Behind Closed Doors book cover finished

I've been very excited about this project from the beginning. Working with author JJ Marsh has been a pleasure. We had skype meetings to go over her ideas and visions for bringing this to life. That was both productive and fun. She was able to provide clear guidance for me and was also clear about what she didn't want. I was also able to read the book about detective Harriet Stubbs before anyone else, which was cool in and of itself. She sent around this video and here are some of the comments JJ received from those who viewed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Roo1PF06xTE&feature=player_embedded#!

I LOVE the cover. Really, really beautiful. How did you choose the artist? He's great and the video is wonderful.

It's spectacular! What an emotional, brooding build up. Honestly now, did you shed a tear at the end result?

The artwork is fantastic. You would never imagine that much work would go into a jacket. It is mellow and enigmatic. It looks like something familiar to me and makes me feel comfy. It is absolutely the sort of jacket that will get the book picked up from a shelf for a closer look.
The colours are welcoming and vaguely reminiscent of Monet. The front cover looks appealing and hopeful. In contrast the back cover is that teensy bit menacing, with the dark tower and bleeding reflections into the water.

Fabulous. And I know that view so well! Brings back memories. It is a masterpiece and you must be overwhelmed. Brilliant!

Well done too for a perfect match musically. It is spot on. Even if your audience doesn't know the story, the marriage of visual and aural experiences conjure up notions of suspense, elegance and wide-eyed excitement. It feels classical, obviously the music ultimately takes you there. But the images too. I love the build up to a finale, that isn't a finale. You see the title and it fits. You are satisfied you now know what the artwork was building to be. But the music doesn't quit, it just fades out. Which I think your audience will find intriguing and it will make sense when they realise this will only be the first outing of Ms. Stubbs.

Wow. Utterly gorgeous! Seriously, it's like an impressionist masterpiece!

Fixing something that isn't working

I enjoyed Sacramento artist Terry Miura's latest post about making adjustments to an older painting.

http://lightandcolor.blogspot.com/2012/01/metamorphosis.html?showComment=1326821352233#c908015747515054991

Starting Crime Novel Illustration!

After a lot of preparation, I'm getting started on the book cover for a crime novel by JJ Marsh called "Behind Closed Doors." I have had skype calls with the publisher and the author in the UK and Zurich. I'm excited about how this oil painting will turn out and how it will contain elements of the story within. Wish me luck.

Selling to Friends and Family

I met a few artist friends in Indianapolis recently and they had questions about marketing and setting up their business. I'll share a piece of advice I gave them.

You need to determine early on exactly how much you are going to charge your old college roommate, aunt Sharon, the lady who sits next to you at work, or a neighbor. It's easy to hem and haw when a personal friend or relative asks for a price because it's uncomfortable to ask these people for money, but here's my point. In the beginning, ALL OF YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL BE PEOPLE YOU KNOW PERSONALLY! If you can't look them in the eye and give them a straight answer you're dead in the water. Figure out a specific price point, then a discount for friends and family and go for it. I'll let them make payments if that works best.

S.F. Art Shows

I just returned from city by the bay, where I attended two large art shows. The Fort Mason show has been in existence for many years now and featured some of the premier galleries in the US, as well as a few from overseas like South Korea and the UK. I had a good time and was inspired by some of the art work. It's natural to want to roll my eyes from time to time but I'd have to say that for the most part I saw a variety of artistic expression that was both sincere and well executed. The art world is full of people who take themselves a tad too seriously, but I think the economic situation of late has brought a number of people down to earth, if only temporarily. Still, I enjoyed conversations with different artists and gallery owners like Jack Fischer. He was an interesting person and has promoted interesting work for a long time now. My good friend Rich Ortiz was there enjoying the scene with me. We talked to a really cool sculptor who divides his time between the US and Italy.

Starting series of Victoria, British Columbia.

I travelled to Victoria a while back for a conference and stayed an extra day to take in the sights of this beautiful capitol city. It really is a little gem and everyone I talk to who has visited raves about it. I took some great photos and will be completing a series of the following paintings:

1. Don Mee restaurant at dusk in Chinatown
2. Fan Tan alley, also in Chinatown
3. Harbor boats at dusk
4. Victoria Harbour water taxi

Stay tuned...

New Painting: "Maude in Malibu"

This is an 11x14 oil painting completed partially in Malibu then back in the studio.

"In Shadow"

Nevada City Chamber of Commerce

Nevada City Chamber of Commerce

This piece was completed for the show at Broad Street Bistro. It's an 11x14 oil and I'm happy with the way the values (lights to darks) came out. The price for this piece, framed, is $350. I recently sold the piece I did off Thai Basil Restaurant in downtown Sacramento.

Now showing at Broad Street Bistro, Nevada City, Ca.

Thanks to Theresa and the whole gang at this great little main street establishment in the gold rush town of Nevada City. This is where Lance Armstrong and all of the cycling teams launched their Tour of California. I have about 18 pieces hanging there. This one is entitled, "Jeremy Lipking's Door" which is based on the time I spent at his workshop in the Malibu area. He has a great studio and I thought he was a good teacher and an all around nice guy.

101 Years and Counting close ups

Fundraiser painting: "101 Years and Counting" completed and sold

A big thanks to benefactor and all around great guy, John Mitchell for purchasing the original oil painting. The money goes to the Livingston High School baseball program. The painting is based on a photo of the 1909 team. I'm still amazed when I think back on what life must have been like in the little farming communities at that time. This was 5 years before the start of WWI. Amazing.

