Chateau Marmont Revisited

My recent two-person exhibition, "Home/journeys," closed this past week at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery in Raleigh. While I did not sell any canvases, I did receive several inquiries and compliments from strangers who saw the show and took the time to email me their comments. That alone is a positive outcome.

One of the canvases featured in the exhibit was "Chateau Marmont," seen above. This was the second painting I completed of the famed Hollywood hotel that sits on a bluff above the Sunset Strip. The first was an 11x14 inch study I completed in October 2008 (click HERE for my previous blog report on that canvas). This work was much larger and focused further on the castle-like structure itself. I decided to delete the neon sign per say and only have a hint of its electric light reflection in the lower right side. My feelings for this painting have grown more positive since its completion; at first I felt it was inferior to the smaller study. It was one of the works that I received the highest praise for in the recent show, a pleasant surprise to me.

"Chateau Marmont." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed November 2008.

William Christenberry Exhibit at Reynolda House

On Saturday I took what has become an annual visit to Reynolda House in Winston-Salem, NC to enjoy the museum's latest exhibition. This year's show, "William Christenberry: Photographs, 1961-2005," did not disappoint: the exhibit encompasses color photographs taken by Christenberry in his native Alabama over the past four decades. Most of the works focused on an architectural subject, but they also included gravesites and faded signs. He is able to capture that sense of death, decay and defeat that seems to hang in the air of the rural Deep South. A few years back I saw an exhibition of his work at the American Art Museum in Washington, DC and that show inspired me to begin my Cary Farmhouse Series.

The exhibition runs until June 27. Click HERE for more information at the Reynolda House web site.

Windows at Night

This week's blog entry features another recent canvas that is currently on display in "home/journeys" at the Block Gallery in Raleigh. It is the smallest painting in the show at 18 x 24 inches. The source for the building was a mansion that stands on Drayton Street in Savannah, Georgia. I loved its asymmetrical facade and took several photos of it during my visit to Savannah in February. I focused my composition on an upper section of the house, and then turned it into a night scene for some heightened atmosphere.

"Windows at Night." Oil on stretched canvas, 18 x 24 inches. Completed February 2010.

Lights After Midnight

The past two weeks have been busy with non-art activities. In April and May I am always occupied with yard work and garden planting, and I've also hosted two sets of visitors recently. The schedule has kept me out of the studio (and off the blog) but I enjoy this season too much to miss out on it.

This work, "Lights After Midnight," was produced earlier this year and is currently hanging in the exhibit "home/journeys." The image is based on a real house here in Raleigh, and is displayed with dramatic night lighting. I love playing with light and shadows in my work, and this painting incorporates both.

"Lights After Midnight." Oil on stretched canvas, 20 x 32 inches. Completed January 2010.