latest supper update

Here is the latest update as of three o'clock today.

eleventh hour

It seems that Friday is locked in for some TV network coverage about the piece. If you don't have deadlines you never get anything done! The network is interested in an "in progress" shoot--- so It is not a panic situation but alex does have a hell of a hard week ahead of him!

new figure

I have roughed out another "media figure" for my last supper. I may have to make adjustments on first figure (or even repaint figure entirely) at some point as I have figured out something I did not foresee! It is a huge challenge to take a well known figure and paint him in profile when you only have frontal information of the persons face. An artist friend laughed at my thought of even attempting this. I will prevail! This new figure is known for his "freedom concerts"...that was my hint....

fox supper

this photo is little fuzzy but I am too tired to change it...I am painting everything I can before I have to face adding more people. In painting I always eat my dessert before my vegetables which makes me a lazy artist. My teachers used to laugh at me because I would have the messiest pallet. many artists work very neat and anally but I am comfortable with chaos and eventually make order out of it. I could have saved myself lots of stress in my life if I was one of them people who fold their socks when they put them away.

artist of the day---george orwell

george orwell (eric blair) wrote one of my favorite novels (1984.) I really do not know much of his other novels except animal farm, which I liked. But 1984 is more important than ever (in my opinion) because we are heading towards a society where privacy is no longer something we can expect to enjoy. Big Brother is here and nobody seems to really care. I think we have been conditioned to some degree that it is okay to have the government involved in our personal lives. I really must say that the tv screens in 1984 really foreshadowed the internet. (You never knew when big brother was watching you) One day it will be far too late to turn back and it will seem like the "good ole days when you could walk down the streets without being followed by cameras on every block or scanned by some dreadful chip they would like to place in our bodies. I only wished it was just a conspiracy theory that one day we have no constitutional rights left to protect us. Our rights are being widdled away like a knife to soap. Just like your health you will only miss them when they are gone. be aware.

much thanks

Thanks to everyone who has bought art from me on this site. It has been a great journey and even a bit overwhelming at times. If anyone is owed art or I promised something too, email me and I will handle it ASAP. I hate loose ends and want to make sure I took care of everyone who bought my work! I am going to be very busy soon and would like square away everything. If anyone just wants to comment or speak....alexgardega@gmail.com

eggs

One day I decided to paint various portraits of media people on eggs. I was watching TV and eating eggs and then I picked up an egg and started painting on it without any mental deletion as to the process. A construct of surrealism is that it you do not edit your creative impulse with the rational mind and let your impulse low free. Often you bump into walls or end up with egg on your face. You can probably identify the pope in there (I gave the pope egg to a stranger.) There is a Laura Bush egg which broke. my friend chris appoldt took these photos, he is a great photographer who wants to strangle me more often than not. The egg has always interested me on many levels and has artistic symbolic value that goes all the way back to the renaissance.

latest update

I like to paint outside when possible as the walls close in quickly in my studio (especially when I am painting large scale works.)

right brain/ left brain

It seems that the art brain and the math brain are about as close as Israel and Palestine. Most artists are very right brain. Right brain is the more intuitive, holistic, imaginative side. the left brain is the math side, the CPA side, the inner accountant side. I can barely add seven and nine, especially If I have mittens on. (My math is always better in the warmer weather.) the right side of the brain does some math-- it contains the math side that concerns SHAPES and MOTIONS. I can figure out Da Vinci's geometry and write backwards faster than forwards but I cant make change of a twenty. Dali couldn't even take a cab himself but he foresaw that DNA (when discovered) would be in a spiral! The ancients broke down the brain (the spheres) into the form of the god's Apollo and Dionysus. The gods of reason and love (respectively.) I always loved the idea of finding a perfect balance of left and right except my left brain is probably the size of a de-flated balloon. I think my right brain wouldn't want anything to do with it's sketchy withered neighbor who lives in a shabby unpainted home and doesn't mow his lawn. Da Vinci was a rare artist who balanced the Appolonian and Dionysian natures and rose to the top of the humanity pyramid. Alex walks with his head leaning to one side due to the imbalance and hopes the shopkeepers don't cheat him when they make change.



