watercolor of the day--Athena

Here is a bad photo ( colors dont show) of a watercolor I finished today. It is a painting of Athena. It is 22 x 30 on Fabriano paper. Athena is the goddess of wisdom.
ne will work. It is pencil and watercolor on 22 x 30 Arches paper.

soon

words of the day

It's not how fast you can go
The force goes into the flow
If you pick up the beat
You can forget about the heat
More than just survival
More than just a flash
More than just a dotted line
More than just a dash

It's a test of ultimate will
The heartbreak climb uphill
Got to pick up the pace
If you want to stay in the race
More than blind ambition
More than simple greed
More than a finish line
Must feed this burning need
In the long run...


From first to last
The peak is never passed
Something always fires the light that gets in your eyes
One moment's high, and glory rolls on by
Like a streak of lightning
That flashes and fades in the summer sky

Your meters may overload
You can rest at the side of the road
You can miss a stride
But nobody gets a free ride

More than high performance
More than just a spark
More than just the bottom line
Or a lucky shot in the dark
In the long run...


You can do a lot in a lifetime
If you don't burn out too fast
You can make the most of the distance
First you need endurance
First you've got to last...

vermeer geometry

I am convinced that the use of sacred geometry in art has been lost to time and that the great painters never "hap haphazardly" placed their figures and objects in space. I have been refining my own method of study. If nature makes use of sacred geometry why not artists?

painting of the day---vermeer

This is vermeer's lady with a water pitcher. This is on permanent display at the Met. I look at it every sunday. It is one of the finest pieces in the entire Museum. I once painted a copy of this but it is lost somewhere. I think what makes this a great painting is its simplicity of form and color and mood..I think harmony is a good word for this work.

artist of the day--eratosthenes

Eratosthenes knew that on the summer solstice at local noon in the Ancient Egyptian city of Swenet (known in Greek as Syene) on the Tropic of Cancer, the sun would appear at the zenith, directly overhead. He also knew, from measurement, that in his hometown of Alexandria, the angle of elevation of the Sun would be 1/50 of a full circle (7°12') south of the zenith at the same time. Assuming that Alexandria was due north of Syene he concluded that the distance from Alexandria to Syene must be 1/50 of the total circumference of the Earth. His estimated distance between the cities was 5000 stadia (about 500 geographical miles or 950 km). He rounded the result to a final value of 700 stadia per degree, which implies a circumference of 252,000 stadia. The exact size of the stadion he used is frequently argued. The common Attic stadion was about 185 m, which would imply a circumference of 46,620 km, i.e. 16.3% too large. However, if we assume that Eratosthenes used the "Egyptian stadion"^[1] of about 157.5 m, his measurement turns out to be 39,690 km, an error of less than 1%.^[2]

Although Eratosthenes' method was well founded, the accuracy of his calculation was inherently limited. The accuracy of Eratosthenes' measurement would have been reduced by the fact that Syene is slightly north of the Tropic of Cancer, is not directly south of Alexandria, and the Sun appears as a disk located at a finite distance from the Earth instead of as a point source of light at an infinite distance. There are other sources of experimental error: the greatest limitation to Eratosthenes' method was that, in antiquity, overland distance measurements were not reliable, especially for travel along the non-linear Nile which was traveled primarily by boat. So the accuracy of Eratosthenes' size of the earth is surprising.

Eratosthenes' experiment was highly regarded at the time, and his estimate of the Earth’s size was accepted for hundreds of years afterwards. His method was used by Posidonius about 150 years later.

failed watercolor---by gardega

I tried to do a copy of my favorite Raphael painting yesterday..I screwed it up..by painting failures you get better...

lyrics of the day--waylon jennings

I've always been crazy and the trouble that it's put me through
I've been busted for things that I did, and I didn't do
I can't say I’m proud of all of the things that I’ve done
But I can say I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone

I've always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain't been so easy but I guess I shouldn't complain
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane

Beautiful lady are you sure that you understand
The chances your taking loving a free living man
Are you really sure you really want what you see
Be careful of something that's just what you want it to be

