A Whale of a Tale

Yesterday was the birthday of a friend who has an obsession with Carvel's Fudgie the Whale cakes. Each year, her fiancé surprises her with one of these cakes. She waits for it each year.

My wife's cousin also is an enormous fan and at his engagement party, his fiancé surprised him with a Fudgie the Whale cake.

So, it was no surprise to see that Carvel has picked up on Fudgie's popularity to create the Fudgie Fanatics and you can become a member here.

Happy Birthday, Marianne!

Vincent or Theo?

Vincent? Theo? Theo.

While the world knows of the many letters written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo, it was believed that the artist never painted a portrait of his brother.

Van Gogh painted several self-portraits and now one of these formerly considered a self-portrait is being considered as actually a portrait of Theo. Close comparison of photos of Theo and this particular portrait have led researchers at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to this conclusion.

More about the finding here.

Selene

Oil on canvas with metal leaf,  20x20

Some time ago I wrote about process and the planning stage of a painting. Above is the end result, I think. Just when do you know if a painting is finished? Artists have been dealing with this question for thousands of years. A deadline provides an easy answer to this dilemma. Since this painting was not commissioned, it is considered done because I think I've accomplished what I set out to do and now feel ready to move on to the next piece in the series. I probably won't varnish for a while in case I decide to work on it some more.

Bryant Park Carousel, NYC

Bryant Park is a magnet at midday for tons of New Yorkers and tourists alike where you can take a break from your day and appreciate being outside. The park offers a great lawn to get some sun, plenty of places to sit and eat lunch as well as this carousel with its baroque rounding boards and classic array of animals which attract children and adults alike.

One lesson learned today: If you are going to be sketching in a park full of people passing back and forth looking for a place to sit, they will always stand directly in the path of that which you are in the middle of drawing. Always.

Millbrook Paint Out finished painting

The finished painting after 3 hours effort.

Of course I forgot my camera, so this cellphone picture will have to do. It's not the best picture but the color is pretty close.

Millbrook Paint Out

This past Saturday, I participated in the 8th Annual Millbrook Plein Air Paint Out & Art Auction benefitting The Barrett Art Center in Poughkeepsie, NY. The weather in Millbrook wasn't picture-perfect, it was  painting-perfect! A bit on the cool side, very dry and plenty of sunshine. Artist check-in was at 8am and paintings were due back by 2:30 to prepare for the auction. After driving around scouting for a location unsuccessfully for over 2 hours, I settled on a spot on the side of the road at about 10:30 and bid the family goodbye as they headed out for their own rural adventure.

My location and the painting in progress.

Back at the auction site, I bumped into Eric Deschamps, a phenomenal illustrator who works mainly digitally, and was using the paint out as an opportunity to work traditionally.