I never did very well in math - I could never seem to persuade the teacher that I hadn't meant my answers literally.
Calvin Trillin

ny post

I get up early everyday and get my 7 am pepsi from 7-11 to start my day. I also buy the post every morning. If something throws off my ritual I go I am not happy. The New York Post to me is a kind of art. It is more than media, it is a kind of pop-culture art. I am not a pop culture fan but I love the post, I like the post even more when I am in it.


click below:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08262007/gossip/pagesix/art_lark.htm

update

I had a gallery meeting yesterday in NYC (I am excited to start showing in galleries again. ) I must soon begin work on a st. Sebastian painting for a group show. I will use my Da Vinci geometric discoveries to approach my St. Sebastian painting. Now today I will work on my last supper again and upload progress as I go.

drawing of a girl

I drew this when I was 19. I am not sure what or who I copied it from, maybe fragonard or an artist like that. It is for sale for 200.00. I have gotten rid of 98% of my early works and I would like to hold a few--- Now back to painting the last supper.

media

the shear increase in the quantity of information movement favoured the visual organization of knowledge and the rise of perspective even before typography.

---m. mcluhan

FOX SUPPER

I am working away on my last supper and making much progress. Painting large is very liberating and also a bit daunting. My painting has created some buzz and media discussion before it is done which motivates me to try to paint it as best I can so as to not let anyone down. That is not really abe lincoln mentioned earlier but a living figure.

detail

Here is a detail of my work in progress. Given the genius of my brush one can easily tell who this is----abe lincoln.

update

update 4

When our weary world was young
The struggle of the ancients first began
The gods of love and reason
Sought alone to rule the fate of man

They battled through the ages
But still neither force would yield
The people were divided
Every soul a battlefield

n. peart

upate last supper 3

last supper update

Why the last supper?

I am painting my own version of the last supper for a hundred reasons but I will now touch upon the primary ones---I am painting this painting because it has become apparent to me that painting holds less and less power in todays world as we become more and more media saturated. In fact, there seems to be an inverse square law regarding the importance of painting to the average person and the modern proliferation of media. By painting I am speaking of painting I consider important (classical and surrealism)--(I am not discussing abstract art here.) The painting that is out there seems all too often to be -- geometry free , empty and soulless. The average person often feels alienated from art/ painting and the modern art world. In my humble opinion there was a certain magic in what used to called be art. The old masters still have the same secret energy they emanated 500 years ago, while paintings from the sixties are falling apart at the seams because they were poorly constructed without understanding of science and materials. I decided to explore this idea in my own version of the last supper that will be painted classical (and using secret geometry) but featuring news anchors as the apostles because there is a better chance people can name the news anchors I use than three renaissance painters or even the apostles who attended the last supper. This concept is not blasphemy, ironic nor is it a simple media stunt. Are culture has slipped to historic lows and there must be explanations or answers or at least questions as too why. IS MEDIA THE NEW RELIGION? Can painting survive without photoshop, without the beeping and blaring and spinning of digital lies? I think it is time for a New Renaissance in art and painting and it requires spirit and an almost religious sensibility. The emperor never had any clothes...



We can walk our road together
If our goals are all the same
We can run alone and free
If we pursue a different aim

Let the truth of love be lighted
Let the love of truth shine clear
Sensibility
Armed with sense and liberty
With the heart and mind united
In a single perfect sphere

---n. peart

painting

when painting is going well it is the best thing in the world, better than any virtue or vice. When painting is going poorly it is the ninth level of hell. I would rather be locked into the last supper (as I am now) than on any vacation on an island with a frozen drink in my hand. If you copy another artists work it can only be your own in the end (no matter how hard one tries to mimic.) Copying another artist is almost akin to sitting in a room talking to the artist. Painting the last supper on a large scale is like sitting down for a crab sandwich with the great leonardo.

progress 2

update

Here is the latest painting I am working on. it is eight foot across and four foot high. It is the largest painting I have attempted and even though it is a lot of work it is fun to paint large.

