At the end of June I finished a large mural on Center Street in Batavia. Please check my Murals page above for more details.
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Well, the Spring has been very interesting this year of the Great Pandemic. My family has been very fortunate through all of this, and I've been able to keep busy making art and getting to enjoy the outdoors. Right now I'm working on a mural on a brick building in Batavia, New York, which has just been expanded by the business owner to include the whole side of the building all the way to the top! We're getting a scissors lift today so I can continue the top portion. I'll have more on that later, and photos. But for now, here is a painting of the Erie Canal path that I did last week. And also a painting from a couple of years ago that seems even more relevant today, considering the changes sweeping the world from the Black Lives Matter movement. Wishing you well...  Canal Path to Spencerport, NY  Barriers
I had so much fun painting a mural upstairs at GO ART! last week that Gregory asked me to do one on the inside of the front door of the building (the former Batavia Club). It certainly spices things up. Now I want to paint one at home!  Over the last three days I got to paint a mural in an upstairs room (well, hallway actually) at GO ART! in Batavia, NY. The director, Gregory Hallock, said I could do anything I wanted, so this is what I made. I've been wanting to paint something in this style for a while. It was a blast!  Last month I moved from my rented studio space to a new room that opened up to me at home, and I must say, I love having a work space at home again, and saving a considerable amount of money! Here are a few new paintings I've completed recently in the new studio. The one above is from the first broadcast episode of Star Trek, the Original Series. I've always liked this image of teamwork between Kirk and Spock; I'm calling it 'The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship'.  And I just stumbled on this photo of the Fab Four and painted it for an upcoming art show. It actually has ended up at Moonjava Cafe on Harvester Street in Batavia, NY, along with more of my paintings and some wonderful abstract artwork from my friend Dan as well.  And here's a painting on wood I did for some friends to hang in their living room.
I will have artwork in a few other holiday art shows in Batavia, Albion and Rochester coming up soon. The first is the GO ART! Members Holiday Show, Opening Reception next Thursday, November 21st at 6:00 in Batavia. I'll post more dates soon... The last couple of weeks I got a fun opportunity to paint a backdrop for a performance of the musical 'Newsies' put on by Batavia Players at Harvester 56 Theater in Batavia New York. My daughter is in the show, and has been participating in this production company for a few years now. She is absolutely obsessed with the theater, and singing and performing in general. They are a great bunch of people. I don't know where she gets the energy; they've been rehearsing since the beginning of July for several hours a night! Anyway, I also got to create three paintings that are a part of the show. I had a great time doing this! PS: I had help from some talented young women who are in the show, especially with the lettering on 'The World' and 'The Sun" paper headers.    Last week I finished a painting based on some photos from the CGI Rochester International Jazz Fest. However, there was a space in the composition that my mind kept telling me would be perfect for some large text placement; specifically the words "Jazz 90.1 (Rochester's local jazz station, WGMC) Jazz 90.1 is one of the best, and few existing jazz radio stations on Earth, and a source of great pleasure to me for many years. So I had to add the text and then decided to donate the painting to the station. After calling the station manager, Rob Linton, we arranged for me to bring it there last week. Rob and several other station DJs who were at the studio really liked the painting, and have hung it in the lobby.   I'm honored to have my painting at the station. It's pretty cool to know that musicians and visitors to the station, and listeners of WGMC who come to the bi-annual open house parties, will see it!
I got another Ripple Grant this year from GO ART! to do a window painting on plexiglass for the Sage Pavilion in Bergen, NY. I had never used glass paint before this, but when the mayor of Bergen told me they had wanted to install stained glass in an interior window space in the pavilion, but it was way too expensive, I suggested using Plaid Gallery Glass window paint for a faux stained glass effect. I researched many different ways of doing a fake stained glass effect, and the Gallery Glass seemed like the best choice. (Thank heaven for youtube videos)! This has been a wonderful learning experience! The plexiglass painting evolved into something somewhat different than what I initially envisioned as I experimented with the medium, mixing the colors and getting away from a traditional stained glass look. But I think it came out pretty nice. I call it 'Technicolor Woodland Sunset'.  There will be a dedication ceremony for the interior window painting on Thursday, June 20th at the Sage Pavilion off Lake Rd (Rt. 19) in Bergen at 4:00 pm. I've just finished a few more paintings of famous Rock stars over the last few weeks. A couple of months ago I put a painting of Jimi Hendrix up at Coffee Karma in Batavia, NY, and it was purchased by a very neat guy who is a musician. The owner, Heather, told me a few other people had expressed interest in buying the painting, and also a portrait I did for her of Janis Joplin. So I decided famous Rock stars may be lucrative subject matter for more artwork! Plus, I really enjoy making them! I'm very grateful to Heather and Jeremy at Coffee Karma for letting me use their establishment for showing my paintings! The new ones here are of John Lennon, a different portrait of Janis, and a rather Christ-like Jim Morrison. I want to thank all the friends and family who braved the weather to attend the Little Theatre Art Show Opening for Dan Hogan and myself yesterday. A lot of people couldn't make it because of the high wind warnings on Sunday and today for our area, but we were pretty fortunate that the nasty weather held off until the opening was over! But, our artwork will be on display until March 22nd, so come to Rochester to check it out and enjoy some live music 7 days a week.
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June 2020
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