2012 #1

Home (grace B-side)...8x10 acrylic on canvas and paper...09 Jan 2012

Here is another B-side from the Grace album.  This is Home.

2011 #14

Grace (swan dance edit)...8x10 acrylic on paper and panel...11 Nov 2011

This is the lead single off my new upcoming album.

My  latest painting is almost complete.  As I have been working on it, I have seen the potential to do a few singles, b-sides, and remixes at the same time.  This edit has been made by using leftover material samples from the original painting to create a smaller piece.  I thought I would take a break from the main painting to complete this smaller piece as an introduction to the themes of the larger painting.

I have had this idea floating around in my  head for a while, so here is my first shot at it.  We’ll see how it goes.

2011 #1

Mylin Brimm - The Gift of Now ... 8x10 acylic on panel and paper...10 Jan 2011

About a year ago, my friend Mylin saw this little quick sketch in my journal of piano keys set upon an abstract background.  He told my right away that it looks like an album cover or something he would want as an album cover.  He wasn’t kidding.  Mylin remembered the sketch and asked if I could create album art with that original sketch in mind for some new songs he was working on.  We talked over some ideas and I listend to some demo’s of the songs.  It was a lot of fun to work on and a dream to work with-in the music community.  Music and art…two of my favorite things.

I will add a post, when the songs are available.

2010 #17

First House to Fly (pg. 87)...8x10 acyrlic on paper and panel...13 August 2010

A few years ago, I was at the library browsing through their used book bin and I found one called Sketchbook with Voices.  I am always working through a sketchbook, so I picked it up for a dollar.  This wasn’t your typical blank page sketchbook…it looked like a normal book with a cover art and the names of the authors who compiled the book.  Oh, and the book looked about 20 or 30 years old.  The Voices in this sketchbook where the words of many different comtemporary artists put into the pages to create a sort of assignment for that page.

My painting above is page 87 and the title First House to Fly is a scramble from the words of Alice Aycock:

…Make a sculpture that will enable you to fly.  Build a fragment that contains your memories of a first house…

Week 34

Flower Hound...8x12 panel board...22 August 2009

This is a last minute pet-themed art piece that I am donating for the Art Unleashed 2009 auction that benefits the Humane Society of Kansas City.  I have donated artwork for quite a few years now, but have missed out the last 2 years.  So, I am happy to paticipate again.  In the past, I have done similar beagle style paintings, but with this piece I am keeping it in my style of painted paper.

Week 31

Moose Crossing...8x10 Panel Board...3 August 2009

As part of our recent trip to Colorado, we stayed in Silverthorne at my good friend Tim’s condo which has been nicknamed “the moose.”  I think the story of this nickname came from him seeing a moose walking along the property from his first visit to the place.  The condo itself has a wonderful charm with all things moose related.  I had no idea there was a market for moose hand towel hooks.  I was inspired by all thing moose, so I had to do my own take on this legend.  In my painting, I show the side elevation of the condo with Buffalo Peak in the background which is true to its location.

Week 30

Discover and Enjoy...8x10 panel board...29 July 2009

Sorry this is posted late.  I just got back from a Colorado rocky mountain vacation with the family.  I did pack a couple of panel boards and a light supply of paint, brushes, and other materials along side bikes, suitcases, backpacks and other various things to keep kids happy into a van for our 13 day journey.  Painting was more difficult that I imagined.  We kept busy all day and were exhausted at night.  I approached these paintings with no plans hoping to finds some inspiration in the mountains.  I came home with a few ideas that I saw.  I want the time to implement them properly.

“Discovery and Enjoy” (above) came after a rainy day.  The sky cleared around 5pm.  My 6 year old son and I decided to get out and follow a trail up this mountain that was close to our condo.  The trail took us through a forest and this is what I remember.

Week 22

Untitled (week 22)...8x10 panel board...01 June 2009

I have really enjoyed working on this current series of grid and white blocks and there are still many different angles to explore, but it is time to take a break to pursue other ideas.  I still want to contribute to this series here and there, but I would really like to dream up something new right now.

Week 20

blue streak...8x10 panel board...19 May 2009

Sorry this is a little late.  I had a busy weekend with early mornings, which means I didn’t stay up late into the wee hours of the morning like I usually do.

I never know what to name these pieces.  Mabye it will make since later and I’ll rename the whole series.  I know a songwriter who comes up with the titles to all his songs first and then builds music and the lyrics based on those titles.  If I was good with words, I might someday try that approach.

Week 19

Everything (In Its Right Place)...8x10 Panel Board...11 May 2009

This version of white grided blocks is about order and rules.  There is a color pattern rotating around a center point and the voids in the white blocks follow certain rules given it’s shape and size.  Previous versions were random and arbitrary, which I very much liked because I didn’t want the piece to look forced or predictable.  Even in the previous versions, I think I was still applying rules to create randomness but just not pattern.  Anyway, I wanted to see what happened if I gave in and allowed the rules and paterns to take over.