DNA facts

They have discovered that humans are not 99.9% related by DNA but that we vary much more than they initially thought---We are only 99% connected and chimps are only 95% of our DNA makeup. I have a sneaking theory that artists are only truly about 60% of human DNA the rest is hot air and ego topped off with a bit of delusion.

update

I have made my tentative filming date for my news appearance--the network shall remain unnamed as well! I will not confirm until it is 100%. Although, in TV you can always bumped for various reasons or if a twister steals another mobile home. I have cleared up my schedule as best I can to focus on my last supper painting which is daunting in size and complexity but it is a nice challenge and if you do not challenge yourself as a human or an artist you will stagnate in the shadows!

mystery

I have drawn and painted women my whole life. I think I am fascinated because I am not good at understanding women, In relationships I often see things in hind site and figure them out later or after it is too late. I often figure out why I painted what I have painted "expo- facto" I often paint and draw things I very little understanding of until years later. I guess if it was easy for me to figure out the fairer sex they would not interest me as an artist and I would only paint landscapes. I have more luck figuring out Da Vincis geometry. I wonder if women have trouble figuring out us males, I think we are fairly simple things that grunt and scribble and eat food.

update

I am back hard at work on my last supper..I wished I had my geometry studies up for viewing still but they are being considered for other uses and patents etc. I will post new last supper drawings over the weekend.


alex

michelangelo and Da Vinci

As you may know Da Vinci and Michelangelo were rivals. Da Vinci was kind of jealous of Michelangelo and often berated sculpture as as an art form. He felt that painting was superior because you cant control how light falls on a sculpture as ones chooses a light source in painting. Da Vinci was a bastard child and did not have a noble name as did Michelangelo Buonorrati. Michelangelo was proud of having a name of noble lineage and tried often to keep his wayward brothers and cousins in line as not to damage the family name. Da Vinci felt a bit of a stigma because his name Da Vinci only met where his was from ( the town of Vinci) I believe a large part of his life was a compensating factor to make his name into something noble. The average life span was just over forty in the renaissance and both Michelangelo and Leonardo lived well past the expected life span for their time. I think Michelangelo actually made it into his late 80's or even 90.

my assistant

I would like to thank my assistant for all her help this summer! She is now back in college and I am lost and fumbling about blindly, again. Anyone who bought art this summer can thank her for being the brains behind the outfit and putting it all together so it was organized and made sense. My goal is to get rich and famous so I can hire her full time to run the organization upon graduation.

All the best, Jacqueline!

alex

Dali's Last Supper

I viewed this picture in person twice. Once in Washington DC (where it resides) and once in Philly when I went to write a magazine article about the Dali Retrospective in 2005. This painting is one of Dali's masterworks. There is a lot going on here I will get into later in detail. Dali, like Da Vinci, was very interested in geometry especially The Platonic Solids, one of which is featured as a window that looks out into the landscape of Dali's birth (Port Ligat in Spain.

back to Da Vinici!

I just completed a memorial painting for a close friend and can now focus solely on my last supper painting! In an ideal world an artist can laser focus on one project but there are always many distractions and we are stretched ever thinner like a drum head across our day to day to realities. Modern life spins like a top and our need for spiritual and religious fulfillment grows exponentially outward. In the ancient world the medicine man provided this outlet for the tribe. I read a book written by the Indian chief Black Elk and he espoused the theory that artists were the medicine men of modern life. That is a lot to take in but I do believe there is a very basic human need for a psychic life, a life outside the rat race and money chase and that is why people seek out the arts, music, etc. Painting this painting for a good friend was a very pleasant distraction!

geometry

please note that I removed my secret geometry posts for reasons I will explain later! Certain parties have expressed interest in my methods and there are some business interests being discussed as well I can't elaborate on. I can only say it is very positive! I really enjoy sharing my methods and will give more info. soon.

