Waterlilies #1 & #2 - Redux

 'Waterlilies #1'

'Waterlilies #2'

These 2 pieces are just to show that EVERYTHING doesn't always turn out great!  

Here we have 2 prime specimens of an idea gone wrong.  I wanted to a common scene - waterlilies - and do more than just blues and greens so I went with the purple reds of the evening sky and the orange yellows of the morning sky.  Well, can you say 'bright'!  

This is not to say I didn't try to market them, they sat at 2 different galleries over a course of 6 months.... everyone liked them, but the common saying was that 'this wasn't Florida' where every home is decorated in these colors.  And, the other thing was that they were large... 60" x 48" (5ft. x 4ft.).  

So, now they are back in the studio and I'm going to do something different to them - although I haven't quite figured out what.  If you have any suggestions, please forward them on.

More NOLA sketches.....

'SuperDome'

'Pat O'brien;s CourtYard'

'St. Charles Trolleys'

These Finished pieces HAVE  to be shipped by Monday to New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras..... wish me luck. 

NOLA paintings

'St. Louis Cathedral' 

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by a Gallery in New Orleans that wanted me to create artwork in my style using NOLA scenery.  After going thru photos and some Google surfing, I started sketching out some of the more well-known areas.  Over the years I must have been to Orleans over 100 times (maybe not exactly, but close to it) and there is SO MUCH energy & character to the city, I wanted to try and do it justice with my use of composition and colors.

Doing a series of around 9-10 pieces, I wanted to keep them all similar size, so I chose All to be 20" x 16" - acrylic on canvas. 

'French Market' 

'Cafe du' Monde'

Staxtacular 2011

 'Stax 2010'

One of the best parts of me being an artist is that something I create can be donated to an organization, then auctioned off at an event and the proceeds go to help our city and fellow Memphians.  This new artwork is going to be donated (to be auctioned off)  at the event where the Memphis Grizzlies and Stax Academy combine to put on the 2011 Staxtacular - with the proceeds going to the children of the Academy.  It is always a GREAT FUN TIME!  It's a mixture of Griz players and Stax musicians wondering the halls and rooms of the Stax Museum..... so much to see and take in the history of Stax Records.


As for this particular piece, I referred the the black & white one I did in 2010.  I took the middle section (vertical) and found a canvas 30" x 12" and wanted to try and capture the essence of last years in this years - only this time - COLOR!

www.StaxMusicAcademy.Org/Staxtacular/ 



 

'Stax 2011'

to be continued................. 

'After -tweeking' 

OK..... As this Painting sat in the studio, I couldn't help but feel it needed something else added.  It was lacking a certain energy to it.  So, I put it back on the easel and did some 'tweeking'.   Since it was for the 2011 Memphis Blues Awards poster and had the Hernando-Desoto Bridge & cityscape in the background I wanted everyone outside of Memphis to know where the awards were being held - hence the 'Memphis Welcomes You' sign on the bridge.  Adding the lights from the streets glowing up the buildings, I thought, added more vibrancy and moved your eye around the piece more. 

www.Blues.Org 

'Before - tweeking'

'Big Board' - Feb.

In an attempt to keep ongoing and upcoming projects in some kind of order, I refer to the 'Big Surf Board'.  This is February's.  NOLA, Staxtacular, Silky's, U of M, etc..... 

FINS UP!! 

 

Could this be the Final Silky O' Sullivan's image to be on prints?  The goal is to have 19" x 13" prints available for distribution from Silky's on St. Patty's day..... March 17th.

I was honored to have the cover of this month's 'Memphis Downtowner' magazine.... Thanks! Jodie & Terre for ALL the support over the years!

www.MemphisDowntowner.com 

Random Sunset photo!

At this point, Silky & I had a meeting to see what each other thought.  The consensus among us and everyone that worked there was that it was 'nice' but didn't quite have the energy that the bar/restaurant/juke joint/goat haven that 'O'Sullivan's' conveys.  So.... it is not quite 'finished'.

Majestic Grille on South Main

Well, the Majestic Grille Holiday Art Show officially ended this past weekend.... so in my THANKS! to Deni & Patrick for their great contribution to helping Artists, I left them this piece of their place: "Majestic Grille".  They already have a work of Art from a previous artist that has 'Majestic' on the piece and I hope future artists that show can add to their 'Majestic' collection.

Updated: Silky O'Sullivan's Art

So these are the initial phases of how Silky's Art is shaping up.  I wanted to capture the excitement of all that is O' Sullivans by including all that I could.... Fountains, courtyard, Goat Town, & the Palm trees.  There is almost tooo much to stick on a painting without your eyes going crazy.  Almost like a 'where is Waldo' pic.