Wednesday, February 13, 2008

A Valentine to my hometown

The ever-changing face of the city

"Old and New Reflections"
Oil on canvas
30 x 36 inches


Today I share with you a painting that epitomizes this city for me - the old and new - side by side. When I did this painting, the older Madison Avenue building in the foreground was soon to be overshadowed by a new, large, office tower under construction, and it has since been completed. Wherever one looks these days, older structures are either falling down or being torn down to make way for the new glass and steel architecture of today and it seems that construction sites abound on every other block. I'm constantly walking under scaffolding or making a detour around some kind of construction site. That's what this town is all about - constantly changing and reinventing it's look. I rejoice in the energy and spirit of my beloved city and yet I hope, amidst all the "new", we can still treasure, appreciate and most importantly preserve some of the "old".

Friday, February 1, 2008

The Majestic Sherry Netherland

A birds-eye from above

"Sherry Netherland #3"
Oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches
Sold


Wanted to post something new on February 1st, as this is my favorite month and I wanted to get it off to a good start. I stopped work for awhile on my new Long Island City series of paintings to complete this commissioned painting of the Sherry Netherland Hotel. I had done 2 small 5x7 inch paintings of this subject awhile ago - one from a photo I'd taken and another from a photo a photographer friend gave me thinking I might like the view - he was right, I did. A collector saw the paintings on my website and commissioned this larger version. Having painted this view on a small scale, I wasn't sure how it would work in a larger format, but I think it turned out pretty nicely and I'm happy with the result. Now back to work on the LIC series.