June 30, 2008

this is a portion of a painting i am working on for the touchstone gallery show, my space on 7th. this non-juried group show requires that you purchase the space in which to hang art in the gallery. i did so. the final painting will be nine feet tall and four feet wide. it is tentatively called "gated," but i have also referred to it as "imminent domain," "the haves & the have nots," and "brand: 9-11." titles are important to me and the right one will come along.

June 26, 2008

another day in iraq.

June 23, 2008

i'm not a big fan of the blurred photograph. it's been so overdone, but i like the three below that i took because the images mess with scale. to me, they almost look like images of miniature cityscapes. i've titled them as such because they remind me also of socialist housing.

worker housing

high-rise worker housing—build, repeat

parking lot

these were taken from the roof deck of the floridian, a new condo building at 9th and V streets, nw, in washington, dc. my friend, ira tattelman, had a big hand in designing it and gave us a guided tour of the condos. it's exciting to hear about the choices he made for the interior finishes and the facade first-hand. knowing ira as i do, i can see how his visual art-making influenced some of the materials, colors, and juxtapositions inside and outside the building.

also, congratulations to pat goslee, who took home the first place prize from the exhibit, "once again, again" at the mclean project for the arts. her video, "ride," is a thrilling techno visual extravaganza of sound and repetitive patterns and color. even more impressive—this is pat's first foray into video-making.

June 16, 2008

red:covert

June 13, 2008

i am designing a book for my friend craig gidney. he has a collection of short stories coming out soon called sea, swallow me. the cover story is magnificient as is much of craig's writing. you should check him out.

June 11, 2008

i should add to the post below that i really like art criticism and art critics and feel they perform an important role in it all. as an artist who is intent on growth, it's imperative that i hear what works and what doesn't, how i can improve my craft, etc.in saying what i did, i meant to indicate that a balance should be achieved in each artwork between the emotional and the intellectual.

June 9, 2008

i had a conversation one day with my friend gerald domingue, who is a 68-year-old painter, about whether one could make abstract art meaningful and/or intellectual. i think that we were in agreement when he said that the first challenge is to get an audience to react to your images and to be emotionally drawn to them. then, once they're looking, they can begin to appreciate any thought the artist put into the painting and what it "means." but it's difficult to get the average viewer to the point where they can appreciate an artist's intellectual efforts.

I think a mini backlash against contemporary painting is beginning in the DC area. what we see on many gallery walls is lifeless but technically perfect. the exhibit essay can often be more interesting and thought-provoking than the art itself and its execution. so common, especially in DC where everyone is so goddamn over-educated and self-important.

i am trying to communicate something in my work and could tell you what i'm exploring (like the new painting below), but it would probably bore you to death. so i'd ask you: what does it look like to YOU? what do YOU like about it? YOU, the viewer and potential art-buyer, matter to me.

June 3, 2008

Last week i returned from my new orleans trip and have had mixed feelings about the experience since. for the first time, i saw what tourists saw. by staying in a french quarter hotel, you realize how limited you are on foot. the city you see has recovered from that perspective. the french quarter is very clean (considering the city agreed to pay a contractor some $13 million a year to shampoo the streets). the city is greener than when i left, the result of nature's tenacity. but venture beyond the "green" zone, and as a friend said, "it's like visiting a place where a bomb went off years ago." people are still struggling and as they say, "no, we are not better."

here's some shots from my personal favorite views of the city. i always like to look up and over the river:

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