Robert Jackson Opening Night Exhibition

"Poker Night" Oil 24" x 36" by Robert C. Jackson

I attended the Opening for the Robert C. Jackson exhibit at the Arden Gallery on Newbury street and it was spectacular as expected.  I did get a chance to chat with Bob (I was he goes by Bob) for 20 minutes or so and he shared some helpful tips on his painting techniques. 

He also shared his story about painting and hanging out with John Morra at his studio which is a converted church.  I saw photos of it in Workshop magazine and it's unbelievably beautiful.  I guess John invited a bunch of artists to his place for a weekend and Bob attended.

The pieces on exhibition were great and there were a few new subjects that I've never seen such as some milk containers, a wooden table and there was even a painting of this huge stack of oreo cookies that was about 3 feet tall.  Very whimsical paintings indeed!  If you ever get a chance to view his work, you will not be disappointed and you'll certainly get a chuckle.

Also, I'm not very big on spending lots of money of books unless I really, really like them, but Bob has a new book out that features tons of his work in full-colored plates and I'm going to purchase it myself.  I viewed it a the opening and for some stupid reason I didn't purchase it there.  Why?  I have no idea why because I could have saved $10 shipping and had him sign it while I was there.  Lesson learned I guess.  Click on this link to order his new book:

http://www.robertcjackson.com/pages/book.html

Paul Beliveau Art Opening Exhibition

"Vanitas 11.12.15"  (acrylic 48"x48") by Paul Beliveau

I attending the opening exhibition of Paul Beliveau's new works this past Friday at the Arden Gallery on Newbury Street and although the artist wasn't present, which was highly disappointing, I was able to spend some uninterrupted time viewing the paitings up close.  The gallery was pretty much empty due to the fact that the gallery mistakenly didn't include a date for the opening night exhibiton but it did work out in my favor because it was not crowded.  This is a great gallery and one of my two favorite galleries on Newbury Street - the other being Newbury Fine Arts.  If you're on Newbury Street please visit them and say hello and view some of their artist's works.  Paul's exhibition runs until March 31st if you want to take it in.

You can view all of Paul's work on his website: www.paulbeliveau.com .

Their next exhibit is coming from April 3-28 is another favorite artists, Robert Jackson, who paints these whimsical paintings with performing balloon animals to apples flying airplanes.  Opening reception and book signing for Robert Jackson is Friday, April 13th from 5-7pm. 



Abbey Ryan's Online Painting Demo

I was able to watch Abbey Ryan's online painting demo last week and was very cool.  I love watching how other artists work a painting.  You can view this demo and others by visiting her web blog:  http://ryanstudio.blogspot.com/ and you can also visit her main site: http://www.abbeyryan.com/. 

Abbey paints in a "alla prima" or all-at-once style which is the process of painting a painting directly onto the canvas and usually in one sitting.  Her painting style was handed down by her teacher, David Leffel at the Art Students League.

Abbey sometimes includes these magnificent bottles in her paintings that are equally beautiful, you can view on the Jury Smith Bottle Shop site:  http://shop.jurysmith.com/

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.

Greg "Craola" Simkins: Walk on the Surreal Side!

"ItWanders" ~ Greg "Craola" Simkins

The latest Juxtpoz magazine features a fabulous artist names Greg "Craola" Simkins.  "Craola" is the nickname he had when he was a graffitti artist.   Greg has since earned himself a successful career as a fine artist and one look at his work and you'll see why.  Even if you're not a big fan of surreal art, you cannot help but appreciate the strange beauty at which he depicts his incredible and bizarre worlds.

I believe Greg sums up his work himself when he wrote on his Biography page of his web site, "Upon watching a documentary shortly after on Yellowstone National Park, I was amazed at the number of different elements in nature that are so familiar to me but will never be realized by each other.  We will never see snow covered coral reefs inhabited by butterflies alongside moray eels. Deer will not gallop beside killer whales and birds will never share their nests with a family of jellyfish. Of course, it is now my job to make some introductions and see where they go.  These are some of the symbiotic relationships that are going on peripherally in the world I paint into." 

You can see for yourself that unbelievable made believable worlds created by Greg by visiting his site at: www.imscared.com/ or visit his blog at: craola1.blogspot.com/.