I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane
Nobody knows if it's something to bless or to blame
So far I ain't found a rhyme or a reason to change
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane


---this would have to be my theme song...

last summer

I had no time this summer to enjoy beach or kayak--it has been a work survival/ fest..painting fast enough to keep the wolves at bay. I found this picture on my computer today from last summer when I had time to go to the beach. This is one of my finer watercolors (I think)...I sold it last year. I was very much into the space of this watercolor, usually I have to fight to keep my ADD at bay. Here I zoned into the picture, I guess it is a kind of zen.

watercolor of the day---impossible river

I am working on a large watercolor--22 x 30 inches. I am calling it "The Impossible River" a river that feeds itself and flows in circles. I like to be paint worlds I would like to see, worlds that I can only visit in my head..I guess that are fantasy scapes but the name fantasy has some bad connotations so I will stick to my strange world label...UNFINISHED

welcome france

Hello, France and welcome...

Pop surrealism--by gardega

Sometimes I swim in the modern waters of Pop Surrealism. It has its moments but it has a little bit too much sugar if not done carefully and you risk becoming an intellectual diabetic.

media update

As you may know I am a big fan of george orwell and consider him an important artist and writer. the more I analyze the media the more fearful I become. I will give you an example. What happened recently in Russia is totally misrepresented in the media. Georgia attacked Russia by attacking Ossetia first and killing over 3,00 people and destroying an entire city. The media has ignored that fact and only mentions Russia attacking Georgia. I have no horse in this race but the disinfo is astounding. If you do your own research you can find out a lot in this world. The mass media is not to be trusted but rather ignored. I am surprised most Americans don't think Russia attacked Georgia to steal our peacches.

Strange World---signed print

Here is a print of my very popular Strange World series. It is printed on handmade watercolor paper from Spain. Each one is signed and numbered by artist. paper size is 8.5" x 12". The printed area is smaller. On ebay soon...

vonnegut print for sale

click here to purchase:

Vonnegut Print--by gardega

Here is a photo of my new Kurt Vonnegut print. These are printed on high Quality hand made Spanish watercolor paper. This is limited to an edition of 200 hundred pieces, each one signed by Gardega! I am going to put on ebay today for bidding. I am not sure what I want to sell these for yet. These prints are a great way for me to keep my studio running at maximum efficiency so I can focus on painting larger pieces for an upcoming show.

Today I bought some great handmade watercolor paper from Spain. The nice thing about this paper is I can use it in my printer as well and make prints on it...I am excited to try that today...My first print will be my Vonnegut painting..

slideshow

I have added a small slideshow link to the right...it is just an embryo of a slideshow but soon it will be an entire chicken of a slideshow.

technology vs. heart

I have noticed in my years as an artist that the more technical an artist was, the more anal and obsessed with the craft and technique--- that very often there was something crucial missing in their work--heart and spirit. I would rather look at a painting or piece of art with a few technical faults and shortcomings than a perfectly painted lifeless work. I love paintings by blake and goya where in spite of a lot of technical flaws they are still works of genius and timeless masterpieces. I would rather study a Gericault painting than a David painting any day. You cant teach spirit, you can teach technique. That is why with the computer and digital camera these days everyone thinks themselves an artist. There are a lot of people out there who are very methodical and patient and learn their "programs" and systems and technique but there is quite often something missing. (in my humble opinion)

the seasons

I generally am not inspired to paint in the summer. My creativity for some reasons is at its zenith in fall and winter..Lately the air has cooled a bit as we lose our grip on summer and slide toward the inevitable fall and winter. Winter I hate but I paint a lot and get work done at my easel (indoors). Today I am inspired to paint some new strange world paintings, for those who are new to my site I will explain later...I am going to trek to art store and buy a bunch of good watercolor paper and make some art today...deadlines be damned--- I am in the mood to paint what I want to paint today--will upload as I go...It is good to be greedy and selfish when you are inspired to make art...

george orwell---daily journal august 12th 1938

August 12

12 August, 1938 by orwelldiaries

Very hot in the morning. In the afternoon sudden thunder-storm & very heavy rain. About 50 yards from the gate the road & pavement flooded a foot deep after only 1 1/2 hours rain.