Week 18

4,3,2,1...8x10 Panel Board...04 May 2009

…a continuation of color, grid, white boxes, and voids.  I want to work on a few more of these, because I like the look of the whole series together.

Week 17

Big City #2...8x10 Panel Board...26 April 2009

I wanted to build off the idea of last week’s painting.  I still feel like I can take this in a few different directions.  I like the idea of creating a series of similar themes.  It documents the process and growth for me as I explore an idea, but I also like the unity of the work together.

Week 16

 

Big City...8x10 Panel Board...19 April 200

 I realized that my new interest has been white gridded blocks.  I think I just happened upon it, although when I look back on old sketches and notes, it is a recurring doodle.  My 4 year old was watching me work on this.  I asked him what he thought and he told me it looked like a “big city.”

Week 15

Empty...8x10 panel board...12 April 2009

Most weeks when I approach a painting, I am ready to go.  I have spent a few days mulling over ideas in my head, sketching, and laying out the concept like it is a design.  This style of working comes very natural to me as I have spent many years in an architectural studio.  But this week was a bit different.  I mulled over ideas and wasn’t happy with the concepts and my sketches weren’t producing anything concrete.  All I had was an impression with no form.  So with no plan to follow, I started…and worked it out on the panel.  This process is more exploratory and it already leads to new ideas of that impression.

I have some interesting post-it note sketches that I may post someday.

Week 14

 

Palm Sunday...8x10 Panel Board...05 April 2009

Today is Palm Sunday.  Earlier this week, I was thinking back to when I was a child in Sunday School.  A week before Easter the lesson was always about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  It seemed like the kids would alway act out the scene.  The big boy would get down on his hands and knees playing the role of the donkey.  A smaller boy would nervously play the role of Jesus riding on top of the donkey.  The rest of us made palm branches out of green construction paper and made a tunnel for  Jesus and the donkey to ride through as we all shouted “Hosanna!” and waved our palm branches.

That was my inspiration for this weeks painting.  I wanted to capture that childlike innocence of the Palm Sunday traditions.

Week 13

 

Birds & Wires (wk 13)...8x10 panel board...28 March 2009

Okay…I decided to do one more week of “birds.”  Four is a well rounded number anyway.  I had this concept already worked out and the truth is that I had a busy week and did not have time to develop any new ideas.  I promise that next week will be a different theme.  I have an idea of what I want to do, but I don’t know what it will look like yet.  Hopefully, I’ll have it figured out before the weekend.

Week 12

 

birds & wires (wk12)...8x10 panel board...21 March 2009

I am having fun with this “birds & wires” series.  I have a few other ideas, but I think I might try something different next week.  We’ll see…I’m in the mood for a change.

week 05

 

birthday cupcake...8x10 panel board...01feb2009

I have started to compile a list of ideas and subject matter to explore as I create new work each week.  One idea may lead to several other concepts to further investigate at a later time.  I am really excited about some of these ideas, but I leave room to be open to a relevant idea each week.  Part of the process of doing a weekly painting is to capture something that was meaningful to me that week.  After all, this is an art journal.

My birthday was this last week and that is why the subject of this week’s painting is a “birthday cupcake.”  I had the idea to do a cupcake, but as I was working on this, I was losing interest in the subject matter.  To me this wasn’t as exciting as some of my more abstract or experimental work.  I think to keep this going for 52 weeks, I will need to keep it fresh (for me) and remember to keep it pure and minimal.  I don’t want to labor too much on these, which is something that I easily tend to do.

week 04

Untitled (week 04)...8x10 panel board...25Jan2009

This is a “redo” of a preschool class project that I did with Ewan when he was four. It was dad’s night and they had all these stations set up for activities, so naturally we gravitated over to the art table. We found old computer paper (with side perforations) and a group of almost dried-up markers. We both started drawing lines and coloring in the spaces. I loved the finished product that we created and have it in my office. The color of those cheap markers are starting to fade, so this is my attempt to recreate the original.

week 03

When I Grow Up...8x10 panel board...17Jan2009

This painting will be used as the book cover for my son’s class art project. It is a PTA fundraiser and the class is doing a garden theme with a big flower pot and some gardening tools. Each kid drew a picture of what they want to do when they grow up and those pictures will be assembled into a book that will also be a included in the flower pot. Some lucky parent will out-bid the others and discover that a group of boys want to be shooting guns on a SWAT team.

week 02

Night Train...8x10 panel board...11Jan2009

My boys have always been fascinated with trains and I think they are pretty cool too. Last week, we visited Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on a warm sunny Saturday afternoon to see the “Art and the Age of Steam” show. It occurred to me that I have never done a “train” painting.

week 01

New Year (January, I am alive)…8×10 panel board…03Jan2009

The beginning of a New Year…I had a change of heart.  Earlier, I was swearing off any sort of resolutions and commenting on how things never really change or how we get back into our same old habits.  Conviction came and I heard this voice challenging me to try something simple, small, and consistent…The goal:  one painting a week – pure, minimal, manageable.

When I create, I am alive.