Sunday, December 13, 2015

End of Year Review





Sunday, October 25, 2015

Iowa Bound


Back in April I painted 8 mid-size canvases of buildings and places
located in the city of St. Louis. The paintings were specifically
created for a show from Jun – Aug at East Central College
Gallery in Union, MO. After that show I wrapped them up
and promptly stored them on a canvas rack in my studio.
About a month or so later my friend from Iowa, Karl Haglund,
emailed asking about the paintings. Karl is a painter, well
known for his guitar paintings but he’s also a photographer
and has recently opened a new photography studio in his
home town of Charles City, IA. The studio will not only house
his printing/painting empire but also serve as a place for him
to focus on photography and as it so happens, it’s a great
place for art openings and that’s exactly what he’ll be having
on Friday Nov 6, featuring, yes, you guessed it, 8 mid-size
canvases of buildings and places located in the city of St. Louis,
painted by, me. The show is to help celebrate the grand opening
of his photography studio and I'm delighted to be a part of it.

In addition to the paintings there will also be a special musical guest
star, the phenomenal Chris Grabau (Magnolia Summer, Cave States)
will be on hand to perform live at the opening.

now playing - Cave States

Saturday, August 1, 2015

August


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Good Busy



Monday, June 1, 2015

Jay Farrar at the Old Rock House



Last Fall Jay Farrar played an acoustic show at the Old Rock House 
and I was there, right up front and snapped some nice photos to 
work from for a painting that will eventually go in the Old Rock House. 
I had to put the piece on hold for a number of months for a number of 
reasons but now I’m back at it and hope to complete it soon. The 
packed show was mostly a low key affair, with his brother opening 
while both performers shared current Son Volt guitar slinger, 
Gary Hunt, also known as a great multi-instrumentalist. We were
treated to a mix bag of Farrar/Son Volt tunes and even 
an Uncle Tupelo song or two.

Farrar has lost nothing on his voice, if anything it has aged to 
perfection and the stripped down sound really highlighted how
incredible it is. His songs are as solid as they come, cornerstones
of a foundation that started right here in this area, surrounding the
Mississippi River. While one may miss his ferocious electric guitar
playing, he’s still a force to be reckoned with and this community
should be damn proud to have produced such an important artist.

In my excitement of the prospect of painting someone of Farrar’s 
stature, I selected a rather big canvas, 40x60 inches. This will be
the largest canvas to date that I’ve done for the Old Rock House.
The size is another reason it’s taken so long to complete. I probably
didn’t need to go that big, but what the hell.

After looking at this piece from a distance and photographing it, I 
don't like it at all. Gonna start over on him, make him a bit smaller.
longer and trim it up a bit.

now playing - Jay Farrar

Friday, May 1, 2015

To Be Determined


A few months back I was invited by East Central College Gallery to show work from Jun through Aug. At the time I was knee deep in Uncle Tupelo paintings, not sure of what to show but still jumped at the great opportunity. I let them know I was interested but wasn't exactly sure of what I would have to show and asked the show be titled "To Be Determined". Amazingly, they were all for it. As soon as the UT pieces were completed, I began work on new mid-large sized paintings.

Recently two artists, independent of each other, mentioned to me the "rough urban" quality in my work. They meant it as a compliment and that's how I took it as well. This is what I've been thinking about the most while creating this new series of paintings. I'm slowly starting to realize the most important things in painting are lines, shapes and colors. Nothing else really matters and as long as those three qualities are an accurate reflection of who you are as an painter, then it will all work out.

 now playing - Grandpa's Ghost

Monday, April 13, 2015

Anne Tkach




Sunday, March 1, 2015

University City Library April 2 - 29 "Graveyard Shift"


Once a month I try to write an update to let everyone know what's been going on but it's been so damn crazy lately that there's been no time to write anything. So I'll use this post to promote the show "Graveyard Shift" which opens April 10 at the University City Public Library. New paintings of the band Uncle Tupelo. The last 6 months have been spent working on this idea which originated about 2 years ago. It's nice to finally see it all come together. Once these paintings are completed though, I have more work to do for another show that will be this summer, but more on that later. For now, I hope I did justice to this great band whose music will live on forever.

now playing - Uncle Tupelo

Sunday, February 1, 2015

the Music Record Shop


The Music Record Shop is a cool record/tape/CD shop located right between the Ready Room and The Demo on Manchester in the Grove area. After talking with Mark and Daniel there, I was allowed to hang a number of paintings and make them available for sale. This is really a great way to get the pieces in front of a lot of people who normally wouldn't see them and it's worked out really well. The shop is very supportive of St. Louis bands and artists, and they're always looking for opportunities to do more. For now, primarily older paintings like the one pictured above are available there, but I did just drop off a brand new piece of the band Demon Lover. However, as time goes on, new paintings as they're completed will be added and available for sale. This will be a good reason to get back out and start photographing shows again, something I haven't really been doing for a while now. Be sure to stop in and check out their record selection and see some artwork.

now playing - records from the Music Record Shop

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Graveyard Shift