Blackberries beginning to redden.

( I missed a few days on his journal so I am catching up)

color of the day--burnt sienna

Burnt sienna is an iron oxide pigment: a warm mid brown color. Chemically, burnt sienna is formed by burning raw sienna (Terra di Sienna).


I use this color all the time. Many of my artist friends hate it but then again they also think Sargent is a great artist. Burnt sienna is a color that is always welcome on my palette while Sargent is not allowed onto my bookshelf. I use Burnt Umber when I do my underpaintings. Generally pigments that are made from iron oxides etc are cheaper and not as expensive as other colors. If you are a computer hack you don not need to bother buying paint at all.

limerick of the day--by gardega

There once was a man named Vermeer
whose talent was painfully clear
his circles of light were brilliant and bright
the Camera Obscura was near!



art lesson of the day---google camera obscura...

The Dali

Like any artist I spent some time in front of and behind the bars of NYC..I have invented the best drink ever and have named it--- The Dali.

1 ounce malibu rum

1 ounce white tequlia

creme de cacao (white)

heavy cream

Kahlua splash (optional)

add ice and shake

Hemingway would have been proud of this.

alex art book

I found a place online that lets you publish your own art books...I am going to make a book of my art--it is about time..if anyone wants to buy one please contact me...you can see prices etc. at www.blurb .com, if you bought art from me maybe I can include your work(s) in the book. Let me know if you would like your pieces to be in my first book.


alexgardega@gmail.com

etched glass by gardega

I am working on a bunch of art deco inspired windows downtown for a hi-end party event space.

quote of the day--hunter s thompson

'If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up.' - H. Thompson

coney island photos

I took some photos at coney island yesterday..overcast and rainy...

orwell diaries---august 11

August 11

11 August, 2008 by orwelldiaries

This morning all surfaces, even indoors, damp as a result of mist. A curious deposit all over my snuff-box, evidently residue of moisture acting on lacquer.

Very hot, but rain in afternoon.

Am told the men caught another snake this morning – definitely a grass snake this time. The man who saw them said they had tied a string round its neck & were trying to cut out its tongue with a knife, the idea being that after this it could not “sting.”¹

The first Beauty of Bath apples today.

spirits of the park

I am working on a painting in which two spirits are standing by a lake in central park. I tend to think that if there are ghosts or spirits that they would haunt places they used to go to when they were alive. This will be for sale soon--- oil paint on an 18 x 24 canvas.

Orwell Diaries---August 9 , 1938

As you may know I am a big fan of George Orwell. They have begun to release his daily journal from the thirties. I will post it here, daily...

August 9, 1938

9 August, 2008 by orwelldiaries

Caught a large snake in the herbaceous border beside the drive. About 2’ 6” long, grey colour, black markings on belly but none on back except, on the neck, a mark resembling an arrow head (ñ) all down the back. Did not care to handle it too recklessly, so only picked it up by extreme tip of tail. Held thus it could nearly turn far enough to bite my hand, but not quite. Marx¹ interested at first, but after smelling it was frightened & ran away. The people here normally kill all snakes. As usual, the tongue referred to as “fangs”².

Notes by Peter Davison, from the Complete Works:

¹The Orwells’ dog.

²It was an ancient belief that a poisonous snake injects its poison by means of a forked tongue and not, as is the case, through two fangs. So Shakespeare in Richard II, 3.20 – 22.

Guard it, I pray thee, with a lurking adder

Whose double tongue may with a mortal touch

Throw death upon thy sovereign’s enemies.

See also 11.8.38.

ebay store

I am loading a few ideas up for sale t0oday in my ebay store. link is to the right.

