Blue Crab, 11.75x14.75", $100

Update on 2011-11-19 19:25 by wessf

This one has sold.

yellow flowers

Yellow Flowers in Glass Vase, 14x11", $140, framed

at the big table #2

I was pleased with the first painting I did from this reference photo years ago and liking the image so much I decided to return to it. This time it's framed more horizontally which puts more emphasis on the center of interest which is nice, and after comparing the two, this one turned out much more realistic than I thought it would (and now I like this one better). I added the strawberries from my head last minute (thinking, I could simply paint over them again if they didn't work) and this addition has turned out to be one of the best parts of the painting for me. All in all, a success!

"At the Big Table #2", 14x24", $300

walking together

This one was painted from a photo of my wife and son when he was still a toddler (obviously, the kid in the painting came out older looking and my wife came out much more androgynous--no offense to either, I wasn't concerned with perfection here). What I was aiming for (and didn't quite hit) was the kind of abstraction which is in part representational--meaning the two figures aren't unique individuals but merely represent the ages they are and the relationship they are displaying--and in part a kind of street art where there is an underlying sophistication to the peice which belies the otherwise primitive or somehow unfinished techniques involved (in other words, to be a finished peice of artwork while looking messy).

I think the main thing holding this painting back is the framing of the two figures. If they were positioned more in the center of the canvas (a little to the right and a little higher in otherwords), that would help, I think. Along with some more tweaking (like maybe lightening the sky in the background to add more interest), this painting could get to where I'd like it to be. So, I might just spend a little more time on this one.

Walking Together, 14x14"

three amigos

This is a recent commission I completed. It's always important to start with a good reference photo, and this one was so well conceived (and with such well-behaved dogs).

bowl of fruit

Bowl of Fruit, 11x14", $140 (framed)

I started this one last Sunday when I was leading a small art class. I liked the simplicity of the original 'sketch' so much I kept it that way as I finished it yesterday, adding very little detail except for the hint of a table and the highlights and shadows. It looks great in this simple black five-inch frame I had at home. I wonder if the wife will notice that the painting I had in that frame is now gone (and that the frame itself is MIA, for that matter).

Update on 2011-10-30 14:23 by wessf

I used the frame I was going to use on another painting, so for now I'm selling this one unframed ($100).

Update on 2011-11-28 07:16 by wessf

This one is sold.