Da Vinci's Dream

I was lucky enough to go 1,000 feet up today in an ultra- light aircraft. This air-craft has no cockpit (you are exposed to the elements with goggles and helmets.) We flew over the south shore of eastern long island and flew low over camp sites on the beach and waved to the people below. It is truly a life-changing experience to fly that high exposed wide open to the sky. I could never describe it in words or art--I guess those hundreds of painting I made of the people taking flight in my "Strange World" series were a precursor to my bird- like flight. I thought of Da Vinci and how much it would have meant to him to have one minute to soar in the sky as I did today. It made up for an entire summer of nothing but work!

twilight zone

it can't be all about work...This is a great twilight zone about man's attempt to reclaim his childhood. (It was based on rod serling's real hometown of Binghamton ny.) IT IS THREE PARTS AND WORTH IT.

CLICK HERE

latest apostle study

Here is my latest rough sketch. I cannot emphasize enough that these are my very first "roughs" and not to be too harshly judged as I am not concerned about anything at this stage except poses and grouping of figures. I am essential thinking with my pencil and I am not really editing myself at all-- I usually do not like to show the "dirty laundry stage" but I am in a generous mood and you get to see the mind of alex at work.

St. John....

Here is a rough for the person cast in the role of st. john. The real person is less "chunky" than my sketch shows---must adjust the drawing.

new study

another rough sketch for the mural, nameless he shall remain for now. Please understand these are merely "thumbnail" doodles I am making to solidify shapes and layout--they are very crude and not the final portraits.

face study.

Here is my first "rough" sketch for my actual attendees of my last supper..I will leave it up to you to figure out who they are as I am very busy! I am usually against showing rough sketches as they are exposing my dirty laundry so to speak but as long as the final looks like a masterwork I care not that I am observed as I get there. For some reason my new monitor distorts the face ever so slightly and that bothers me--I hope that is not the case with your monitor.

under painting

Here is the under painting of my Last Supper. I have drawn out my geometric lines on the piece as well (but they are probably not very visible.) I have used Ruben's method of painting which is a burnt sienna color that is applied from top right down to the left at a 45 degree angle. I have much drawing and studies to do now! I am paying special attention to the golden mean and gold ration as it applies to Da Vinci's construction of his Last Supper. My last supper will be influenced by Da Vinci's and will fortunately wind up being only a Gardega. I am too far along in my career to make a simple copy without putting a bit of myself into it. The best part about painting this piece is the discoveries one makes along the way.

last supper panel

Here is my 4' x 8' panel that I will paint my Last Supper on. Please note that I have done extensive research on the last supper and believe my geometry studies to be both original and accurate. I have seen many half-baked breakdowns of painting and none seem to provide the geometry needed to actually construct the painting itself. Conspiracy theories don't supply the blue prints to actually build the painting itself.

a short break!

Put down your pencil and grab a fork. Take a bite of these words from the genius that was Plato and later these words were copied by Da Vinci into his notes---

Plato's inscription over his academy door---Let no one enter who is lacking in geometry!

now we must get back to work!

The journey of a thousand miles

I have bitten off a lot for my next project. I am painting a 4' by 8' replica of Da Vinci's last supper but I will be replacing the disciples with news anchors. Please note this is not meant to be ironic nor is it in any way meant to be anti-christian! I am very interested in religious art and the renaissance in general. To me there has never been art that even comes close to what was painted 500 years ago by my long-dead heroes. Modern/ contemporary feels empty and meaningless compared to the works left behind by Raphael and Da Vinci. I cannot help but think that the over-saturation of media (photography included) has rendered painting impotent and taken away from the magic it once held for people. Dali did his best at the end of his life to bring awareness to religious art and gardega has decided to help the cause as best he can as well. I will update my journey of a thousand miles with the first step taken today as I have drawn my first rough doodle/ sketch to get a feel for the genius that flowed from Leonardo's hand. Already, I have made small discovery's about his grouping of figures and use of perspective and geometry to achieve his masterpiece.

sideview sunset

On my drive home from brooklyn I took a photo of the sun setting in my side view mirror. It reminded my of a song by roger waters that is pretty depressing but pretty damn good at same time. So decided to include the lyrics here...