TV

Haven't had a TV in months and I dont miss it. I get more work done than I ever have in my life and that makes me feel good. Better than a sharp stick in the eye. I do miss the History Channel but that is life...It is better to try and make history.

etched glass nyc---by gardega

Here is my glass website: www.bluelineglass.com

found art

I was walking home from the art store today and I found this napkin on the street. I was so interested in the shape of it that I picked it up and took it home. yes, I washed my hands after...I still think it is pretty amazing, I will let you comment on what you think you see. I have my own ideas as to what it looks like. I did not change it or photoshop it. It went right from my art store bag to my scanner.

nassau cover

Here is my Nassau Book Cover...it was emailed to me with some color saturation issues...It is an illustration, not a fine art painting so I have to make a lot of adjustments to that end..dali and picasso did illustration so I have no problem with it. Things I wont do--- draw super heroes, paint your poodle, work for the evil mouse company. This original is for sale, I would like to replace the happy couple with a spirit or ghost or skeleton--take her back into Gardega land

Blueline Glass---gardega

for those interested, I have another website for my glass art....

www.bluelineglass.com

update for gardega 8/7/08

I should have a copy of my nassau county westbury gardens painting emailed to me today..I will post it...Also I Have to paint a picture of Nassau Countie's Jones Beach today. I really like painting the beach even though I haven't set foot on it all summer. I have decided to start posting some art world news ( even art world news that doesn't include me.)

Ten Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold

I am very interested in the value of art and why art is valuable and why people pay millions for good art and bad art. Here is a link to the ten most expensive paintings and I am upset that mine are not listed yet, especially the ones I sold for ten dollars as I was becoming "famous."

http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/08/the-10-most-exp.html

spotted pig watercolor

I find art in the oddest places. I lose it and then find it again..This was found in a notebook I use only for business. I will sell or trade depending on my mood and the weather. this was sketched out in The Spotted Pig and refined back in my studio.

update

finished nassau county cover and delivered it..will post picture today after they scan it. I have to paint a second cover today which is nassau south. I will post when finished. I have had my first request for someone to advertise and sponsor my website which is nice. I usually shy away from advertising etc but they are good people and I believe in the cause---me...

RIP----grandma Gardega

My grandma passed away recently--she was a great lady and a huge fan of my artwork and used to send me money for art supplies when she had no money to spare. Anna J. Gardega
CONWAY | Anna Julia ''Nannie'' Gardega, 84, widow of the late Capt. Alexander Gardega, passed away peacefully at her home Thursday, July 24, 2008. Anna was born April 9, 1924 in Astoria, New York, a daughter of the late George and Anna Allmon. Anna spent her younger years on Long Island where her parents owned a local service station. After her three children were grown, she and her husband moved to Cleburne, Texas. They spent 10 years on a small ranch before making their final home Conway. She was preceded in death by two brothers, George Allmon and Thomas Allmon. She is survived by her two sisters, Vera Fox and husband, Al, of Chatanooga, Tenn., and Thelma Petrone and husband, Jimmy, of Highlands, N.C.; two sons, Alexander Walter Gardega and wife, Edwina, and Thomas Gardega, both of Long Island, N.Y.; one daughter, Mary Ann O'Brien and husband, Timothy, of Conway, a sister-in-law, Annie Travers of Fort Lauderdale, Fla; eight grandchildren, Jennifer Dulieu, Alexander Gardega Jr., Rachel McInnes, Marcus Gardega, Jonathan Gardega, Melissa O'Brien - Holt, T.J. O'Brien, and Lacey McQuigg; and three great-grandchildren, O'Brien Holt, Ryan McInnes and Meghan McInnes. Anna was the beloved wife of a sailor for 56 years, a loving mother, grandmother, and a woman very passionate about nature. The family would like to extend their heart-felt gratitude to the care givers of Agape Hospice and the Kingdom Hall witnesses for their wonderful care and love over the last year and half. Funeral arrangements and services will be announced by Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel. Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

today

I am painting a Nassau county book cover today. I decided to paint this one on canvas as opposed to illustration board or as a computer piece. I will photograph tomorrow as my camera is not here now. I will post the original for sale as well. It is an impressionistic view of Westbury Gardens in Nassau County.

alex in Daily News

(Page 2 of 2)

So Aldrin is trying to set up a lottery that would allow even nonmillionaires to propel themselves out of this world.

