Full Steam Ahead

As I silently slipped into my 43rd year this week,  I rewound in my mind all that is happened in the past year.  Yes, I did this briefly on January 1st as well, but this is always a little different.

If I were to summarize all of my years, I can firmly say that the past year was by far one of the best for me, and already, the present one is looking pretty good too!  I am grateful for many, many things, but mostly, I am grateful that I was "forced" into making a drastic career change back in 2008.  Now that I am painting full time, I am truly happy and fulfilled.

Don't get me wrong - it's still a lot of hard work.  By nature, I would love to stay in the studio all day and paint, but I am well aware that the business side of the business needs to be attended to on a daily basis.  I can't animate the canvases and send them out to sell themselves, it takes a lot of pounding the pavement beyond the actual creation.

Aside from dealing with more snow this week, I spent my time in the studio working on the above 16" x 16" and the two 5" x 5" minis that you see above.

One of my goals for 2011 is to get my canvases to as many different countries and states as possible.  So far, I've sent work to Budapest, Hungary and the two minis above will be going to Copenhagen, Denmark.  Not a bad start!

For those of you that haven't seen it, my new shop on Zatista has been up since the start of the year.  Zatista specializes in the sale and promotion of fine art, and is now the exclusive distributor of my work.  Please stop over and take a look.

In other news, my Facebook "fan" page is up and going now.  FB is very touchy when it comes to promoting business on regular profile pages, so I wanted to make the transition before they forced me to.  A lot of artists maintain both, and I will be doing the same thing.

I find it hard to believe that January is almost done and gone!  A lot of good things have happened in a short period of time, and I hope to have some good news to report next Thursday.

Until then, I want to thank and welcome all of my new followers and wish everyone a great weekend.  Take care, all!

Moving Ahead and Rebirth

I post the above photo especially for my good friends Manon Doyle and Douglas Hoover.

There is nothing better than a fresh shipment of supplies.  I like the purity of new canvases, and having them on the walls helps me visualize and formulate goals.

The week was spent finishing up the second canvas of the Illumination series as well on working on some smaller 5",  a 16" and a lone 10" that had been staring at me for some time.

The only deadline that I have now, is a market at the Burren on February 12th.  For that, I will be producing a number of my smaller pieces.

The artist's market at the Burren was one of the very first markets that I did, and I am happy to return this year.  The reception has always been good, and it's one of the only markets where the long hours of vending can be complimented by good food and drink.  It's a perfect way to start the market season!

So, even though we are buried in snow here in New England, the creative energy is in full force.  Lot's of opportunities are starting to pop up, and I will talk more about them as they materialize.

The wall slowly starts to fill up after most of my stock left me in November, and it gives me great pleasure to see it come to life again.  January is a perfect month for this rebirth.

Until next Thursday, I just want to thank you all for your continued support.  Your visits here mean a lot to me!

Week 2 - Blizzard 2

Winter storms in New England are nothing new, but the storm that we just had today is one of the biggest snowfalls that I have ever seen in my lifetime.  The lovely Miss G posted some beautiful photos in her post today, so please take a look after you finish here.

What did I do?  Well, I hate to be cooped up, so I put my mukluks on and made the trek to the studio.  I wasn't going to let a day's work get away from me!  The above photo is of the main road and the line of cars entrenched in the snow.

Most of the week was spent working on the second canvas in the Illumination series.  It's not quite done yet, but I hope to have it finished by the end of the weekend.

The third photo down gives a pretty accurate depiction on how I work - seated and grasping the canvas with just minimal support.  I like to get close to the work, and I like to manipulate the canvas - titling and turning it so I can get nice clean lines.  I want to make the finished work as personal as possible.

I also managed to knock out another 16" x 16" canvas, which I called Bluebells (as in Hyacinthoides).  I guess my mind has been on spring lately.


I'm still scrambling to build my inventory back up after unloading most of my canvases in November.  If I can manage to keep the current pace up of at least 2 completed canvases a week,  I will be in very good shape for Somerville Open Studios in May.

The exhibition at the Mingo Gallery, in Beverly, Ma  is still going on and ends on February 5.  If you live in the area, please stop by and look at the fabulous selection of Scott Mulcahey's chairs.  Scott and I will be collaborating again this year, and I am really looking forward to it.


Scott just started a blog a few weeks ago, and I encourage you all to stop by, pay him a visit, follow him, and leave your comments.  He is an absolutely top-notch craftsman/artisan, and I am always in awe of his new creations!


And just as I was writing this post, I learned that ArtThrob has published their article about the event.  I was very pleased to get two paragraphs.  Thank you Mik!


That's it for the week. Until next Thursday, I wish all of you well.  Thanks goes out to all of my new followers.  I appreciate your presence here.  Thank you!  See you next Thursday!

Week 1, 2011 - Off To A Great Start!

If I could request something from the universe, I would ask it to make the rest of the  year exactly like the very first week of the year.  So many good things have happened in a very short period of time, and we are barely out of the gate.

Most of the week was spent finishing up the green 24" x 24" canvas, which I called Illumination No. 1.  I'm very happy with this design and will be doing a series of it.

I also got most of the red 24" x 24" canvas done.  It's a variation of the original Liatris Mandala design, and again, I am very pleased with it.

I often question myself as to when a series becomes overused and tired.  In the past, I have never done more than 5 of one design with a different color palette.  When the Singular Ocular series was done, I "knew" that it was done.  I could just sense it.  I think the two designs above have a lot of life left in them, and I will let them go for as long as they let me.

I have a couple of 16" x 16"s  to work with, and I started into a new one this week as well.  This particular canvas has been giving me some problems, and I had to go back and redo a couple things more than once.  This is not usually the norm, but to me, it's a sign that something is trying to come to the surface, so not so much a struggle, just growth.

Last night was my second session at The Boston Figurative Art Center.  As I have said before, I am very new to figurative studies, and when I stand in front of my pad surrounded by established figurative painters, I am very humbled.  I have a very long way to go, but I am very pleased with the results after only two tries.  It will take lots of time and patience, but I am in it for the long haul.

Please drop on over to the Center's Facebook page for photos!

2011 is off to a very strong start!  I appreciate all of your support and encouragements!  Thank you!

Wishing everyone a great week.  See you next Thursday!