My Open Studio

I did my first open studio during this year's Mott Haven Open Studio Tour. It was great to be able to show all the work I've been doing over the past year and hear people's comments. I got some great feedback, plus I got to hang out with a lot friends, drinking wine and enjoying the weekend.

Costa's Open Studio, Part 2 (yes, that's PAINT)

Even more impressive than his studio is the work itself. Layer upon layer of meticulously mixed paint create the illusion of space, not only through color and value, but also through the very texture of the paint film. Costa's painting is the type that can never be fully experienced except in person because its illusion is sculptural as well 2D. I took some detail shots because that's about as close as you can get to the real thing.

Costa's Open Studio, Part 1

Costa Vavagiakis is an amazing artist and teacher who I was lucky enough to be able to study with for nearly five years. An observational purist of sorts, he works only from life and memory to achieve an intense level of realism. It's hard to imagine what kind of dedication is needed to create his paintings (which sometimes take years to complete) but looking around his home/studio gives you a pretty good idea. This man lives and breathes his work. More than just passionate about his art, Costa lives completely immersed in it.

Unsigned Commissions

Every so often I'm approached with a commission that I'd rather not do, but am not in a position to turn down. Somebody's great grandmother or a wedding album photo, maybe even a photo of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel sitting next to a boy in pumpkin costume. Taken with a flash. You do what you can with these, and try not to resent it too much--they do pay the bills. But NEVER, ever sign them. In fact, I'm not even going to show a picture of this one because I definitely don't want THAT showing up in my works catalogue.

Stoop Day

Took a day out of the studio today to go draw with my friend and fellow artist Josh Cave. It was a gorgeous spring day--perfect for sitting around on stoops, watching the day go by.

Kimmy

Kimmy, charcoal on paper, 2010

I had been so focused on the complications of big paintings that I had totally forgotten about sketching from life as an end in itself. More importantly, I remembered how quickly that skill goes away and how crucial it is to creating lively work. We did short poses for nearly an hour (all bad) and when I finally settled into the longer pose (1 hour), I was ready for it.

Between the Bars

I just recently found out about this amazing project called LaBlogotheque that's been going on for a few years. This gorgeous video of Chris Garneau playing Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars" looks and feels like a painting somehow (reminds me of Courbet). It got me thinking, again, about the possibilities of using video as a painting reference. What would happen if you tried to paint from a video? If you tried to paint from an infinite 2D loop? And how would this differ from painting from a photograph and painting from life?