As for space sex - a freaky fantasy for some space tourists - the 78-year-old says they should go for it.

"You could do it for four minutes maybe," he estimates. How, we don't want to know. "I trained for spacewalking under water, so yeah, I think it is possible," he said with a wink.

Guests ready to tie one on

Why are the bobble-heads in L.A. so easily confused? When Lauren Conrad, Brittny Gastineau and Lance Bass heard they had been invited to a performance by Epic Records' White Tie Affair in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel last week, they were in a tizzy.

"What does 'White Tie' mean?" they twittered. "Is it like Diddy's white party? Do I wear a tie?"

Sure enough, all three showed up in white so as not to offend their host's nonexistent dress code.

Michelle O's no Jackie O, says Janice D

Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List lurves Michelle Obama's style, but judgey-judgey Janice Dickinson sure doesn't.

"Oooh, she made a best-dressed list; whoop-ti-doo. Michelle should stop trying to emulate Jackie O and choose an American designer to establish her own way of dressing," the ex-model snarled to us. "Since her husband is talking about change, she should change the way she dresses."

And she'll put her money where her pouty potty mouth is.

"I'd be happy to assist if they had the balls to call me."

A high-gloss Dem convention

It was nasty for John McCain to compare Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, but the upcoming Democratic National Convention is getting Britney-like attention from the celeb weeklies.

OK! mag and Us Weekly are sending about twice as many staffers to the DNC as to its Republican counterpart, we've been told.

So if the number of gossip-mag hounds covering your party is any indication, Obama is beating out McCain for the most popular kid in school, 2 to 1.

Just Sayin'

Halle Berry's ex Eric Benet has found himself a new woman, Manuela Testolini, who's otherwise known as Prince's ex-wife. The two stepped out as a couple for the first time last week to see "Xanadu."

Maroon 5's Adam Levine was spotted at Waverly Inn getting his cheese on, holding court at a table with two sleazy blonds all over him.

Artist Alex Gardega, who is represented by the New York Artist Series, has been commissioned to build a 30-by-8-foot high etched-glass birch tree forest for Greg Briar's new Aspen restaurant at the 212 Hotel.

Is porn star Heather Hunter going mainstream? She was overheard telling the Plumm's Noel Ashman that in addition to her book "Insatiable," she and Treach - from "Naughty by Nature" - are producing a new all-girl doo-wop group.

Which fashionable couple is trying to quash rumors of his infidelities and their possible separation by fleeing NYC to California for the summer?

update

my blog was frozen for a few days by the powers that be as it was accidentally labeled a spam site. such is life on the info. highway.

quote of the day--picasso

Pablo Picasso - "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."

artist of the day---me

please excuse the above utter lack of humility. (It is sometimes hard to express humor through typing.) I thought I would share this with people whop collect my work and read my daily mumblings.

click link below.


http://cityfile.com/dailyfile/1118

ophelia

I spent a few hours in the national arts club yesterday. I was invited to come down there and visit. It is an amazing place. I donated an original gardega glass piece to their collection. Will upload some new art tonight

NY POST

I was lucky enough to have some ink in today's NY POST concerning my barter experiment. Press is always welcome by artists...


http://www.nypost.com/seven/07292008/entertainment/portrait_of_the_artist_making_a_deal_122018.htm

blueberrys for sale...

This painting is for sale now on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290249293182

artist of the day---vitruvius

Many poeple do not understand that the above drawing by leonardo is a study of the theory of a genius named vitruvius. Much of Leonardo's work and inspiration came direct from vitruvius who was a renaissance genius before the renaissance ever happened. I suggest you google him and learn about him and you can start with the wiki link although I hate wikipedia it is a start...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvius

the more you study him, the more you can learn that leonardo did not arise out of a vacuum but rather had some great sources.

and as DALI said--genius is concealing your sources.


