Some paintings for "Small Works Invitational"

- at The Art Spirit Gallery.  December 7th - January 5th.

"Alice", oil on linen, 10x10"


 

"Early Morning", oil on panel, 8x8"

"Tube of Paint", oil on canvas board, 5x7"


"West Sprague", oil on panel, 8x16"

 "Railroad Avenue", oil on canvas, 16x12"

"Model Resting", oil on canvas, 12x9"

"Winter Afternoon. Spokane Valley"

oil on masonite, 24x49"

"Rail Yard"

15"x30", oil on canvas

two more

"View from River Park Square"
oil on linen mounted on board, 24x36"

"Peone Prairie", oil on canvas, 30x30"

almost finished

"New Development", 24x24", oil

At least I think it's almost done, I just need to tweak a few things, simplify here and there...

"Saturday Afternoon"

 

oil on linen, 10x20"

"Late October"

23x 22", oil on linen

Some new stuff

... for Small Artworks Invitational show at the Art Spirit Gallery.

"The Gift Bearer", oil on canvas, 12x12"

"North Argonne Road", oil on linen, 10x10"

 "Morning on Bruce Rd", oil on canvas, 12x12"

December 2 - January 7
The opening reception on Friday, December 2 from 5-8 pm.

The Art Spirit Gallery
415 Sherman Avenue
Coeur d'Alene, ID

"Last Day of August"

47x16", oil on canvas

(sold)

"Spokane. Early March"

oil on canvas, 36x36"
(sold)

Finished this one a couple of months ago and forgot to post it.

I've been searching for a view like this one for over a year. Circled around the downtown, climbed on the top floors of parking structures, tried to get to any publicly accessible high place, and it was not it, and it was not it... Then, last March, I happened to be at an office on the sixteenth floor of the Seafirst building, the building that I hate with a passion.  It dominates the Spokane skyline, it feels absolutely out of place, and  almost everywhere you look in the downtown, you can see it - a giant striped mattress that tries to reach the sky. (Reminds me of this anecdote about Guy do Maupassant, who despised the Eiffel Tower so  much that he ate at the tower's restaurant every day because it was the only place where he could not see the tower.)

And there it was, on the sixteenth floor of this monster - the view of the city, just like what I had in my mind. The weather was perfect, too - overcast, gloomy, heavy sky, wet streets, snow on the roofs.  

It was a very brief visit, I could not do any sketches, did not have my camera with me either. So I snapped a quick shot with my cell phone. Unfortunately, the image got corrupted, my laptop refused to recognize it, and I only could view it on the phone screen, a small thumbnail, about an inch by inch and a half. 

Yet, I learned that a very bad photo makes a great reference for a painting. It provides some information, but not too much, and most important - it does not dictate how to paint, like beautiful photos sometimes do. Of course, painting a late winter scene in July was a fun challenge, too.

"From the Skywalk"

40x16", oil on canvas

"Rainy Day. Sprague Avenue"

30x30", oil on
(sold)

"Courtyard"

10x10", oil on linen

(sold)

Rainy day

Another quick study for a larger cityscape.

 8x8", oil on canvas board

(private collection)

"Riverside & Lincoln" - finished

Just realized that I never posted a photo of the finished painting, so here it is.

"Post and Main"

30x30", oil on canvas
(sold)

"One Way Alley"

36x24" oil on canvas
sold

"Monroe Street Bridge"

30x40", oil on canvas
Available at The Art Spirit Gallery

"Opera House. November"

36x36", oil on canvas
(sold)

I've been getting a bit sick of working in a small format, so I spent the past month or so on my larger paintings that were patiently waiting for some attention. Just finished this one.

"Opera House. November" is going to be at Works from the Heart Art Auction that benefits Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture. The event will take place on February 20th, 2010.

"State Line, ID"

12x12", oil on canvas
sold

I painted this one mostly on location, about a month ago.  The day was partially cloudy, the light kept changing, and I kept chasing it - not a good approach.  Also, trying to cram too many things in a small size canvas was a terrible idea.  So, for the last couple of days I've been re-working it, sorting out the tonal values, and simplifying, simplifying, simplifying everything.