Sebastian Kruger and me at Newbury Fine Arts

Sebastian Kruger and I at "Face To Face" Opening Reception

Sebastian Kruger and I posing in front of his fabulous and humorous "Trust Me I'm a Doctor" painting (94" x 63").  Sebastian is truly a very nice guy and thoroughly enjoyed the opening reception.  He very gratiously posed for all photos and very forthcoming with questions.  This is what being an artist should be all about.  Gratious and willing to share ideas and thoughts and open to the public and fans of their work.

I hope to attend his next workshop whenever that may be.  His wife said they have a few big projects coming up and things will be busy with the Krugers for some time, but hopefully it will not be long before the next Kruger workshop.

Thanks again to Robin and Claire at Newbury Fine Arts.  Please pay them a visit if you are in Boston.  They are located at 29 Newbury Street in Boston.

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!

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.