my staten island cover was approved--now I paint two paintings for Nassau county

artist of the day--daniel garber

I generally dont like impressionism as a whole but some of the American regional impressionists weren't so bad. One of my favorite painters from that era is a guy named daniel garber. I have a connection to him as a girl I once dated lived on the former property of his. I used to spend time in his old studio where most of these paintings were made. As the saying goes "the best laid plans of mice and men..."

http://store.encore-editions.com/Daniel_Garber.html

artist of the day---delacroix

Eugene was a great artist and one of my all time favorites. He was a fiery passionate artist---I like an artist with some fire in their guts. Most artists are very calculating and sober and boring and follow some misguided path or method they picked up along the way like a bug that wont leave them. The point of being an artist is not to be a follower of anyone or anything-- Strike your own path for better or for worse and try to keep a smile on your face during the battle. Delacroix was rival to all the stiff and lifeless Neoclassical painters of the day. He was interested in action and color and movement and life. He looked to Rubens for inspiration which is one of my other favorite artists. The difference between delacroix and his rivals --ingres etc is the difference between willie nelson and garth brooks. I can forgive some technical errors if there is enough fire in a person or a work...I cannot forgive a render of lifeless fruits that are dead before they are even painted.

update

I am starting a self portrait in oils ..It has been many moons since I painted a self-portrait in oils..I bought a great board to paint it on today...I am going to be very careful not to get sloppy and rush it. This will not be fast food but a banquet of art to be chewed slowly and digested over time. I will try for a Gardega masterpiece but will probably just settle for a Gardega. It is hard to face ones self in a portrait, I would rather paint puppies and go through life in a blind dash for the cash but I have to look in a mirror and I am a harsh judge of myself.

color of the day

today I bought a 35 dollar tube of paint--a small tube of paint the size of a small travel toothpaste tube. why did I pay so much? Because the color is Cerulean Blue. Cerulean blue is the color that is harvested from angel 's wings. Hers is the color of ancient skies and childhood dreams. When next to ultramarine blue there is no finer sky to be found in all the kingdom! There are fake cerulean blues but I would sooner drink salt water or eat tofu....

Aliens.

I have always wondered if UFO's exist. Whenever I hear a UFO report, I immediately look to see who is the person reporting the UFO. I tend to think that pilots and and scientists are generally people that can be trusted when they report such issues. Finally, I read a report by a person who has a very high level of believability. Namely because he is the person who holds the record for the longest moon walk. Generally Astronauts are people you tend to not think of as flakes (except for the one lady who snapped...) anyways I found this article and interview to be very interesting...\\\

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,24069817-5001021,00.html

illustration---1948

Here is an illustration from a 1948 American rifleman magazine...I want to use some of these as inspiration down the road but I am not sure how yet..

old magazine

I found a person selling old magazines on the street. A nicely dressed lady was selling jewelry and American Rifleman magazines. The magazines are from the 30's to the 60's. For some reason I find them very interesting, the old illustrations are great and the articles and photos as well. You can really see how magazines changed as you go from the thirties to the later 50's and 60's. There is more great refernce and ideas to be had out of the ten magazines I bought than I care to mention. I never owned a gun, I should never own a gun. I should barely own scissors. I think people should have the right to own guns to protect themselves from crime but I would just wind up shooting my own foot off. I will scan some of the drawings from inside soon...

Here is my new Bronx cover that I picked up today...My indfluence for this piece was art nouveau and also maxfield parrish. Purple and yellow go together like tonto and lone ranger. You will do well in art if you learn how to use purple and yellow and then a little white and green to round out the picture.

butler yeats

http://www.nli.ie/yeats/main.html


here is a great website to explore the works of the poet Yeats.

knock knock

The postman knocked twice today with a gift that made my day and my week. A fan and collector of my work sent me a huge book about maxfield Parrish. I have never owned a book by him and I am excited to read every page about a top talent and genius. Mucho Thanks, Gene.

today I deliver my staten island painting--hopefully there will be no changes. Here is a great painting by an artist named Thomas Moran. He is one of the great colorists and landscape painters. google him and loearn more about a great artist.

update--stateno islando

Here is the latest version...