In my rear view mirror the sun is going down
sinking behind bridges in the road
and I think of all the good things
that we have left undone
and I suffer premonitions
confirm suspicions
of the holocaust to come

the wire that holds the cork
that keeps the anger in
gives way
and suddenly it's day again
the sun is in the east
even though the day is done
two suns in the sunset
hmmmmmmmmm
could be the human race is run

like the moment when the brakes lock
and you slide towards the big truck
you stretch the frozen moments with your fear
and you'll never hear their voices
and you'll never see their faces
you have no recourse to the law anymore

and as the windshield melts
my tears evaporate
leaving only charcoal to defend
finally I understand
the feelings of the few
ashes and diamonds
foe and friend
we were all equal in the end

a flower grows in brooklyn

not sure what this flower is--anyone know? I dont think I have seen it before.

brooklyn photos

This is an outdoor bar in brooklyn. The girl did not know I took her photo (even though it looks posed.)

brooklyn photos

I used to teach glass art at the urban glass league in brooklyn. I stopped by and took this photo recently...

update

I received an email today from a major news television organization in regard to my latest painting that was written about in the new york post. I don't want to name any names until all I's are dotted and T's crossed but hey are interested in my painting based on Da Vinci's last supper. It is a necessary evil for artists to get press as opposed to withering in the shadows so I welcome any chance to expose my work to public. I am going to release my studies/ sketches as they are completed so people will get a view of my working methods from start to completion. I will let be sure to post updates as far as times and channel of my appearance.
thanks,

alex

woman leaning forward--after mucha

My mom gave me this drawing yesterday. I made this when I was nineteen during my obsessive Mucha-phase. This is one of my best samples from that period. It is also undamaged as it was framed all these years. If you want this drawing it is $200.00 dollars. email me at alexgardega@gmail.com. I think her back went out so if you buy the drawing I can buy her the medication she needs to fix it. I dont want to part with this drawing if the truth be told.

Queens final

here is my final unisphere painting for queens yellow page cover (unless they make changes again)if you live in queens this will be on your doorstep in near future. If you cant afford my art it gets delivered for free! I must say that makes me a pretty nice person-- giving away all these free paintings. I should be given awards and learn to walk on water like Bono.

ART VS. MONEY

I sometimes look back at all the art I have sold and I think about how I miss some pieces of art and wish I still had them. Then I realize that the money came and went very quickly and now I have neither the art nor the money I was paid for it---so I sell more art and so on. I then started to think tonight about why bankers and men with millions of dollars and universal business renown buy art and are proud of it and show it off to their friends etc. Art has some value I cannot describe. If art didn't have a value to the human psyche and condition it would have gone the way of the Dodo long ago. It is funny when you think that what makes a tea cup useful is not the fine china itself but the empty space it creates. Art is the same empty space in the well-chipped teacup of humanity. It (ART)makes no sense and it seems at times useless but in truth we would perish without it like a snail in salt . Beethoven was every bit as important to the human condition as the chairman of the federal reserve and in 100 years one name will still mean something to humans. (This is called me rationalizing why I don't have a real job.)

Last Supper

my first sketches from my last supper painting will post very soon! stay tuned...

artist of the day!!!!!

N.C. Wyeth is/ was one of the greatest artist's who ever lived. He was a student of the great american illustrator, Howard Pyle. Howard Pyle ran a small studio/school out in Brandywine Pennsylvania and N.C. was his star pupil. Back then illustration was a great field and many illustrators were very wealthy and respected. It was often the case where you would get an assignment to travel across country (all expenses paid) to do one painting---times have changed as I usually pay for my own expenses simply to go paint the Unisphere in Queens. NC was a hero and he reminds me much of Teddy Roosevelt because they both shared a huge passion for life and nature and were both larger than life. I think what makes him great was he was one of the first truly american illustrators---in the end of his life he wished he had become a fine artist and felt bound and tethered by illustration. He died a tragic death on the train tracks in penn. in an auto "accident." his legacy and son (andrew wyeth) live after him and genius never dies---god bless.


for Carol M.

