Last kiln firing of 2010

Here are the last pots of 2010. A big cheerful kiln load of serving pieces and a couple of tiny pairs of flip flops.

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

Obligatory green and red

My attendance at Jim Salem's painting class has been spotty, at best, lately. But the weather was beautiful this last Thursday and I really wanted to go. He had a green and red still life set up (apples and green cloth) and some beautiful lilies. I really wanted to paint a landscape, so I walked to the water's edge by this small red mangrove that I have painted many times before. The red mangroves have very red-ish branches, so I incorporated a few hints of red. I have watched this mangrove clump grow in size over the last ten years and I am very fond of it.

This is a palette knife painting and I think it needs a couple more tweaks, but nothing too serious.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and I hope you are enjoying the day.

Small in size, but big in color.

Key West Pelican $85

Laughing Gulls $85

The last couple of mornings I have hit the studio before my first cup of coffee was finished to do a couple of paintings I had in mind. I have painted pelicans and laughing gulls before, but they where all larger paintings. The Key West Art Center recently hung a show of small paintings and I had a good time doing them and wanted to do more. In the late winter and early spring the laughing gulls are in attendance at the painting class I go to, and their noise can be overwhelming. They love to crowd together and I find their black and white coloration very appealing. And who doesn't like pelicans? Well maybe the fisherman who have their bait and catch stolen.

Both of these paintings are 6" x 8" and painted around the edges rather than being framed (unusual for me). The first two photos have quite a bit of glare on them. The above photo shows the edges and seems to be free of glare.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO DIANE SALTER! I won a wonderful collage from her blog. She is a busy woman making all sorts of wonderful things, so I am honored. Please take the time to visit her blog, My Art Journal.

A Stroll through the gallery

I keep forgetting to take pictures of new pieces as they come out of the kiln. So here a some photos of what is in the gallery now. Here is the front of the gallery looking out toward Duval Street.

Some of my small paintings and framed prints, and a few of Egg's paper smashey creatures.

Cute little Christmas ornaments.

Paintings and prints

Entertainment sets.

Looking down from the stairs.

New flamingo sets.

Classic chip and dip.

Some new flip flop designs

As you can see I am experimenting with flamingo images. I have added them to my serving pieces and my flip flops. I did a nice serving set with just palm fronds and I am still trying to perfect the dragonfly and sunflower images.

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Here are some lovely platters for your holidays. Thank you all for your support and friendship.

Extra large platters with braided handles

13 x 21 inches

$125.00 each

Studio interruptus

Life has been getting in the way of my studio time lately, but I won't bore you with the details. I have been working on the usual suspects in pottery and they are coming along nicely. But I have been struggling with a larger painting of the A & B Marina that is at the end of Front Street. I can't seem to get the colors right. And I can't set up and do it plein air because the view is from a narrow pedestrian cat walk. So that painting is having a short time out. While it is getting a beauty rest I have fallen back on an old familiar theme; The Key West Rooster. This one is painted with the palette knife.

11" x 14"

framed with a black frame

$345.00

Final Bike Photos, (maybe)

There was a photo shoot for the bikes yesterday, isn't she pretty!

I'm like a proud parent here.

Notice the star hand grips

I had to put Key Lime pie on it.

Love the yellow rims.

Now the bikes get ridden in the Fantasy Fest Parade tomorrow night. I am having a surrogate rider. Then it goes to the Restaurant Store to be viewed until the auction. It will also be in the Christmas parade and I think I will ride it in that one. While it is in the Restaurant Store it will have a "buy me now" price. I do not know what that will be yet.

Charm School

When I am talking with visitors to Key West in our gallery, if they say it is their first visit, or they ask what they should see, I always tell them to get off the main street and walk around in the residential neighborhoods. And I repeatedly use the word charming to describe the town's architecture and small lanes. For the commission piece I posted about last week, I spent the whole day walking around old town Key West seeking out that charm. This little house on Thompson Lane just fit the bill, but it wasn't the image I wanted for the commission piece. So this week I have painted it by itself, just for fun. I made a decision to bump up the charm to the next level in this painting. I used sweeter colors and more fluid brush strokes. I am very happy with the result and have decided to enroll myself in the "charm school" of painting for a while and wander down all the lovely little lanes it leads me.


This painting isn't for sale yet because I want to use it as a visual reminder of what I am trying to achieve in my next paintings. But I am considering having prints made.

The bike is put together

I went by the bike shop n my way into the gallery this afternoon to see if my bike had been put together yet, and there it was! What a relief, it looks great. These are not great pics because it was in a row with other bikes in a small space, but later this week I'll get some photos of it all by itself.

Great show at Gallery on Green

A friend of mine, Andy Thurber, had his opening last night at Gallery on Greene, here in Key West. The work is wonderful, it really has the Key West spirit. If you are in town do yourself a favor and check it out.

