Sebastian Kruger "Face To Face" Opening Reception in Boston

"Elvis Mit Smiley Glasses" ~ S. Kruger

I'm flying high after attending the opening night for Sebastian Kruger's "Face To Face" exhibit.  Apparently I was late in requesting an invite to this event but after one of the gallery staff, Claire and owner Robin realized how much this exhibit meant to me and how much I loved his work, they extended an invite to me on opening night.  Thanks ladies, you're the best!

I arrived near the last hour of the show and it actually worked out for the better because it allowed me alot of time to talk to Sebastian which was most of the hour I was there and when I wasn't speaking or listening to Sebastian I was chatting with his very sweet wife Andrea. 

My first question I had for him was why "Keith Richards" was scraped into the left side of Elivs in his "Elvis Mit Smiley Glasses" painting.   He smiled, held up his fingers in a quote manner and said, "This is not big mystical artist thing with a secret meaning - I started painting a Keith Richards painting and didn't like it so I painting Elvis over Keith."  He was very humorous throughout the night - such a very nice guy.  He also explained that he painted over another Keith Richards painting with his "Mick with Wasp" painting. Sebastian explained alot of his thought processes, the order in which he painted his Blues collection and how it took a year to complete the eight of them and so much more.

He very gratiously posed for every photo and signed paintings and books for everyone.  I wasn't able to afford the $200 price tag for his new book but he did sign a black and white of himself for me.  He is a very nice man as well as his wife and his manager.

Sebastian Kruger's "Face To Face" is on display at Newbury Fine Arts at 29 Newbury Street in Boston until November 30th.  If you have a chance, you must stop by to see his amazing work.  A little tip, there is a great Ron Wood portrait hanging up in the back room so ask about viewing it.  The gallery staff are very nice and more than willing to show it to you - the door will most likely be open and you can just step in and take a peek if it is.

Claire at Newbury Fine Arts took a photo of me with Sebastian in front of his "Hunter Thompon and Richard Nixon: Trust Me I Am a Doctor" painting and I will post it as soon as she emails it to me.  Claire is awesome - love her!

Alyssa Monks: Teetering Between Abstract & Realism

I've been a huge fan of Alyssa Monk's work for a few years now and her work in on my must-see lists.  I simply must attend one of her gallery shows in my lifetime.  Alyssa weaves and swirls paint into brilliant patterns and images that teeter between abstract and realism.  I love the way she renders her skin tones and brings the viewer into her work. 

My heart always starts to pound harder when I view "Gasp" and "Scream." These are my absolute favorites pieces of work by Alyssa. She pulls you into her work and engages you.  You can almost feel the moisture in the room to the point where you wait for the water droplets to trickle down the glass or skin.

Artists such as Alyssa inspire me to work harder and push my art further.  You cannot help but want to pick up a brush and paint after viewing her work.  She offers a "Details" web page that contains close-ups of her paintings so you can view her brush strokes.  I love this portion of her web page and I can only hope that other artists follow this practice in the years to come.  When I produce a worthy body of work I will definitely include close-up photos so other artists can see some of the brush strokes.  This is great if you are not close enough to a gallery that is exhibiting your favorite artist.


If you are an artist then you absolutely must visit Alyssa's "Details" web page.

New Watercolor Portrait of Sebastian Kruger

"Mr. Kruger" ~ Rick Mercer

I painted this watercolor portrait of Sebastian Kruger last night.  I was originally going to sketch it as a caricature or "Kruger-ized" portrait but I decided to go with straight-forward portrait.

 I don't think it came out too bad considering I only spent a couple of hours on it.  He looks a little bit like a comic book villain to me in this painting but that was how he appeared in the photo reference.

I think I needed to create a little more depth in this piece by perhaps layering in some more dark values and working up the middle values but I'm still satisfying with it. 

Sebastian Kruger Exhibit in Boston

I had the pleasure of taking in the Sebastian Kruger 'Face to Face" exhibit at Newbury Fine Arts in Boston this past Monday and it was nothing less than spectacular.  That me with my geek costume on for Halloween, posing next to the "Johnny Rotten" painting.  No flash was used and not animals were harmed during the photographing of this painting.  Thanks Claire for taking the photo!

If you ever have a chance to visit their gallery you should do so.  This is a fabulous gallery with great owners and helpful staff.  Robin Parrella, one of the owners, and her assistant Clair "McGrath" Carino are extremely friendly and helpful and made it a pleasure to visit.  They represent some of the world's best artists and there are always great pieces on display.

The Kruger exhibit has some fascinating pieces on display and it's so nice to be able to view them up close and take a look at his brushwork.  Some notable pieces that just blew me away is "Mr R & F'n'R", "Jack Nicolson: American Actor", "Cash" and "Tom Waits: The Other Night I Woke Up." 

This is a must-see art exhibition, whether you are just a casual gallery visitor, avid collector, artist or art student.

You can visit Sebastian's web site at: www.sebastiankruger.com/ or you can get more details on his blog at: sebastian-kruger-news.blogspot.com/.

All of the his pieces are incredible to view up close.  The Stones paintings are all just meticulously rendered.  You can see the thousands of tiny single brush strokes and hatchwork Sebastian lays down to create his portraits.  I will be visiting this exhibit quite a few more times before it's over on November 30th and I strongly suggest that if you ever get a chance that you do the same.