Saturday, October 1, 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

ART

ART  18" x 24"  Charcoal on paper

I've been going through some of my old drawings and paintings and came across this one of my father in law Art.  He is 84 years young and still going strong.  Those of you who know him know what I'm saying. The doctor just shakes his head in amazement when Art complains that he's getting old because he can't go full speed anymore, or "busheling", as he calls it.  I did this drawing back in the '90's and I think he still looks the same.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

LIVE MODEL 1994

19"x 25" Pastel on paper.
More of the old work from our figure drawing group in North Bend, Oregon.

Monday, September 12, 2016

PORTRAIT OF LARRY WATSON

19" x 25" Charcoal on Strathmore paper
More early work from a live model session in 1994. Larry is an artist and was also the Director of the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

FIGURE DRAWING

19" x 25"  Charcoal on Strathmore paper

Early work from 1992 done at Peggy Oneal's studio in North Bend Oregon.  A group of us would meet once a week at Peggy's studio, chip in ten bucks for a model and really learn how to see and draw.

PORTRAIT OF DAVID HOCKNEY

18"x 24" Acrylic on canvass

Inspired by artist Linda Tennant I've decided to post some of my earlier work even though it may be chock full of honest mistakes.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Thursday, August 18, 2016

WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK

14" x 17" Ink and brush on Canson Bristol paper
" The scene at the outdoor chess tables in Washington Square Park was a melange of urban vitality and color. In contrast to the subdued, almost meditative pairings at the Brooklyn Chess Club, the park's contests were waged by a fast talking and disparate group of chess hustlers, Village bohemians, and tournament strength players who enjoyed competing in the open air, sometimes from sunup to sundown. Intriguingly, the chess tables crossed class barriers: One might find Wall Street bankers playing against homeless men from Skid Row, or Ivy Leaguers facing down high school dropouts. As for the park itself, it was an American version of a Middle Eastern bazaar, with folk singers, storytellers, beggars, political dissidents, soapbox orators, and even the occasional snake charmer. The "anything goes" atmosphere encouraged audacity and inventiveness." - ENDGAME by Dr. Frank Brady

Monday, August 15, 2016

I WANT A LAWYER

18" x 24" Acrylic, India ink, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brush pens on Canson Bristol

Thursday, July 21, 2016

STUDY OF PETTIBON JACKIE ROBINSON

18" x 24" Ink, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brush on Canson Bristol paper

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

SAINT PETER IN A DREAM

 24" x 18" Acrylic on paper
I keep a dream journal and the other morning I woke up from a vivid dream of this guy who called himself Simon Peter. He spoke plainly in this dream and told me he and a bunch of other lazy bums were just laying around when they met God. "They call me a saint but I'm just a screw up, hell I even pulled a sword on someone." He caught me staring intently at his face in order to remember the details to paint him and he suddenly said "Look, a saint isn't some goody two shoes, a saint is someone who messes up but keeps on trying." Then I woke up.
Vincent van Gogh painted his dreams. If it's good enough for Vinnie, it's good enough for me. They called him crazy but they spend millions on his paintings!

EPIC COMB OVER

From sketchbook

Monday, July 18, 2016

EPIC COMB OVER WITH POEM

18" x 24" ink, Fude brush and Faber-Castell big brush pens on Canson Bristol paper

Hymn to the Comb-Over
BY WESLEY MCNAIR

How the thickest of them erupt just
above the ear, cresting in waves so stiff
no wind can move them. Let us praise them
in all of their varieties, some skinny
as the bands of headphones, some rising
from a part that extends halfway around
the head, others four or five strings
stretched so taut the scalp resembles
a musical instrument. Let us praise the sprays
that hold them, and the combs that coax
such abundance to the front of the head
in the mirror, the combers entirely forget
the back. And let us celebrate the combers,
who address the old sorrow of time’s passing
day after day, bringing out of the barrenness
of mid-life this ridiculous and wonderful
harvest, no wishful flag of hope, but, thick,
or thin, the flag itself, unfurled for us all
in subways, offices, and malls across America.