Gallery on Greene

Bicycle frame finished and delivered.

Front wheel assembly.

Chain guard and main frameFenders

More fenders

My bike is covered in Key West post card like images and is titled "Greetings from Key West" I can't wait to see it all put together. So more on this later.

A Contest of Sorts

This painting is a jumble of some Key West Images, and was painted as a possible commission piece. A business contacted the Key West Art Center and said they were looking to purchase a painting by a local artist that was evocative of Key West. They would purchase the original painting and would also want giclee prints of the painting to give away to people they are bringing on a cruise to Key West in January. So the Key West Art Center asked its members to submit paintings. Today the paintings have to go to the photographer and the business will get a CD with all the images. I don't have my hopes up on this but, I have ended up with a good size painting. 24" x 30"

"Island Coffee Queen"

Some sparkle-y things.

Well, I can say it has been awhile since I have posted to my blog, and it is not because I haven't been working, I have. But most of the work has been the nose to the grindstone kind of thing. The reality is that not every minute in studio is full of wonder. My main focus has been clay these last few weeks and the clay work is very process oriented. Pieces only get finished after all the steps have been completed. It is not for those who constantly require instant gratification.

But things are finally getting finished. These Christmas ornaments came into the gallery today. There are palm trees and flip flops all with added glitter for fun and sparkle. Fantasy Fest (our biggest event of the year here in Key West) is right around the corner and the town will be bursting at the seams with people, so it seemed like a good time to get these done.

I have also been working on painting a bicycle for a fund raiser for The Studios of Key West, a local arts organization. 40 bicycles are being painted by Key West artists and will be auctioned off in February. Between now and Feb. the bikes will be on display around town and ridden in a couple of parades. My bike is going to be on display in The Restaurant Store. I'm trying to have my bike finished by Oct. 20. It is almost done and I will post some photos.

Also going on the Key West Art Center, a non-profit art center and gallery, of which I am the president this year, is about to start their season. I have been planning the season along with other board members. Our first meeting is this Thursday and I am giving a short workshop on how to write an artist statement, something we encourage all our artists members to have.

I hope you all have been well. It has been a fabulous fall so far here in Key West. We had lots of rain for a while (while all those storms were out there) and everything is green with lots of tropical flowers. I've put in my tomatoes and have lots of blooms and one small tomato starting.

Well, more later.

Pottery ornaments

Palm trees, $14.00

Flip Flops, $24.00

This week's production work.

I am a production potter so a lot of the small items that I make get made in bunches. I have a work area where I can lay out several spoon rests, or Christmas ornaments or small sets and do them all at the same time.

I don't tend to work on multiple original paintings at the same time. I do best when I zero in on one and bulldog it until it is done. Although some paintings need to have a "time out" and sit in the corner until I'm ready to deal with them again. And while they rest, I can work on something else.

New Beach Path painting

I have painted another "Beach Path" painting. The first one sold so I got out the photo again and started all over. This time I made the water a deeper blue, the path wider (I like that) and it has less shadows. I did it with the palette knife, I quess next time I will have to try it with the brush.

Here is a new grouping in the gallery.

Everyone have a great day.

Dollar Store Poppies

As I mentioned before, my painting teacher is off to Italy for the month of September and it seems I've developed "poppy envy". We don't have poppies here in Key West so off I went to the Dollar Tree to see what they had to offer. This bunch came home with me. I also got some other cool things to paint and I will show those when, and if, their paintings ever happen.

I still have dreams of painting poppies in Italy, but for now I am happy with these. And I got to use red, black and turquoise again.

no title yet

8" x 10"

acrylic on canvas

SOLD

framed in a plein air gold frame

All American boy

Those of you who aren't familiar with Key West might not know that the city is home to a multitude of free range roosters and hens. So, chickens and roosters are a popular theme in our local art galleries. They are very Key West and hallowed Americana at the same time. This lovely fellow is painted in one of my favorite color combos, turquoise, red and black.

Happy Labor Day to all.


"All American Boy"
10 x 8"
acrylic on canvas panel
$325
framed in a gold plein air frame

Odds and ends and a new turtle design.

Some fish spoon rests. P.S. Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Store carries these on their web site.

Here are some new coaster designs. Set of four $25.00

3 - Palm platters come with small dip bowls and a pate knife. $74

New Turtle design, he has a kind of bewildered look. I'll work on that. He comes with a dip bowl too.

Odds and ends.

This morning's sunrise. My painting teacher is off to Italy for the month of September. So while he is gone I am going to work on my clouds. He likes the way I do my cloud edges, but he says all my clouds are separate and never layered like real clouds. So I took this photo of cloud layers this morning to be my inspiration.