Shhh...Second Saturday at the Level Up Lounge

I'm all ready for the big show Saturday, June 12 at Level Up on 25th and J, just above Thai Basil restaurant here in Sacramento. The show will be there all month. I have 25 paintings on the walls and I'm very happy with the way everything looks. This painting is the title track of this show, called "Shhhhh". It's an oil portrait from a party I attended in the Philippines. I will be showing 9 portraits in this show. Come check it out and say hello. I'll be there from 6-11 pm.

Cafe Rolle Featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri

I found out recently that Cafe Rolle was featured on Guy Fieri's show. This is very cool and also hilarious. I actually bought all of the ingredients and cooked the lentil salad. Mine was okay but I used powdered chicken stock and it ended up being way too salty, but it was still tasty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6pj97MMXGg

Cafe Rolle Painting Delivered to Chef William Rolle

I was finally able to drop off the original painting after I made some adjustments and chef Rolle was very excited. He's going to hang the original in the restaurant. 11x14 prints are $25 and 16x20 prints are $40. They are matted to that size. I am now able to complete credit and debit card transactions so let me know if you would like to purchase anything.

Cedar Room closeup

New oil sold to the Cedar Room

I went into the Cedar Room here in Carmichael and showed the owner this painting. He loved it, bought the original and we've agreed to sell framed giclee prints on canvas to their customers or anyone else who wants one. I'm selling framed 11x14 copies for $80 and an 8x10 will cost $50.

I always enjoy hanging out in this place because it's very laid back and friendly.

Taxi on Bohol Island

Like the Bohol cafe, this is an 11x14 oil painting. We were at the roundabout at the base of the chocolate hills and I took a photo of this taxi. I mixed up a soft purple and painted it almost entirely upside down with my pallette knife, giving it a loose feeling.

New Paintings of the Philippines

Here are a few new oil paintings, specifically of Cebu and Bohol Island. This piece to the right is a beachside cafe on Bohol. Amazing white sand and laid back people. Great new friends like Ady, Vanity, Ronan, and Junkay brought us here after spending some time on the river and the chocolate hills. An unforgettable and indescribable day.

New Paintings Showing at Luxe

Well, well, well...it has been a few months since my last post (why does that sound like the beginning of confession?) so it's time for me to get caught up on the latest happenings. I was in Cebu, Philippines for most of December, came home for the holidays then immediately flew to Chicago for another three weeks in January. I'm back in Sacramento now and was invited to do a show at the last minute at Luxe Salon and Spa at 2115 J St. here in Sacramento. I was surprised at how big the place was. My newest paintings incapsulate my trip to Cebu and Bohol Island as well as a newfound interest in portraits. This painting is a combination of both. The show will be up through the end of February. They are open until about 8:00 p.m. so go in and check out the new pieces.

New Oil of Tokyo Underground Nightclub

This 16x20 inch oil painting was inspired by a night at a secret club in Tokyo, where I attended a music industry party put on by Jon Lynch. They projected old movies on the walls and there was a group of models there in kimono. This was the night I met the band consisting of a bass player and a guy who did ikebana (Japanese flower arranging). They were charging $30 to see their rock opera. I'm not sure what kind of show that would entail, what with bass solos and violent flower arranging going on, but it's definitely something you wouldn't witness twice.

Pecha Kucha at the Urban Hive

We had a successful Pecha Kucha night at the Urban Hive, an office building that provides space to architects and various creative types, giving them a central location to bounce ideas around. Pecha Kucha is organized here in Sacramento by local architect, Claire Obenson. She does a great job and, once again, she asked me if I could be the mc after I had already arrived. Sometimes it's better that way. All of the presenters were well prepared and it showed. I showed the Sophia video featuring a time lapsed painting of West Indian Girl and it was very well received. I brought in the original so people could view the painting afterwards. There are always interesting people there and just about everyone I meet is involved in some kind of creative endeavor and could probably present if they wanted to. Here is a link to our group's site.

Click here to go to Pecha Kucha Sacramento.

Hiatus is Over

Thanks for your patience, everyone. I took a little break from painting but I'm happy to say that I've been painting again and I'm cranking out some pretty good work. I'll take some photos and get them online soon.

I will be premiering my Sophia time lapsed video of the West Indian Girl painting this Friday at the Pecha Kucha event held at The Urban Hive. I'm looking forward to showing it.

Friday, Nov. 6th

The Urban Hive

1931 H Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

(916) 585-4483

www.theurbanhive.com

8:20-10pm

Livingston High School Silent Auction Complete

Hello,

I was in Tokyo on the day of the silent auction but I heard that the original painting brought in $800 for the program. We have also sold about 15 additional lithograph prints at $55 each. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing one. They are high quality giclees from Sacramento Giclee on good quality paper. They are signed and numbered as well. I'm not sure what I'll paint next year but I'm already looking forward to it.

In Tokyo news, I survived two earthquakes, two typhoons, and a lot of overcast and incredibly humid days. I met some interesting characters during my painting trips, finally tallying 4 completed paintings. I've taken photos as well so I can complete a few more when I get time. Thanks to all the well wishers who kept in touch during the various storms we had to endure.