BOWL, Acrylic on Panel, 20x30

A few months ago, my friends Chris and Jenny asked if I was interested in doing another painting of the Bear Creek Lanes sign for their new home. I was very interested but felt I should ask Jason (the now owner of the original painting I did earlier). I'm  not sure on the protocol of this kind of thing, but I wanted to make sure he was cool with it before I committed. Luckily he enthusiastically gave his blessing, so it was up to me to figure out how to do it differently enough to keep challenging myself but not too differently that my friends would still be pleased. The original was cropped and was only 5x10 inches and the Schells wanted a painting that would be many times that size. It would be my largest painting yet!

The challenge of this particular sign is that it’s an elongated L shape and could possibly leave a lot of empty space in one of the corners if I painted it straight on - I needed a different angle. 

I decided to make a simple 3D model of the sign that I could manipulate to give me a rough idea of what the best angle would be to shoot a reference photo. 

I didn’t want to spend a lot of time shooting on location, because I know people can get weird about someone taking photos of their stuff. I (quickly) took a day shot and an early evening shot with the neon on, and we decided that the daytime photo looked the best. 

So with that, I got to work.

Pack, Acrylic on Panel, 14x11

This is the final painting that I’ll be submitting to Cottonwood’s Abstract Show. Drop off is today and the show opens March 28. Even though I made three paintings, I’m only going to submit two. The second painting “Stacked” just wasn’t up to the caliber of this one and my first abstract “Winding.” I absolutely loved doing these paintings and there’s so much more potential in doing more. I could play with color, shapes, composition, “camera” angle. So expect more of these along with still life and sign paintings.

Stacked, Acrylic on Panel, 11x14

Another painting for Cottonwood Center for the Arts' Abstract Show.

Winding, Acrylic on Panel, 16x20

The great thing about galleries having an open call for entries is that it gives me an opportunity to work on different styles and themes. This is my entry for Cottonwood’s Abstract Show. I’ve had the idea to do something like this for quite a while, but the deadline gave me the push I needed to try it out. I’m hoping it fits their criteria for abstract art. I like to think of it as a painting of an abstract sculpture. Whether I’m juried in or not, I had a blast putting this together and I’m hoping to have one or two smaller ones by the submission deadline. Wish me luck!

Four Bowls, Acrylic on Panel, 6x6

I just submitted this painting to Cottonwood Center for the Arts' Small Works Show. I was hoping to have at least one more, but the holidays got the best of my time. Oh well, I had a good time and I'm very pleased with the way this one turned out. The opening is next Friday.

Camera Shop, Acrylic on Panel, 18x9

Before my girls went to school full-time, I would drive around Colorado Springs looking for subjects that I may want to paint in the future when I had more time. I took this photo on an early Sunday morning over three years ago. I’m glad I did because this sign is no longer there and I would have missed the opportunity to paint it.

This painting and my Apple Bowl Wallflowers painting will be at the Modbo’s Small Works show which is opening this Friday.

The Wrangler, Acrylic on Panel, 24x14

A couple months ago, my friend Jenny sent me a photo of this sign suggesting that it would make a great subject for my signpainting series. At the time, I was in the middle of the Dia de los Muertos and the Fire Fire Flood projects, so unfortunately it got put on hold. The delay turned out to work in my favor as it made me even more excited to jump in and I was surprised to find myself in what felt like my “comfort zone” (something I didn’t anticipate finding so early in my painting career). As with all pieces, this sign had some challenges. After reviewing some photographs at different angles I realized I had the star too high and the “Wrangler” font was wrong so I had to tweak these as I went along. Also, the cowboy himself was a challenge because I needed to show the age of the sign while still conveying my skill as an artist - hopefully I was able to walk that line.The foliage in this painting was a first for me – I love that I get to learn something new every time.