"Casamento's Oysters on a Formica Table"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 8"

2018/2019

  You may have noticed that today's painting is dated 2018.  There is a reason for that and forgive me if I have addressed this before, but it is worth repeating.  There is an old adage, nay, an axiom, that states a painting is never finished but merely stopped at a given time.  It is knowing when to stop that separates the good artists from the great.  When I stopped this painting, I was not quite happy with the results.  The flesh was a lifeless, monotone grey.  Since the daily paintings are meant to be exercises or warm-ups, I just moved on, chalking it up to a bad day.  However, I just couldn't let this one go. I did varnish it, in a forlorn hope that the sunken colors would sing and be brought back to life.  They didn't and it wasn't, so it went into "the box."  The Box is sort of like the Island of misfit toys for lost and forgotten paintings.  I had not given the piece much more thought until a few days before Mardi Gras. While watching the Food Channel, a segment on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured Casamento's on Magazine Street in New Orleans, which is where I first encountered these three. I knew then that I had to revisit them. 

  Sure, I could have started with a fresh panel but I wanted to experiment with removing the old varnish.  Hitherto, I had never removed varnish from a painting.  I purposely use Soluvar vanish because it is self leveling and easily removable for the restoration process years from now.  I am happy to report that it does come off nicely, without disturbing the paint beneath.  This painting had been varnished at least 6 months ago so I wasn't too worried about that aspect. The nearly grisaille under-paint took the fresh glazes and scumbles beautifully, as if to say "What took you so long?"  Like Lazarus rising from the grave, there is new life in these pretty, puffy little bi-valves.   Laissez les bons temps rouler!

West Coast Oysters with Lemon and Mignonette

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"
2019

  Another small oyster painting from last week.  Perhaps not quite as much fun since these were posing for me alfresco and there are no catch lights to make them glisten.  That said, the pretty, deep, fluted cups have charm of their own.  They remind me of cogs in a wheel or the inner workings of a watch.  The juxtaposition of the shells, the weathered wooden table, the metal cup and hint of a crystal glass made for a fun and challenging exercise. I like the way the yellow of the lemon dances around the composition, grazing off the shells and mignonette.  The expression "A pop of color" is overused today, especially on home decorating shows, but it is appropos here. The lemon really makes the painting sing.  Perhaps the more correct title should be "Lemon with Oysters, Mignonette and glass."
 

  I'm generally not a fan of sauces on oysters, but out West, where the oysters are less briny, creamier and more minerally, I like a squeeze of lemon, a splash of herbaceous mignonette or even just a dash of tabasco. Call me a homer, but even after all my travels, I still prefer slurping the local guys from the Chesapeake Bay more than almost anywhere else, with the possible exception of Prince Edward Island.  I do like a salt bomb oyster and they produce some beauties up there.

"The Persistence of memory"

oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"
2019

  Another year has gone by and again I have neglected this poor blog.  Well, today is a new day and a new commitment to keep you, my loyal followers, abreast of my creative efforts. By now you are aware that oysters are my go-to models when I have been away from the easel or wrestling with my Muse. A singer does scales to keep their instrument sharp, I paint oysters.  Besides, I like painting oysters!  They remind me of snowflakes - no two are alike. This little piece reminds me of Salvador Dali's ubiquitous  "The Persistence of Memory." The shell of the lower oyster seems to melt over the edge of the table like a ripe Camembert in the warm sun. 

Blue Point Oysters with Pea Crabs

oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"
2018

  Let's take it from the top kids.  I'm pretty much starting from scratch with the blog, since it's been over a year and a half since I posted anything here.  I had to relearn the whole process, so bear with me.  A lot has happened since I last pecked out a blog entry.  The most salient is transitioning from daily painting small works to painting full scale, commissioned portraiture.  I will always have a soft spot for the little panels and there will be studies and some small pieces included here, but portrait work is my first love. I will be back-posting some of the important works from last year which include the CEO of a fortune 500 company, a district court judge, a local television icon here in Baltimore and a newly unveiled portrait of past Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.  I have some fun work in front of me too, so stay tuned!

Spit

Oil on panel

6" x 8"

2016

  This little guy is the late, great Spit.   I have owned a tabby or two in my lifetime and have always been fascinated by the myriad of color variations of their coat.  Sometimes cool, sometimes warm, depending on the light, it can be a challenge to capture in paint.  I really pushed the paint on this piece, often using a dry brush technique to grind into the gessobord (yes that's how Ampersand spells it) panel.  He has a rather ghostly appearance, coming out of the shadow chiaroscuro style, which is apropos since he has recently ascended to the heaviside layer.

