Butterfly World Photo

I save thousands of digital photos in my “morgue” for possible future use in artwork.* These photographs can be of anything from zebras to alfalfa. This photo was taken in Butterfly World several years ago. If you visit Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I would recommend a visit to this, one of the worlds largest butterfly conservatories. You will be provided with a fabulous photographic opportunity, and a wonderful aesthetic experience.

* morgue – an artist’s alphabetical file of photographs to be used as aids to drawing, painting, or illustration. If the works are the artist’s own photographs, they may be used individually as artworks, and or incorporated into mixed media artworks in their entirety.

Mixed Media Distressed Painting Commission in Process Continued

Step 3


Because each step in this process changes the paintings drastically I've purposefully arranged the panels in a different sequence from my last blog entry. Can you match panels across step 2 and step 3?

Step 3 looks very different from Step 2, and is made up of 7 critical stages without which the entire process would fail. First, new images were laminated over the varnished layers beneath, 2) next the entire surface was covered with oil crayon, 3) a new color of tempera paint was applied, and 4) after drying the surface was distressed so that parts of all the layers beneath would show through, 5) several coats of pastel fixative were sprayed on the surface at 5 minute intervals, 6) The entire surface was coated with a satin UV protective polymer varnish and finally, 7) new digital photographs were taken of the panels at this stage of production.

In the next and final step, I will use Adobe Photoshop to place opaque and transparent digital images of the painted and distressed panels as they were at the end of step 3 onto a final layer of photographs. These will be carefully torn and laminated onto the surface so that the image of the painted surface will match perfectly with the actual painting creating the impression that painted surface and torn paper photographic images are one and the same, an ironic and redundant toying with reality.

Mixed Media Distressed Painting Commission in Process

Step #2

As promised, I am tracking the progress on the commission for friends’ master bedroom. Step #2 actually includes 7 different processes; 1) varnishing, 2) tearing photos, 3) laminating photos onto the paintings, 4) varnishing again, 5) waxing, 6) painting, and 7)distressing. I am 2 weeks ahead of this image now. However, I want the progress charted. The color of the triptych is now much lighter and brighter, and there is more text and many more photos buried in the paint. The darker colors are still there, but not so strongly pronounced. As I progress the paintings will become more centered with strong points of visual interest. I will post new images 2nd week of July. I hope to be finished by July 20th, and will post images of the finished paintings then.

No More Foreign Invasions!

I made this graphic using Adobe Photoshop. Admittedly, it is an ideological political artwork. I have tried to avoid doing these the past two years. However, I can’t help but be alarmed that we are once again ready to charge off on another crusade without having thought through the consequences.

It seems we haven't learned anything from our history of foreign invasions. That history includes, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq I (Desert Storm) & Iraq II. Only one of our invading presidents knew when to stop - the senior Bush in the first Iraq invasion. The others, including Senior's son under the mistaken strategy of "preemptive strike" caused destabilizing calamity.
I say -

“No More Foreign Invasions!"

Punk/Goth Vehicle

So, last week we traveled north, stoping the first night in Pooler, Georgia, near Savannah International Airport. We stayed at pet friendly La Quinta Inn, and had dinner at the local Applebee’s. Unfortunately La Quinta smelled of pet dander, though the steak I had at Applebee’s was quite good. However, more interesting was this bizarre old pick-up truck parked outside the restaurant, complete with coffin and photos of the deceased - I guess the owners, or perhaps some persons the owners dislike. I consider the truck to be a rather large mobile piece of outsider art. Both Joe and I took photos with our i-phones, also (applied) artwork, and here is a small selection of my photos.

South Florida Summer Beach

I took these photographs two years ago, set the camera to repeat and held the shutter button down. The shutter speed was 300, aperture f-11. It was early July, about 1:00 PM, so the sun was almost directly overhead. I used Adobe Photoshop to assemble the photographs into the grid. The original print was 17 x 21 inches. "South Florida Summer Beach is one of a series of grids made of waves breaking on the beach, or views of the beach itself. I have shown but 2 of 6 in shows. I enjoy following the progress of the figures walking along surfs edge through each succeeding frame in this particular grid.

Meryl Streep Painting

I’ve been looking at photographs of Meryl Streep as part of the preparation for the 7 and 1/2 foot by 5 foot painting I will do this summer for our Goddaughter’s restaurant, Characters Pub in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I will not be copying any of these photos. Instead I will drastically alter one or more of them in order to create the actual oversized artwork for the banquet room in the back of the restaurant. The changes include removing a small portion of the original photo(s), changes in attitude/position, and/or, drastic color alterations, along with Impressionist like brushing techniques that remove the painting so far from the original photographic image as to nullify any connection. Some of the photos I’ve looked at are shown below with links to the original Website in which they are displayed.

1. Meryl Streep's Fun Tassel Earrings At The New York Film Critics Circle Awards (PHOTOS) The Huffington Post Jessica Misener First Posted: 01/10/2012 6:22 am Updated: 03/11/2012 5:12 am, Viewed 10:26 PM. EDT, Friday, May 23, 2014.

2. Interview: “Meryl Streep says being a monster in ‘August: Osage County’ was hard”. Viewed 10:33 PM, EDT, Friday, May 23, 2014.

3. “Meryl Streep in the Iron Lady” Viewed 10:29 PM.EDT, Friday, May 23, 2014.

4. The Devil Wears Prada. "Fashionistas beware: Andy vs. Goliath -- Hathaway is the "Devil"'s advocate," in PopcornReel.com Film Review: "The Devil Wears Prada," By Omar P.L. Moore, June 29, 2006. Viewed 10:37 PM. EDT, Friday, May 23, 2014.




5. Meryl Streep. Viewed 10:47 PM. EDT, Friday, May 23, 2014.

6. Meryl Streep, in Vogue Magazine, found on Google. Was unable to locate the exact spot in the Vogue Website where this photo appeared. Viewed 10:58 PM. EDT, Friday, May 23, 2014.

Back to the portrait paintings

This is only the first step of many that will take at least a month to complete before I can start on the actual painting. But the painting will be the 2nd in a series of large acrylic paintings. I completed the first of Leonardo DiCaprio last August through October, 2013. I detailed the steps involved when preparing to do the Leonardo DiCaprio painting last year in 11 blog entries. I list those entries in reverse order (reversed "blog" order) below for anyone wanting to review the process involved in making these acrylic portrait paintings of iconic motion picture characters.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio Portrait, July 22, 2013.

2. Leonardo DiCaprio Portrait: Part II, July 29, 2013

3. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, August 5, 2013.

4. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part III (I’m not sure what happened to Part II.) August 14, 2013.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part IV. August 22, 2013.

6. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part V. August 29, 2013.

7. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part VI, September 11, 2013.

8. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part VII, September 18, 2013.

9. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part VIII, September 25, 3013.

10. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part IX, October 5, 2013.

11. Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby: Part X, October 11, 2013.