And Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

well, here it is, the first post of 2012...only 2 months late!  its been a while, i know, but its only because i've been in kind of a zone lately.  the work's just been flowing.

its all still very much in the exploration phases but i really feel the work is developing well and headed in the right direction.  this time has really been a lot of fun and i'm enjoying the freedom of just 'painting to paint'.

anyway, here's a relatively small collection of new things i've been up to the past few months.  these are a few finished and in progress pieces -- all done in acrylic, gouache, graphite and spray paint on neutral toned rag board. i'll be back soon with some more samples as the work continues to progress.  enjoy!

peace!

My Favorite Holiday

here's a little turkey day doodle to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving!!  now i'm gonna go watch the godfather ALL day.

peace!

Never Not Working

so i know things have been kind of quiet but its not for a lack of working.  as i've been explaining to a lot of people my work has really begun to change and i'm really enjoying this time of exploration.  right now everything's on a pretty small scale but i've been having a lot of fun taking my time and rocking my first size '0' brush.  so here are a some quick samples of where the work's headed and we'll see where it takes me from here.  enjoy!

peace!

The Grind

whoa.  its been a while.  i've spent the last couple of months in major work mode and i've emerged from my dark studio with a whole new set of paintings for a slew of different shows and events happening all over.  its been pretty intense and i'm looking forward to just a little downtime to spend reorganizing and cleaning the rest of my life.  anyway, i'm pretty stoked on the direction the work is taking.  i'm still struggling a bit with nailing down the actual process of how these piece start and then grow, but a lot of the fun has been in the exploration.  here are just a couple of things i've been up to.

the first set of 4 at the top is my submission for a group show emphasizing color.  they're pretty fun little pieces (10"x30" ea.) and will be on display at fabric8 in San Francisco.  Spectrum opens this friday (10/14) so if you're in the SF area make sure to check it out!  you can direct all inquiries to info@fabric8.com

the following 3 pieces are a selection of a few paintings that are currently on display at Parlor Gallery in asbury park.NJ.  Playback will be on display until nov. 1 so check it out!  you can direct all inquiries to info@parlor-gallery.com

finally, is a really fun collaboration piece with the one and only Hannah Betts.  we recently opened a whole show of solo and collaborative works right here in Rochester.  it was a great experience to work so closely with my wife, for a couple of reasons.  1. its quite the challenge bringing together painting and photography (without a lot of cliche collage).  i'm actually really excited how we were able to 'marry' (meh-he) our very different mediums. 2. it was also a lot of fun to finally bring a lot of our common influences together into a more singular focus.  i mean we share SO much in common (i mean we're married, duh) but i think if you looked at our work separately you wouldn't see those similar influences quite as well.  so to finally bring those together was a lot of fun.  Retrograde will be on display at fusion salon for a few more months, so if you can make it in there definitely check it out!

*phew.  so i guess this is what happens when you don't post for a long time.  too much to catch up on.

enjoy the new work!

peace!

New Directions.

the exploration continues, and i gotta say i'm getting excited with some of the results. i've got quite a few projects coming up in the next couple of months so stay tuned for many more updates and actual finished pieces as i get them cranking. enjoy!

*initiating work mode, NOW.

peace!

@StMonci

that's right, i did it. follow me for up to the minute, need to know (and irrelevant) information. thanks!

peace!

Time To Play

it feels really good to not have anything major lined up for the next couple of months. i've had such little time recently between shows to really spend any time hitting my black book and exploring new ideas (a sort of 'post-show' tradition that i've really come to cherish). with the few opportunities i have had though, i've really been trying to figure out how to combine my two very different ways of wanting to work -- a.) my loose, expressive painting and b.) my tighter and more precise drawing. for so long i've been happy keeping them separate but i think i'm ready to change that. before the recent sweet meat show and even during stories by streetlight, i really starting taking to more geometric forms and lines -- looking at old blue prints and bauhaus posters from the early 20th century. i sort of touched on this in the work for welcome to sweetsville, however, the above is a much deeper version of what i've been wanting to do. so yeah, i'm really looking forward to the next few months of pure creative exploration and discovery. stay tuned to see where this goes....

peace!

Welcome to Sweetsville!

first off, i wanna thank everyone who came out to Welcome to Sweetsville last week and showed their support. it was truly an amazing night! i also wanna thank ALL our volunteers and sponsors without whom this event would have not been possible. and of course to my fellow SweetMeat-ers, thank you for once again being scary good and truly inspirational. i'm so grateful to be a part of such a talented and dedicated group of awesomeness!

so here are a few installation shots of the madness that was Sweetsville. the installation, which was assembled at the center of the room, rather than on the walls, posed several challenges (especially for 5, traditionally 2D artists) but in the end really came together in a fun and interesting way. i'm beyond stoked with the outcome. here are a few links to more online photo albums:

Progress Shots by the lovely Hannah Betts-Moncibaiz

Opening Night Pics by GoatMouth Studios

More Installation Shots

and as always you can check out www.sweetmeatco.com for more information.

there is also a sweet review in this week's rochester City Newspaper that you can check out here.

peace!!