STUDY OF FRANK MILLER SIN CITY PANEL

24" x 18" Ink, Fude brush and acrylic on Canson Bristol paper

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

BACK TO BASICS

 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"  Ink and Fude brush in Moleskine sketchbook

Just a little reminder that we all need these days.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

BUDDHA NYC SUBWAY

36" x 24" Ink and Fude brush on MTA paper

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

BILL AND THE DONALD CONSPIRE TO HELP HILLARY

18" x 24" Ink on Canson Bristol paper

In May 2015 Bill hatched a brilliant plan to make sure the GOP nominated someone Hillary could beat in the election. He called his pal Donald and planted the seed. It's a win-win for The Donald. He gets to rant, rave and entertain during the campaign saying whatever he wants...then, if he loses he cashes in! And that's how we got to this point. You heard it here first!

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Friday, July 1, 2016

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Monday, June 27, 2016

SKETCHING BEN HORTON STYLE # 2

8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Fude brush and Pentel brush pen in Moleskine sketchbook

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Saturday, June 25, 2016

PORTRAIT PAINTER

8" x 10" Fude brush and Pentel brush pen in Moleskine sketchbook

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Friday, June 17, 2016

A WALK IN MY OWN LANDSCAPE

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Faber-Castell big brush pens in Canson Sketchbook.
Preliminary sketch for a painting.
I saw a documentary about Willem De Kooning's art in which he talked about the need to be free of any "ism"...one should be free to just paint a picture. All these terms...expressionism, abstract expressionism, realism, cubism, futurism are, for a painter, just things for a book. He said it was necessary to just talk a walk in your own landscape. I agree, so I do.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

PORTRAIT OF JAMES JOYCE PAGE ONE OF ULYSSES

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and Faber-Castell big brush pens on paper.
Happy Bloomsday!

Monday, June 13, 2016

PORTRAIT OF WRITER TONI MORRISON

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and Faber-Castell Big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook.
From Paris Review # 134:
INTERVIEWER
What do you appreciate most in Joyce?
MORRISON
It is amazing how certain kinds of irony and humor travel. Sometimes Joyce is hilarious. I read Finnegans Wake after graduate school and I had the great good fortune of reading it without any help. I don’t know if I read it right, but it was hilarious! I laughed constantly! I didn’t know what was going on for whole blocks but it didn’t matter because I wasn’t going to be graded on it. I think the reason why everyone still has so much fun with Shakespeare is because he didn’t have any literary critic. He was just doing it; and there were no reviews except for people throwing stuff on stage. He could just do it.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

PORTRAIT OF WRITER PETE HAMILL

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Faber-Castell Pitt big brushes and Fude brush in Moleskine sketchbook.
One of my favorite writers. His book on Diego Rivera is a masterpiece. Here is a little story about him to remember if you ever get writers block :
" Moderator Pete Hamill, a journalist, editor and author, said the night that Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, he was about 5 feet from the candidate.
Hamill was so devastated by the death that he suffered writer's block for months.
He went to an old friend and big New York Democrat, Paul O'Dwyer, about his problem.
``You're not important enough to have writer's block,'' O'Dwyer said. Hamill chuckled and soon was back on the writing keys. Hamill went on to write several books, including his memoir ``A Drinking Life.''

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

PORTRAIT OF CORNEL WEST

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"   Uniball pen, speedball ink and Faber-Castell big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

FROM SKETCHBOOK TO LARGER DRAWING

FROM 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" sketchbook to 18" x 24" drawing.  Sketchbook was Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook.  The drawing was Faber-Castell Big brush pens on Strathmore Bristol paper.

JULIE AND HOSS

54" x 48" Oil on canvas

Monday, May 30, 2016

THE CUT MAN

THE CUT MAN - 18" x 24" Oil on canvas (Private Collection)

Saturday, May 28, 2016

PORTRAIT OF RICHARD McDOUGLAD

PORTRAIT OF RICHARD McDOUGLAD 1923-2016
Our dear sweet friend passed this May 18th at age 93. This is a portrait I did of him in pencil back in 2006. He was one of the good guys yo meet in this life. Thank you so much for all the fun times and life lessons Mac. Save a spot for us.

PSYCHEDELIC DUDE

18" x 24 " Oil on canvas digital enhancement

Thursday, May 26, 2016

PAINTER LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen, Faber Castell big brush pens and Pentel pen in Moleskine sketchbook

VINCE

11 1/2" x 8 1/2"  Quick sketch Pentel pen and ink wash in Canson sketchbook

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

HULT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Preliminary sketch - 11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and Faber Castell big brush pens in Moleskine sketchbook

Monday, May 23, 2016

DOC MARTENS

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" Uniball pen and watercolor in Moleskine sketchbook

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Sunday, May 15, 2016