Kids, Oil on Canvas, 2009

Here’s my latest portrait. I like the composition and the fact that the background is so much cooler and really fades in comparision to the rich colors on the clothing. The faces once again were a bit of a challenge. I’m still not quite there in terms of setting the facial planes. I also had a hard time with the eyes. To me they still feel a bit dark compared to the rest of the face. I think a few studies are in order. Next up is a study of a Frans Hals. I love his style of painting.

Also, if you’re in New York this month, check out the Kandinsky show at the Guggenheim museum. It’s their once-in-twenty-years total dedication to Kandinsky with works on loan from all over the world. Love it!

Kandinsky at the Guggenheim

Red Apple with Wine Bottle, Oil on Canvas, 2009

Here’s the latest painting and yes, it’s another apple. I used a palette knife on this one, my second palette painting to date, and I really like the outcome. It’s a bit hard to determine a stopping point with the palette. I could move paint around on this painting until the end of time. But I like how this one ended up. And I’m hooked on oil painting using the palette.

Up next: A portrait of two young children. Stay tuned.

Guess the Original Artist

This piece is a study of a master work. The goal of this painting was to study technique and use more of the palette knife. I got a little bit crazy around the nose but feel that the background turned out fairly well. This was my first attempt at highlighting with the palette knife. I started out painting with a brush and came through at the end with bold colors and thick paint.

Could you guess the artist behind the original? Alright, I’ll tell you. This work is entitled ‘Head of a Peasant’ and was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1884, just 6 years before his death. The paintiing was purchased in 1990 by the Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation and is permanently on display at the museum in Sidney.

One member of our party thought it would be nice to actually take the Korbel Champagne Cellars tour. I’m willing to go along with most anything. How bad can a wine tour be? I have a remarkable ability to tune everything out and go far into my own little daydreamy world. So, after two minutes of the 45-minute cellar extravaganza, I was in la la land.

Hearing from others in my party, the tour guide spent ten minutes discussing random events in the lives of the Korbel family and how much the ranch hands made per week. A man that had started the tour translating the tour guide’s remarks into Japanese for his wife, stopped after only a few sentences. Numerous people sat on the benches of this church-like wine museum, lost in stare and thought.

I awoke to a tap on my shoulder from a friend and the words “we want to get out of here.” Finally, something worth hearing. As the tour guide opened large double doors to usher the group into a 20-minute video, we decided to escape. I have no problem leaving in the middle of a tour. Some may feel it’s rude, but let’s face it, as adults that haven’t been convicted of a crime, we’re pretty much free to do as we please. As we walked up the steps to get out of there, a toddler tried desperately to escape with us, crawling up three whole steps before her father nabbed her, poor thing.

Stepping outside into the sun, I could feel the freedom flow through my whole being. On to more tasting!

One year for Mother’s Day I hired a photographer and make-up artist to recreate some of George Hurrell’s signature Hollywood portraits using me as the subject. It turned out really funny and my mother really got a kick out of them. They made a great Mother’s Day gift. To this day, people look at the photos in an old frame in my mother’s house and say “Gee, you look so much like your father.”

This year for Mother’s Day I wanted to recreate what we did a few years back. In short, it amounts to a weekend home and casual brunch at the house. I flew in from Los Angeles and my older brother flew from Florida. But for a little extra, I did oil paintings of both my mother and my aunt and Fedexed them to New Orleans as a surprise. They turned out fairly well (they were only my second and third attempts at doing portraits) and I think they will only get better as I expand and experiment with different styles and techniques. The one shown here is of my aunt.

Courtyard at the Rosales de Taos Condominiums

I was recently stayed at the Rosales de Taos condominiums across the street from the El Monte Sagrado resort and my cousin snapped this photo of the moon from the patio. If I were a werewolf, Taos is where I’d want to be. I couldn’t stop staring and I think after a few drinks I let out a howl. We sat on the stone patio of this amazing adobe home, drank wine and were a million miles away from everything.