"Mike"

 

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 6"

2014

  I experimented with scale with this piece.  The painting is of Mike, the dearly departed tabby that belonged to my friend Ellen.  It is amazing how much presence this panel has for it's diminutive size.  His countenance can be felt from across the studio.

  I'm not sure why this painting of Mike popped up here as I painted him in 2014.  I was going through my blog making corrections and I guess I moved him on up.  I suppose he just wanted to be seen again.  Ironically, I have just finished a painting of a tabby.

"One Hon Bar Oyster"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2015

 This little guy slipped through the cracks and has never been posted.  He has been sitting on my mantle for over a year.  I have been enjoying his company but his wanderlust is palpable.  He longs to be admired by others.

"Pemaquid oyster, shell and lemon"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 8"

2016

I realize that I have said this a thousand times before but I am going to try and be more faithful in posting to my blog.  Hmmm, why did Yoda's words just pop into my head?  "Do or do not, there is no try." 

"Sea Queens"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2016

"Porgie in a Jam Pot"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2016

 I am sure even my staunchest followers have long given up hope of seeing new work coming out of the studio and posted herein and who could blame them?  No, I haven't hung up my brushes nor have I run off to join the circus.  So what have I been up to since last August?  Well, there were quite a few paintings that just didn't get posted.  More importantly, I have been polishing my shingle and concentrating on my first love, commissioned portraiture.  That has meant more time in the museum and less time in the studio.  Also the studio work has been more experimentation than finished work.  If you're still with me, stay tuned.  Good things are coming.

study for "The Palantír"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

"Coal"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

2015

6" x 10"

I finally got around to finishing the painting of Coal.  I think the slender panels and curvilinear forms work together nicely:

"Tanner"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 10"

2015

This is Tanner.  He lives on the west coast with his buddy Coal.  I have been wanting to paint a pair of Yin and Yang panels of the these little guys since last year.  I hope to have something of Coal tomorrow if all goes well.  Stay tuned.

"Ginger"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

This piece is more illustrative than some of my older animal paintings.  It has the feeling of a plate in a children's book.  Not that I am unhappy with it.  Quite the contrary.  In this day and age of computers and image manipulation, it is pleasant to see the hand of the artist, is it not?

Variations on a theme - "The Conversation" second state

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

You should be aware by now that my "daily paintings" often serve as sketches for larger works.  By their very nature, these small paintings allow for the exploration of multiple compositions from various angles without spending days and weeks on a large polished painting only to find that it could have been improved if only I had done this or that.  The fact that these little panels hold together as finished works of art is a side benefit of their creation. A case in point is the painting above.  An earlier version saw the standing beagle with his hand on the huntmaster's arm.  I liked that very much but I might want to introduce a few more of his canine cohorts at the bottom of the larger finished painting.  We shall see.   

"Horse Head study"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

  As promised, I am back at the easel and at the keyboard.  Today's painting is a study of a horse head.  I may have mentioned that I am starting an equestrian series and am familiarizing myself with horse anatomy.  I have great respect for horses, although I have very very little experience in the saddle.  I prefer to have 76 horses under the saddle in the form of my Harley-Davidson. I used a semi dry brush technique on this piece.  It almost has an egg tempura effect.

"Soph"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

To quote Britney Spears - "Oops, I did it again." That is just so typically me, I have neglected posting work and musings on my blog.  I actually have been painting and the new work often finds itself on my Facebook page or www.dailypainters.com.  Even when I have posted here, it was just a quick entry of a painting, with little more than title, size and date.  Sorry to the few followers who are still with me. I am going to make a concerted effort to be current and informative.  Fingers crossed! 

This is Soph.  He (yes, he) belongs to some friends of mine.  When they found and adopted him, they had named him Sophie, with the assumption that he was a she.  They learned otherwise at his first visit to the vet but his name stuck, hence "Soph." It was their choice.

"Pub 44 Oyster"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

5" x 7"

2015

"Oyster on Red"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

5" x 7"

2015

"Oysters at the Passport Wine Festival"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2015

I really had fun painting this piece.  The tooth of these Ampersand panels allows for some great effects.  I doubt that I could have gotten the same scratched weathered wood effect on canvas. It was a bright sunny day in Healdsburg, with a few puffy clouds as evidenced in the base of the wine glass.