torch-wielding mob

This piece of canvas has a long history, it began about 13 months ago. It started as an experiment in materials, I stretched and primed a very coarse, Victorian-patterned material suitable for curtains with no idea what I was going to paint on it. It's gone through about four different paintings until it arrived at this theme, which I'm very happy with! It has a very rich paint surface that only 50 coats of expressively applied paint can create. A torch-wielding mob chasing a terrorizing beast. This is about the biggest I can get a painting in my home studio, it's 64 by 48.

the alex schaefer hour

Today's show was mostly about East Jesus. I painted one of the people I met there onto the canvas of Salvation Mountain and I think the painting is massively improved! Click here to listen to the show, I had fun managing to prattle on the entire hour, got some good painting done and the audio is not too bad! The first 40 seconds of the show I had no idea it was going so it's silence, but don't worry your computer's fine, I get a clue about 45 seconds in... at 16 minutes I start to do something on the canvas, and the last 20 minutes of the show I start getting into it. I painted very cool skin tones on the girl, too cool that she felt almost blue, I wanted it that way but I also wanted to make her look warmer so I painted a more blue sky and that solved that. There's always more than one way to solve a problem.

Miracle Mile

This painting started off monochrome, the second pass was color. I did this a few weeks back but I never got around to a blog post about it. Here you go! If you want to see, it's at the Charlie James gallery in Chinatown. He also has this one, this one, and this one. Seeing these paintings makes me want the People to get mad again! aahahahah!

East Jesus

Nathan, founder of the Hive and avid camper, was the spearhead for an overnight camp-out in East Jesus, which has to be the one of the most amazing places on earth. An artistic self-sustaining oasis in the desert, basecamp liberty. There was food, solar power, live music. I did a couple drawings of the band playing in the music area, my favorite was a group called Orphan in the Afterlife The next morning I went and made a painting of Salvation Mountain, an epic monument to faith and perseverance. Not bad, but my piece definitely needs another coat of paint, that means I gotta go back soon! I was there for 28 hours total, but it seemed longer in a good way, probably because there were so many amazing experiences in so little time. East Jesus proves time doesn't always fly when you're having fun!

Capital Offense

I'm in a show opening Saturday Jan 28th: CAPITAL OFFENSE: The End(s) OF Capitalism at the Beacon Arts Building, 808 N. La Brea Ave. Inglewood, CA 90302. OPENING RECEPTION 6:00 - 9:00 PM. Click here for the show information online. Mark your calendar! It's going to be a timely and compelling show. related posts: Wall Street Riot and Chase Burning: Venice. I've worked on the flames of the Venice plein air but forgot to take a new photo. You'll have to come to the show!

stop SOPA and PIPA !

Share this, lots of good links:

http://americancensorship.org/

What to do about PIPA/SOPA, call your Senator/State Representative and say something like this: "My name is __________, I'm a constituent of Senator/Rep ________ and I am calling to express my profound opposition to S. 968 the PROTECT-IP Act/H.R. 3261 the Stop Internet Privacy Act.

PIPA/SOPA would require web services to monitor what users link to or upload, having a chilling effect on privacy, free speech, and innovation.

PIPA/SOPA would give the government the power to censor the web with techniques similar to those used in China, Iran, etc, nations which the United States condemns for their lack of freedom.

Last but not least PIPA/SOPA would threaten security online by undermining the basic open structure of the Internet and restricting the flow of information

The People of (your state) and the United States condemn this legislation and implore you to vote against it."

phone and email for California:
Barbara Boxer: (202) 224-3553 www.boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/ here's all of Boxer's offices to call: http://boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/offices/index.cfm

Diane Feinstein: (202) 224-3841 www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me here's all of Feinstein's offices to call: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact

find out your local representative here:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

find your senators here:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Call! Email! Speak out!

Share this, lots of good links

333 Hope St

Now it's starting to look like something's happening, I'm not sure if it says zombies yet, but I like how it's looking so far! I had fun doing some major shifting of the composition from the first attack started on location, I'm pushing the local color distinctions and the warm/cool light and shadow. And of course adding the gathering crowd at B of A Plaza! Maybe this is turning into something like a scene from Frankenstein. I think I'm borrowing a little bit from these paintings and these paintings from last year oil on canvas, 30 by 24 If you want to see the full size image click on it, control-click the next image loaded and select 'view image'. Click to zoom in.

zombies

I got a weird idea to paint a zombie attack streaming out of the Bank of America tower and terrorizing the populace. I went to 333 Hope St with my sketchbook and made a drawing based on what I saw being there and then with perspective and imagination I made the vantage point look like from above and added the zombies! I blocked in the painting on location, sans zombies, but plan to add them soon and take it back on location. It's a statement! I did the Alex Schaefer Hour when I was painting on location so here's a link to that; I haven't listened to it but hopefully the audio is ok!

the painted ladies

Here's another plein air painting from San Francisco. This is the view from Alamo Square, probably the most photographed view in the city! It's a view of "the Painted Ladies" looking east toward the financial district. I called in the Alex Schaefer Hour for a short 30 minute show before I started painting this piece so you can get a little feel for the day! Click here to listen to the show

the Knight of Pentacles

For the annual Hive Gallery tarot card I was asked by Catherine Kaleel to collaborate on a painting of the Knight of Pentacles. What fun! This painting never would have happened otherwise and I love how it came out. The show opens tonight and is up all month, and the Knight is for sale! Here's a large image of the painting completed, and a bunch of work in progress shots of the evolution of the piece. Catherine really wanted to paint the horse, so I started off composing a landscape that would work around whatever ended up in the center, it was invented from a smudged old drawing that I let my imagination loose on. Then Catherine built the panel from scratch, I laid in the landscape in pastel and acrylic, then handed it off, the horse was added and Catherine added beautiful clouds, and stronger color to the landscape and water and the house and mill, then it was back to me and I added the knight and a final layer of paint and we both completed the pentacle. oil on panel, 30 by 20

San Francisco

I went with artist Catherine Kaleel on a quick trip to San Francisco. I've never painted there before so it was great to go with someone who really knows the town. It's such an amazing city! Very dramatic lighting and geography. The city was blessed with perfect sunny, mild weather which I've been told is not always the case. But it was an amazing time to paint! Here's one of the pieces I did, on Liberty Street looking towards Twin Peaks. oil on canvas, 24 by 12. If you want to see the full size image click on it, control-click the next image loaded and select 'view image'. Click to zoom in.