Things to come

With the approach of Spring (though it certainly doesn't feel like it with all this rain and cold weather), comes another year of exhibitions and painting deadlines. I've got a few shows lined up for 2010 already, with others hopefully in the pipeworks. I'm also displaying work at the Portsmouth Arts Guild again this year, from April through to July.

All this means I have to get my A into G and produce a lot of paintings. Luckily I feel inspired and motivated, which is often not the case with me, but lately I've developed a keen interest in two subjects which should provide a limitless resource of material. One is interiors, the other people-scapes.

So far, the interiors I've painted have included a movie theatre, a restaurant, a diner, two motel rooms, and several rooms from private residences, with many more pieces to follow. My people-scapes have been inspired by New York and the busy Provincetown in Cape Cod. Aside from my interest in light, shadow, and reflection, what these two subjects have in common is the human element, whether it's the hustle and bustle of a busy street, or the quiet serenity of an empty room where the occupants have only just vacated, or are about to inhabit it. I like to wonder about these people - what are they thinking, why are they there, where are they going? People are interesting, and even a vacant room has a story to tell.

Right now I'm longing for summer. (I'm sick of being cold, and I desperately need some Vitamin D.) The onset of warmer weather also brings with it tourists to Newport, and thus busy, crowded streets. Good subject-matter for my people scapes. The sun also creates marvellous interior shots. In fact, the sun is essential to both my outdoor and indoor scenes. There's nothing like a darkened room with a liquid pool of sunlight, or the blue-grey afternoon shadow of people and buildings late on a summer's day.

I will be updating my website again in the next couple of days. I'll also add some of my most recent paintings. As you may have guessed, they're of interiors and people-scapes.

Lobster Pot Lights, 20x20" (top) - Late Afternoon on Commercial St, 20x20"

Room 28, 16x20" (top) - Room 14, 14x18"

It's been a while since my last post. I haven't blogged or updated my website for many months, and now we're into the new year! Geez, I really have been slack.

Since my trip to NYC I've been back to the Cape, and had a weekend in Salem, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I love Cape Cod. I embarked on a Hopper pilgrimage of sorts in an attempt to track down some of the Truro and Wellfleet locations he immortalized in his paintings. I was somewhat successful, but even when I wasn't, at least I had fun en route.

My most recent paintings have, of course, been of the Cape. I painted two interiors of the motel rooms I stayed in, and several street scenes from Provincetown. I've found myself wondering about the people I paint in my street scenes, what lives they lead, their relationships with each other. It's the same with my interiors. Despite their emptiness, my intent is to make the viewer curious about the previous occupants, or the occupants to be.

I have a few more paintings yet to post. I've also just completed a Monet forgery for the upcoming Fakes & Forgeries exhibition at Spring Bull Gallery in Newport, RI, and in the next few days I'll start on my next painting project. A new year, and a new start. Hopefully it'll be a successful painting year!