Terry Stickland: Exceptional Fine Artist

"The Ascent" ~ Terry Strickland

I've been a follower of Terry for some time now and I felt it necessary to give her mention on my blog because I love her work. She paints beautifully and I love the emotion she brings forth in her work not matter how subtle.

Terry has a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Central Florida. She has had a very diverse art career, working as an illustrator, teacher, silk screen artist, and a courtroom sketch artist.  Some of her clients have included ABC Televsion, Sea World and Busch Gardens just to name a few.  She is now devoting her time working full time as a painter.

At the time of this article I'm hoping that I might be able to afford her two classes that are coming on on November 13th and 14th at the Gadsden Art Museum in Gadsden, Alabama. You can book a spot by calling(256) 546-7365. Please visit Terry's web site for information and to view her work at:  http://www.terrystricklandart.com/ or visit her blog at: www.terrystricklandart.blogspot.com/

Terry writes on her website, "I consider intangibles, challenging myself to capture small nuance in relationships, life, death, and love. Much of my work is about transitions, whether it is a midlife juncture or coming of age as a universal truth. These paintings are decisions reflected and possibilities contemplated. I'm frequently inspired by fairy tales, superheroes, or works of literature, and reexamine them in a contemporary way." 

It's the small nuaces that Terry mentions that draw me to her work.   I love the way she conveys the emotions in the subjects of her portraits.  Please pay a visit to her web site and her blog, her work is must see!

Artist Aaron Wooten

I found out about Aaron reading a magazine (no, don't remember which one) at Border's Books in Boston. The painting that was featured was one a Marilyn Monroe posing nude done in gratuitous shades of browns, grays and reds. I loved the way his brush strokes were loose yet direct at the same time. The image of Marilyn was a caricature of her body but Aaron kept the distortions of the head limited as though Marilyn body was erased and replaced by some genetic copy of her former body.

I felt compelled to visit his website to see more of his work and was not disappointed. Some people might think of his work as simplistic and perhaps sophomoric but I enjoyed his work. I love the way he distorts his figures so that they are grotesque and a bit sexy at the same time.

I particularly loved the images in his "Beach Chicks and Beatniks" collection and for more adventurous (18 or older) crowd, I also loved the pseudo-abstract images of the orgies in Aaron's "Uninhibited" collection. Aaron uses hard-edged shades of red to create these crazy images of fornication. Viewers be warned, the "Uninhibited" collection is not for G crowd.

You can visit Aaron's web site at:
web.mac.com/aaronrwooten/

Meeting Other Artists & The Public

I met a very nice guy name Arthur Fleming last week and I stop by to say hello to him every day because he works for the public transportation I use. He's a fellow artist and for the short time I've known him he appears to be a really great person. Arthur works on watercolor portraits and plans on becoming a full-time artist in October when he retires. He paints every day and I think he's going to become a really good artist.

The reason I'm mentioning Arthur here is because I would like to stress the importance for artists to get out into public and meet the public and to meet other artists. We as artists have to become more approachable and less snobby if you will. I think the internet and social web sites are changing this attitude but we all need to make more of an effort to get out and make art more approachable and obtainable.

I believe that average person is afraid of art for the fear of looking stupid because they don't know enough about art. We as artists should educate the public and answers their questions. We need to be proactive and approach the public and ask them if they have any questions. Most people love to speak with artists and it's good the future of all artists if we can welcome them into our world and let them know it's okay to ask questions and learn about art. Everyone is a possible collector and the more education we give, the better our chances of gaining collectors.

Malden Sketch Group

Yesterday I found a sketch group close to my home in a neighboring town and joined them in their Thursday night portrait sketch night. They also have figure drawing on Monday nights with nude life models as well. The times for both sessions are 7pm to 9:30pm.

There was about 10 artists their painting portraits and a few sketching as well. I was a little bit nervous at first, as most people I believe are, when I first walked in but those feelings were quickly put to rest. I was welcomed by Ginger Greenblatt and soon there after by a few other artist in the room. This was a great group of artists who are more than willing to give you advice and friendly suggestions about your work.

I would like to especially thank Marian Dioguardi who gave me lots of great advice and tips. You can Marian Dioguari's work at www.mariondioguardi.com.

I would have to say that I learned quite a lot in my first meeting.

For more information about this group please visit Ginger Greenblatt's site:
http://www.artginger.com/malden.htm