Today's NY POST---page six

here is the link:
My secret project has been leaked to the press. (I blame my ex-girlfriend.) I am, as you may know, a Da Vinci nut and I also have an equal fascination with media and television news. I have my TV on fox news all day long as I paint and scan the net regularly for news updates around the world. I guess I am a media junkie to some degree ( although, I generally detest pop culture and avoid sitcoms etc .) I decided to take my bent for religious art and combine it with my media fascination and paint "The Last Supper" as if it was attended by the cast of fox news. I am not mocking anyone nor is my painting ironic or anti-anything. It is simply an intellectual exploration of the idea that paintings used to mean something to people before media saturated our fragile egg-shell minds. I have no use for irony as I think it is the most overplayed hand in this poker game called art. I will show the progress of the painting as it progresses on this blog and sell the sketches and studies as well as the original when it is done.

Ayn Rand

I believe ayn rand is a genius. this video (regardless of if you agree with her point of view) has convinced me she has the unmistakable Dalian "tic" of genius. I read all her books in high school and dont remember details--and I dont agree 100% with her philosophy but I think she is demonstrates a brilliant mind.


watch here

New Drawing---sacred feminine

I drew this tonight as a drawing I intend to glass carve in glass this month. It is a 24" x 30" pencil drawing. I like this piece and will definitely make a glass carving of it. I drew four such designs tonight to take a break from my deadlines. I am selling these original glass designs for $100.00 dollars each. I am not putting these on ebay as I am sick of loading stuff up onto ebay. If anyone wants these just email me and I will take first email. I don't care how you want to pay, I'll take pelts and wampum as long as I don't have to fill out ebay forms...This piece rocks (even though I drew it) and the glass carving will enlighten somebody's life somewhere on this blue marble of ours! I am a little hesitant of posting works before they have been carved into glass but it aint gonna kill me...genius never dies but cowards die a thousand deaths.

alexgardega@gmail.com

martin luther king sculptor

There is a big controversy brewing because they have chosen a Chinese sculptor to carve the MLK memorial. He is very famous in china and known for his carving of chairman Mao. Personally, I think it would be best suited for a young black artist to have a go at the sculpture. I am sure there are many african american scuptors who would view this as the chance of a lifetime and would probably have a greater connection to MLK than a sculptor from communist china. Its just my two cents..plus it could have a stamp that says made in america on the bottom of it.

smart kid

I cant believe that a seventeen year old kid figured out how to unlock the iphone so it can be used with other carriers. He is from new jersey and the phone is now up for bid for 41,000 dollars on ebay. (I'll bet that apple or ATT is one of the bidders as they are interested in following his steps to prevent such action.) Here is his blog!


http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com/

new piece

I had a last minute request from citizens against government waste to do a cover..I do these covers for free as I respect the cause and think the government is a big bloated evil corporation bent on stealing as much money and rights as possible...(this is as political as I get on this site.) This picture was done to illustrate the government stealing intellectual properties as well as stealing homes through eminent domain. I had very little time on this piece and must finish 5 deadlines but the cause is good..back to my other deadlines.

chaos

this is the present chaos of my studio. I am on five projects at once and need to resolve some of them soon.

alex

back home

after my friend passed away I picked this up from his studio. He loved this piece and I would have left it to his family but I did not know them and never met them in 20 years. Now she is back home with me. Sorry for the horrible snapshot...I am a bad photographer...

happpy wednesday

I am finishing up a bunch of projects--a book cover, a mural, a children's book and some glass art. When done I can get back to the blog a bit more...I will put up some stuff today during my breaks.


alex

in memoriam

I just found out a close friend and business associate of 20 years died of a massive heart attack. He owned a long island glass company that used to give me a lot of work when I was just out of high school. After twenty years of knowing someone in business you either hate them or become close friends..Dave was definitely a close friend and we recently worked together on a big glass project that we celebrated with a big sushi dinner. He will be greatly missed and I will always remember the support and encouragement he gave me in my art.


R.I.P .

DALI!

DADDY LONG LEGS OF THE EVENING --HOPE.


