Into the Wilderness study (detail)

Into the Wilderness Study
Watercolor and Pencil on Paper
Original Dimensions Approx. 17"x13"
Destroyed

This study was a late version of the sketches for Into the Wilderness (image below). I came across this file in a folder of bits and pieces on my computer. In addition to the traveller on the right, the original sketches called for a dark, distant figure in the space to the left of the building. The size of the paper exceeded the limits of the scanner that I used, which caused both the figure and corresponding space to be cropped out. I based the distant figure on this illustration that I made in 1998 for my poem 'Attempts to Map the Genome.'

"Trick: Banality is Adaptation"
Ink on Paper
17"x11"
Available

As I worked on the final painting I removed both people from the painting, which greatly simplified the composition. I was happy with the decision and quickly finished the work.
Unfortunately, calamity struck during the creation of the painting. A miscast cigarette butt ignited the building that was under construction across the street. Fanned by heavy winds, the fire advanced on the surrounding neighborhood of Carver. Burning insulation rained from the sky and set secondary fires that made many homeless. At its peak, the column of fire lay horizontally across the street and was twice the height of the VCU Fine Arts Building. The firefighters saturated the surrounding buildings for approximately eight hours. Many burnt, but the FAB was only mildly scorched.
Inside, the studios were soaked and much work was destroyed. Many of my fellow students lost their entire body of work. I lucked out and lost only some small drawings, photographs, and this study.
For eight hours, Into the Wilderness teetered on the brink of destruction. I was grateful to see my unfinished painting intact when I was allowed to return days later. My gratefulness has only increased with time as my painting has travelled the country and served me well. I am also thankful for this haphazard scan, and lament all that was lost in that fire.
Imagine if one could open a museum exhibiting the art that has been lost throughout history. I'm sure it would outshine the Met and the Louvre.

Into the Wilderness
Oil on Panel
48"x30"
Sold

My Art Space Featured Artist

I joined My Art Space at the recommendation of Christopher Reiger. It is an interesting and bustling free website that allows artists to exhibit their images and network. Artists can organize their artwork into 'galleries' and 'portfolios,' which gives the artist a great deal of flexibility in sorting work. Shortly after uploading images, I was notified that I am one of this month's featured artists. Surf on over and check it out.
Above Image:
Scribe
Digital
2007

Blue Heron Gallery with David Carmack Lewis

Not the Birthday Girl
Acrylic on Panel
12"x24"
Sold

Last month I had the pleasure of showing work at the Blue Heron Gallery in Vashon, WA. I shared the gallery with Portland Painter David Carmack Lewis. The show was a great success, and I bid farewell to a number of my favorite paintings, including the one pictured above. In the process of publicizing the show, an astute staff member noticed that David and I both earned our degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. Our work dovetailed eerily well, and the coincidence of alma mater simply drove the point home. Perhaps Richmond leaves its indelible mark on those that have sweated and soaked in the city on the James.

Hero

Hero
Watercolor on Paper
6"x4"
Sold

This little watercolor is from 1999. Of all the work I was doing at that time, I think it's held up well over time. I took a long time painting it, and eventually sold it at a VCU Student Art Sale.
Sometimes I miss the past.

Fed By Ravens

Elijah in the Wilderness
Hand Drawn Digital

For quite while, I have not been posting as often as I would like to be. The delay has been a result of both technical difficulties and a busy schedule. Since September I have been enrolled in the Drawing & Painting Atelier at the Gage Academy of Art. I have the great privilege to study with Mark Kang-O'Higgins. He is a keen wit and a fine teacher, not to mention a skilled artist.
The atelier is a constant challenge, and it is a pleasure to spend so much time studying and drawing. I feel that my skills have increased greatly, especially in the life room. I have great hopes for the upcoming Winter and Spring.
I am also lucky to have come in contact with Gage's talented staff, students, and alumni, including Spyder, Jason Sho Green, Sam Hamrick, and Crystal Barbre.
The image above was drawn as one in a series of weekly conceptual exercises. In addition to these projects, we have technical exercises, cast drawings, and personal projects-- and that's just before lunch. After lunch we spend three hours in the life room drawing the human body through direct observation. I will post more images of recent work as time and technology allow.

On Dark Ground

As promised, I am posting some images from the series 'On Dark Ground.' I will post more in the future, though the quality of some of the phtograhs are too poor to include. All are acrylic on panel. Sizes are approximate. All are sold.

In Good Company
20"x 8.5"


And Then She Knew
24"x12"


On a Lucky Morning
20"x10"

Circo dell'Arte

Like Any Other Morning
Acrylic on Panel
30" x 8"

Sold  

Vashon Allied Arts recently held their annual art auction in the Blue Heron Gallery in Vashon, WA. I was invited to participate and included this piece from the series 'On Dark Ground.' The series consisted of 16 paintings. It originally hung in the Harrison St. Coffeeshop in October of 2005. This was the last piece in my possession, and I was happy to include it in the auction. I never posted images of the series because of glare in my photos, but I think that I may post some in an upcoming entry-- glare and all.

