Have you ever had a meal out at a restaurant where the appetizer is excellent; the salad fresh and crisp whetting your appetite for what's to come, but unfortunately the main course is rather bland and unsatisfying, then in an attempt to salvage your meal you order dessert and what you get is something unexpected and delightful, giving you a reason to try that restaurant again? That is akin to what my year in art was like.
Hastily preparing a couple of drawings to get into Gallery 225's "Gone To The Dogs" show in February was a nice foray into the gallery scene. Then, submitting and having my piece "Jazzy-Mood Indigo" accepted into the Salmagundi Club's Annual Non-Member Juried Show in early May seemed like a good portent for things to come. The summer saw me advertising in many varied venues only to have zero response. That, coupled with financial concerns, really crippled my creative output causing confidence and motivational issues. Finally, as a last ditch/"Hail Mary" effort, in November I submitted "Jazzy-Mood Indigo" to a national biennial juried art competition. I'm happy and delighted to report that my piece was one of the 138 chosen out of the 720 pieces submitted from over 31 states and 3 different countries. Now how's that as a way to end one's year? The show will be held at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda, FL from February 8th - March 12th. You can check out their website here The Visual Arts Center.
I do have some pieces in the works which I will showcase in upcoming posts. Thanks for sticking with me during this my first year of this blog and I hope we'll both see things get better in 2010.
David
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Juried Show Acceptance!

I didn't mention it before because I didn't want to jinx it, but a couple of weeks ago I submitted my painting "Jazzy-Mood Indigo" to the Salmagundi Club's 32nd Annual Juried Exhibition for Non-Members. While going through my mail today, I found out the piece got accepted! This is kind of a big deal for me as it's the first juried show one of my pieces has been accepted to. The Salmagundi Club was established in New York in 1871 and is a meeting place and educational facility for artists from all across the country. The show is from June 29th-July 10th. Hope to see you there. :-)
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Jazzy (alt. ver.) Final

Alright, here she is. All 11 3/8" x 14 1/4" of her. In finishing this up, I concentrated on the subtleties of the whites in her fur and the variations in her ears and snout. It's amazing how much variation there is in what appears to be an essentially white dog. The official name for this piece is "Jazzy-Mood Indigo" (thanks Duke!).
Take care 'til next time.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Increasing My Exposure (without using Vimax)
How to increase exposure of one's artwork can be a difficult and daunting task. There's print advertising, online advertising, gallery shows, studio visits, blogging, art competitions, auctions, word of mouth, etc. I'm trying a variety of things hoping that the combined onslaught will trigger some people to take a second look, visit my site, and perhaps commission me or buy an original. The latest thing I'm taking a shot with is Best Friend NYC's "Artist Spotlight" page. The company sells high-end, environmentally conscious dog grooming and lifestyle products online. On April 1st they are launching an artist spotlight page showcasing 12 artists in a rotating fashion. The artists are from all over and work in a variety of mediums and styles. It's nice being in a grouping so potential clients can choose which style they prefer. So check it out, and who knows where you'll be seeing my artwork next.
Labels:
advertisement,
Best Friend NYC,
exposure,
Vimax
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Jazzy (alt. ver.) Mid Stage

After completing the block-in stage, you can assess how the colors and values are working. I noticed that the values were a bit jumpy. That is, there wasn't enough of a transition between them so I kept that in mind while doing this stage. As far as the colors were concerned I knew that I'd have to make Jazzy's fur whiter and a bit cooler to reflect the blue in the background. White can sometimes be a difficult color to paint as adding too much color can take it out of the "white" realm. Just ask yourself where the brightest white is, leave that pure white and work the other shades down from there always checking if it should be warmer or cooler than what it's next to. In this case I am mixing different proportions of white, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and touches of indigo. Oh, and that halo around Jazzy is where I first laid down my medium to work the paint into. Next will be the finished piece.
Take care 'til then.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Unexpected Good News

I was just going to tell you that I have an ad in the March/April edition of Fido Friendly magazine. But upon looking through my advance copy I noticed that my pet portrait services were included in their "Top 100 Pet Products for 2009". Color me excited!
Labels:
advertisement,
Fido Friendly magazine,
Top 100
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Jazzy (alt. ver.) Early Stage

Okay, this is the block-in stage or what I call the "Best Guess" stage. Here all I'm concerned with is establishing a sense of the lights and darks (or values) and the color relationships (warm colors or cool colors). In the initial reference photo I was really taken by the contrast between Jazzy's light fur and the dark of the blue blazer behind her so I used that to establish what tone I was going to use for the background. You can also see an orange-ish color peeking through some of the whites, that's from the burnt sienna I laid down on the entire surface before I started painting the subject. It's much easier to judge values if you're not working on a stark white ground and burnt sienna is my default color, although sometimes I'll use a green or purple. That's it for now. Stay tuned for the refinements.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Jazzy (alternate version)

In the winter of 2008 I donated my portrait services to Labrador Life Line's "Heart Dog Auction". The resulting portrait was this painting of Jazzy. There were a couple of poses to choose from and Cecilie (the dog's owner) thought the profile version the best. The painting turned out to be one of my best, but I thought I'd do an alternate version based on the other proposed pose. What you see above is the photo reference and the drawing I did for it. I am currently working on a full color painting of this pose. Check back in a few to see how it's progressing.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Olive and Jazzy On Display

These two drawings are a part of Gallery 225's show "Gallery 225 Has Gone To The Dogs". The one of the labrador was done as a preliminary sketch for a painting and the Boston Terrier, Olive, belongs to a friend of mine from art school. This is my first time exhibiting in New York so I'm pretty excited. The show will be up until March 15th.
Labels:
art,
boston terrier,
exhibit,
labrador retriever
Friday, February 27, 2009
Greetings!
I'm starting this blog for a few reasons. One is to acquaint people with my work and perhaps get them interested in commissioning my portrait services. Another is to allow people to get a glimpse into the creation of my artwork and follow along with my career. And finally I hope this blog will serve as a means of keeping me disciplined; if there's a potential audience, it'll keep me motivated on this wonderfully rewarding but difficult path. Thanks for checking it out.
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