This is a Dalinian masterpiece! I am glad that finding a spider led me back to dali and one of my favorite works! feel free to stare at, just dont touch it as the museum guards get upset. I think this painting had much to do with the ending of the spanish civil war with franco or some such historical event. I am weak on history but that is life. Gardega would like to ask dali why he gave his spider seven legs? God would never give a spider seven legs! 8 or six is fine--not seven! was it on purpose? Was there a meaning there, perhaps it was injured by the war and time was needed to heal.

Daddy long legs

I found a spider tonight. He was so big I decided to measure him he is 5.5 inches according to my ruler! If you find a daddy long legs in the evening it is good luck and leads me to one of my favorite dali paintings...

Update

I have been crazy busy. I have just finished a commissioned pandora's box painting. I have started painting a 3 foot mural commission for a client and I am finishing up a queens book cover. Next week will be a bit less crazy and I will load up new work for sale. This is on top of carving glass for an art show and I have written a children's book that requires an attorney for trademark and copyright purposes. My children's book is very unique and I think it would be something that would not insult adults intelligence as well. I could never write a book that panders to kids, they are smarter than that.



viva dali

600 th post

This is my 600 th post of genius- dripping -gibberish.
I found an amazing you tube video of dali on an old game show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXT2E9Ccc8A

If anyone know s how to help me film or set up a video camera to do time lapse please let me know. I will come to you and buy drinks if someone can show me some techy tips.


alex

pandoras box--shadow figure

I am working in between breaks on my queens cover to finish a painting commission. I usually have four or five things going at same time which makes me crazy but chaos fuels my art...

I need to add darks and flesh it out more...I hate showing "in progress work" it is very much exposing ones dirty laundry--- I like to show "finished" happy pieces.

madonna study

I am working on this drawing as a study for a glass carving...it is for sale on ebay today..it is going to be a very fair price as I will probably make ten versions to get it right.



http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29296-2357-0?uid=87404769&site=0&ver=LCA080805&item=290151127230&lk=URL

my fridge

this is on my fridge and shall remain there until I move. I have read almost every book he wrote minus one or two. I will get to those soon....

queens

I have been using photoshop to work on this illustration...I usually only use paint so I am breaking new ground for myself by mixing photoshop and oil paints....this is just a test run and there are good and bad things going on here. (not unlike the world itself) I will find my way to make the whole world happy and printable for a nice queens yellow page cover...

queens

still working away on queens cover post some of it up today.

queens book cover

I am painting a new book cover for ambassador yellow pages...this cover is for the Queens book. I paint on a yellow acrylic base (it is, after all, the yellow pages) It is a challenge to paint on yellow as you must use colors that work with yellow and your work takes on a graphic feel...I am going to paint the Unisphere as it is the unofficial landmark of queens...I have painted it four times thus far and this one I will paint until I have painted five unispheres. How can one have five unispheres when uni means one? My style for the yellow pages completely evolved out of the fact that I am painting on yellow...the first cover I did for them gave me heart attacks as I was at a loss as how to attack the piece. Now I dont worry so much, I just try to keep it fresh. I dont like showing the process as you can see what a non-methodical train wreck I am when I paint but I always find order out of chaos.

drawing of a bronze

I drew this drawing many moons ago and found it today in my old chest. I made a painting of this that hangs in my sisters house. It has a little wear but it brings back memories (of things I cant remember.) The painting I made was an attempt to paint a photo-realistic rendering of bronze, It worked well but I do not have a photo of it to upload...


6" x 14" pencil on paper

http://cm.ebay.com/cm/ck/1065-29296-2357-0?uid=87404769&site=0&ver=LCA080805&item=290151063828&lk=URL

wedding

upon returning to northport I took this photo of a bride and groom. God bless the married folk.

"getting married is fun, being married is hell" kid rock

I have no opinion as I am not married but the quote is funny.

the ruins

These are the ruins off of Eaton's Neck. When I was a kid there was a big wall with a grateful dead painting on it that was a big landmark in my mind. I want to paint these ruins at sunset.

cement square

Modern Art or ruin? This is the cement remains of a structure on the beach...I call this "square one" ( as in back to square one.) This is the actual square one.

kayak trip

I went on a six mile trip yesterday in my kayak. I came upon this yacht--- That is a helicopter on the back.