Far From Home

The following paintings make up the show 'Far From Home,' which hangs through July at the Selvedge Studio in Missoula, MT.

Suffer a Witch
Acrylic on Panel
24"x36"
Sold

Noli me Tangere
Acrylic on Panel
24"x12"
Sold

Sheep May Safely Graze
(In the Course of a Dream #1)
Acrylic on Panel
24"x12"
Sold

A Quiet Place
(In the Course of a Dream #2)
Acrylic on Panel
20"x10"
Sold

Wind & Weather
(In the Course of a Dream #3)
Acrylic on Panel
20"x10"
Sold

Far From Home

Fishing in the Night Sky
Acrylic on Canvas
2.5"x3"
Available

Her Grip Was Unsteady, But Her Aim Was True
Acrylic on Panel
12"x24"
Sold

Far From Home

Ibex
Acrylic on Panel
2"x3"
Sold
Apocastasis
Acrylic on Canvas
6"x4"
Sold

The Missionary's Daughter
Acrylic on Canvas
8"x10"
Sold

Far From Home

der Junggeselle
Acrylic on Panel
19"x15"
Available

der Dieb
Acrylic on Panel
4"x19"
Sold

Having Come to This
Acrylic on Panel
16"x24"
Sold

Secret Flaws
Acrylic on Canvas
10"x8"
Available

Broken Porthole
Acrylic on Canvas
10"x8"
Sold

Nocturne
Acrylic on Canvas
8"x10"
Sold

Far From Home

Despite the lack of updates, I've been quite busy lately. After a brief hiatus, I hit the studio and pulled together a body of work for my upcoming show. The show is entitled "Far From Home," and will hang in the Selvedge Studio in Missoula, MT. Along with an armload of new paintings, I've selected roughly a dozen older works. I hope to post the entire show here in the days to come.
The Selvedge Studio is a hip, little fabric store and gallery in bustling downtown Missoula. For those of you that are unfamliar with the area, Missoula is a happening little town in Western Montana and home to a exuberant arts community.

Show updates

I was pleased to discover that my Into the Wilderness was hung in the place of honor at Ouch My Eye. This photo was taken from the sidewalk, where you get a great view of my goats.
Back on Vashon, Dubious Theodicies drew a good crowd, and a quarter of the paintings will be heading off to new homes.
I'm also pleased to announce that I'll be showing at Gallery 070 on Vashon in May 2008.
Stay tuned for my July show at the Selvedge Studio in Missoula, MT.

RIP J.W. Phillips

Another good man gone.

Goats in the city!

These goats do get around.
I'm pleased to announce that 'Into the Wilderness' will be featured in the Urban Wildlife show at Ouch My Eye Gallery in Seattle. This is my first incursion into this new city, and I'm excited to be gaining a toehold. Come on down for the opening:
May 4th
8Pm-2AM
Ouch My Eye
1022 1st Ave S
Seattle, WA
206.381.8457

Dubious Theodicies

Dubious Theodicies

Acrylic on Canvas

Sold

I'll be having an open studio show on Saturday, May 5th, in conjunction with the Vashon Studio tours. The show will run from 12-5, though I intend to keep it up for a week for 'by appointment' showing. I'll be featuring over a dozen new paintings along with selected older work. Come on by and check it out.

New and Selected Paintings

May 5th

12-5PM

Corner Studio

Harrington-Beall Greenhouse Complex

18515 Beall Road SW,

Vashon, Vashon Island, WA

Noli Me Tangere

Acrylic on Panel
24"x12"
Sold

Chicago, IL

These images come from the apartment of painter Dennis Mathews. Dennis is currently studying to achieve Grand Master status at the Art Institute of Chicago. We traded artwork shortly before we both left Richmond.

This painting, entitled No Reason Why, is a portrait of a dilapidated house on Church Hill in Richmond. The house had been abandoned with all of the previous owner's possessions still inside. It is one of three paintings on the theme. The initial painting,Not even a Letter (32-20 Blues), was commissioned by the woman that was about to rehabilitate the building. With any luck I will be able to get the owners of the other two to let me post pictures of them.

At the time, I was listening to the music of Robert Johnson and lost in my own bittersweet blues. It was spring. I was involved with a beautiful woman who was nothing but trouble. I was packing my bags and leaving town. The mood was right. I photographed the house on a stormy afternoon and executed all three paintings in rapid succession.

As you can see, Dennis is a very well read and educated young scholar. Dennis points out that next to the painting are "a theories of modern art book, ee cummings book, plato perhaps, and history of the
church book." I can also see some movies, but I assume they are only materials from Dennis's extensive research into pop culture.

A Jules Buck Jones painting hangs adjacent to mine. This painting is a good specimen from our time at VCU. During the time that Dennis, Jules, and I painted in the same studio, Jules executed an enormous scroll-drawing on a roll of paper. He was lost in a fascinating world of roadtrip imagery. These days, his work plays with a bizarre naturalism and dovetails nicely with the work of Christopher Reiger.