staten island update

Getting closer. My AC is in long island so I have been painting a cool, windy beach from a 100F apt. I think it is helping because I am motivated by escapism.

staten island

getting closer to home

staten island--unfinished

I am working away on my staten island book cover...Here is what I have so far..scanned in two parts (that explains the line in middle of piece)

update

I drew john mcain's portrait tonight---in person at PALM TOO. I think it was an okay job....
not nervous but I was tired ...

update

Still working on Staten Island project. Actually enjoying the painting more than I thought I would. Went to gallery opening last night, it was a show about garbage and made with garbage. In my opinion it was, well, garbage.

update

staten island update

Here is another loose color sketch for my Staten Island cover. It is more work to paint a bad painting than a good painting so I will try to paint a good painting. I will use color pencil and watercolor and then oil glazes on top of it.

rough sketch for bookcover

Here is my first rough idea for my Staten Island cover. It will also have a ferry as well. My influence for this piece will come from the immortal illustrator NC Wyeth.

Staten Island

today I am painting a picture of Staten Island for a book cover. There is actually a nice beach on SI which will be the focus of my piece. I will finish today and photograph and deliver to tomorrow. I have brought a bunch of rubbish from the world largest garbage dump to inspire me as I paint---I will upload my rough sketches soon...

update

been buried, knee deep in stupid--- will update tomorrow as I paint Staten Island.


alexo

a single stroke of pen

look closely--- this was drawn with a single continuous pen line--what did you do today?

daily sketchpad

quote of the day

To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.----gandhi

today I awoke and it occurred to me that it is good to be alex and by that I mean this------ As a researcher one can learn much about names and the name alexander is a defender of mankind. This sounds like a lot of work so I prefer defender of art against the debased currency of modernism and abstraction. Alex draws so you dont have to. Each day is a chance to get better and start a new "line" in the sketchpad of your life. Sometimes you will make nothing worth anything and will retire into the night in misery and other days you will make art that is worthy of the great refrigerator in the sky.

perception

Here is an interesting bit....Golfers were asked to estimate the size of the black holes sprinted on the white paper. It turns out that the better golfers see the holes as larger than they are and the weaker golfers see them as smaller..perception and outlook is everything in the game of art and life...I wonder what it means if you see squares?

my friend is friends with this animator

doodle of the day

Here is my sketchbook doodle of the day..another drawing that came from the back of my brain without any real rhyme or reason...

quote of the day

condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance---Einstein

I found this photo on this side of the net highway. Is it a buddha? Is it art?

composition lesson--gardega method

Here is a composition lesson I learned by studying Goya.
I chose a still from Apocalypse Now as a reference. To create a picture with a nice composition I suggest the following...First choose or pick a horizon line (shown here by H)...next draw a diagonal from top right to bottom left D1. (or vice versa) Where H intersects D1 you will find a perfect point of interest in your picture. Next draw a diagonal (d2) from top left to intersect D1 and H...

maxfield parrish

my new obsession is the glazing technique of maxfield parrish.


I will trade a painting to anyone who sends me this book..

http://www.amazon.com/Maxfield-Parrish-Landscapes-Alma-Gilbert/dp/0898155878/ref=pd_sim_b_6

I took a subway today and then I started to think about some drawings I wanted to make and when I looked up I was in brooklyn not Manhattan and had gone six stops past my stop... if you are a very right-brained person you spend a lot of time cleaning up the mess with your left brain.

update

My client approved my rough design for skylite...there are six of the triangles above that form the skylite...I am very into this project because I am a big fan of art deco. I will sell (or trade) the original final sketch...I am still waiting for glass for my 90 foot birch wall...that job is the source of much waiting and anxiety for me. I am also sketching out my Staten Island book cover as well..a lot of deadlines creeping around like ants at a picnic.

4 minute sketch

I have to make a glass carving of an orchid for a client. I figured it was best to go look at a real orchid in a flower shop..they really did want me in there sketching so I had to jot down as much info as I could in a few minutes. There is nothing like seeing a real thing as opposed to a photo...