Dennis also has a ceiling fan. Above my painting you can just glimpse a fragment of the original Magna Carta.

Chelsea, MA (East Boston)

These come from the home/office of Brian Hatleberg and Lisa Lineweaver. Lisa does school reform in Boston, and Brian is both mortgage broker and a Chelsea city councilman. Fine and upstanding indeed, but Brian and Lisa are two of the oddest, most creative people that I have the privilege to know. Over the years they have collected several pieces of my artwork. In fact there is a commissioned piece in my studio that is destined to reside with them (B&L: I Haven't forgotten! )

I love the way this space turned out. This was once Brian and Lisa's kitchen. Little by little, they jettisoned their kitchen stuff and used their kitchen as a library. When Brian got his licence, he needed a room with a lock, so this became, once and for all, The Office.
This is Holly. She's a baby. I actually posted this before, but how could I resist putting it up again?

This Serpent was a collaboration with M.B. Rew. It was a wedding present for Brian and Lisa. It is made out of stuffed cloth and has a rope spine. Like any proper serpent, it has seven eyes and a bell on its tail. Next to it, in front of the stuffed wolverine head, you can just make out the egg that we gave them on their actual wedding. We wrote a silly little poem to go with it. The Serpent is large enough to wrap around one's shoulders.
This piece, entitled Brother Bite Brother, hangs next to an aerial photo of what I assume to be East Boston. I approve of the pairing.
I drew this piece in a bit of a frenzy after an altercation with my late dog, Loki. He was a great fella, but when he got a whiff of bitch-in-heat he turned into a mad dog. In this instance he only snarled and threatened me, but he once got my brother in the arm over a female Pitbull. I drew this with an ink dropper. I believe it's the first frontal nudity on my site.

Woodbridge, VA

These images come from the home of artist Rosemary Luckett. As a child I had the privilege to spend many hours working in Rosemary's studio. At the time her studio was tucked down on the bank of the Occoquan River, a tributary of the Potomac. The river was a constant presence in her studio-- so much so that it often rose up and came inside. After one too many floods, she moved to a lovely studio in the woods, which I openly covet.

I was honored when Rosemary travelled to Richmond to attend the opening of my show, Lost in the Park. I was further honored when she chose to take this painting home. Its name is Valkyrie., and it is based on the image of a friend's daughter at her birthday party. The creature crawling at her feet is a mystery. As mentioned in a previous post, it has reappeared in one of my new paintings.


Valkyrie hangs next to a Ben Luckett (at age 8) drawing of a baseball player stretching at bat and a small Carol Dalton painting collage Kouri III..

Oregon Hill, Richmond, VA

Here is the painting that started this project. It was an early study that led to my series "51 Minutes: A Cold Evening." Here it hangs in the bedroom of Greta Brinkman, world-class bassist and all-around bad-ass lady.

It's an old house that lists to starboard, but I miss it very much. Across the street there is a half-pipe where kids skate and carry on until the wee hours.

Greta made this frame out of old Oregon Hill wood. It looks great.

Queens, New York

These photos come from the apartment of Christopher Reiger, a painter and long-time friend. As you can see, he has a large and growing collection of artwork. What you can't really see is the small menagerie of reptiles that are scattered around beneath the artwork.
Here the painting 'Autohagiography' guards a hallway, just above a reptile cage. Reiger was a natural pick for this painting, since his Hungry Hyaena blog has been one of my favorites since its inception. A boy and his hyaena...

Here one of my Beasties hangs next to a lovely, original Alice Neel. Somehow, my Beasties seem to gravitate towards babies. Weird. Again, note the reptile cage.

This iconographic self-portrait has found good company among masks and taxadermic specimens, which are another favorite of Reiger's. I believe that the drawing above my print is one of Reiger's early works from his years as an undergrad.

Here, my drawing of the Barred Owl hangs next to Reiger's studio. This pen and ink drawing took me two weeks to execute. Towards the end, there was an earthquake. At first I thought the odd movement was simply a symptom the raging hangover that I had. As soon as I realized what was happening, my immediate and only concern was for the safety of my drawing, which I had carelessly left out on my drawing table. Here it hangs with an interesting drawing of Reiger's and some exotic butterflies. In the lower right corner, you can just make out the top of a wonderful SEM image of a mite. We obtained this image from a William & Mary researcher for use with the original Synoddity event. Who needs monsters when you have mites crawling all over you?

One man's trash is another man's treasure-- or at least a decent backdrop for some booze. This decade-old doodle was a cast-off that Reiger saved from the recycle bin. It's funny to think of things like this persisting out in the world. Both Reiger and my friend Dennis Mathews have astutely held on to the cast-offs of their fellow artists. While I wouldn't toot my horn about this one, both Reiger and Mathews now own some great work that was en route to oblivion.

It's great to have the images rolling in, so send me your photos if you have some of my art. Thanks to Christopher Reiger, and a big Hello to Gotham.