Giclée prints available on select paintings

Manhattan Bistro

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer. I've been busy painting a large street scene that I'll post as soon as it is finished. At times I feel as if this blog, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are a beast that needs constant feeding.

On another note, I've recently added several new paintings to my page on TurningArt.com. These paintings are now available as giclée prints. Link.

Gargoyles Galore!

In addition to being a painter, I also enjoy creating quilts and fiber art, often incorporating NYC imagery into my projects. I was recently commissioned to create a gargoyle themed quilt which I enthusiastically tackled as I have many photographs of gargoyles around New York and thought it would be a fun way to use them. Some of these gargoyles can be found on the City College campus, the Upper West Side and Chelsea among other locations. The three photographs below depict the full quilt, a close up section of one corner and a sample of one of the quilt blocks. Each block was created using the same pattern but I varied the way the fabrics were configured. A nice way to use up a bunch of scraps and as any quilter knows, those scrappy quilts come in handy in diminishing the ever growing pile of left over fabrics. The center of each block features a gargoyle with smaller gargoyles sprinkled around the quilt corners and on the border.

Creating these fiber art pieces is a nice companion to my paintings as I can explore the New York City themes that interest me using a very different and creative medium.

Another take on Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards Reflections
Oil on canvas
42x24 inches

Hudson Yards, a massive new development in Chelsea's west side recently opened to the public although there is still a lot of ongoing construction to develop the site.

I captured these reflections of the 1912 James Farley Post Office, the main post office in New York, overshadowed with the looming construction of Hudson Yards behind and west of it. Once again, the old and the new in the city, side by side. This new construction is massive in scale to the post office, bland glass facades, a lot of glass, as opposed to the more decorative detailing on stone buildings constructed during the early 1900's. That little pop of red of the crane really stands out.

There is has been a lot of pro and con sentiment regarding this large project but I set that aside when I decided to do this painting as I've been documenting the city and these buildings are now part of the city's architectural landscape, for better or worse. Living not far away, I see these buildings on a daily basis and I'm curious as to how they will eventually be integrated and accepted into the city's consciousness.

Hell's Kitchen Pizza and Readings

Psychic Pizza
Oil on canvas
16x12 inches
SOLD

Last Spring I met friends on Ninth Avenue in Hell's Kitchen to celebrate one of their birthdays at an Italian restaurant. As we were waiting for one more person to arrive I took some photos of Two Boots restaurant nearby as I was intrigued with the colors that just popped off the facade and signage - bright reds and yellows on a gray and rainy afternoon.

Having recently completed two paintings with lots of muted grays I needed to paint a subject with lots of color and this one fit the bill. Pretty happy with the results. When I showed this painting to my friends who were with me last Spring they informed me that the Two Boots Pizza location in Hell's Kitchen had closed as well as the Italian restaurant next door. On googling I found that the pizza place had closed due to unpaid taxes. Might reopen, might not.

This painting might be added to my website under the "Gone but not Forgotten" heading, will have to wait and see.

Emily's Flatiron District Reflections

Emily T's Flatiron District Reflections
Oil on canvas
16x12 inches

A printmaker friend of mine recently shared a photograph she had taken of reflections and thought I might be able to do something with it knowing how much I enjoy the subject. She was spot on and after I cropped and tweaked the photograph I painted this view. Sun setting in the West casting golden reflections on the glass facade of yet another modern structure. An old, gold-domed building can be seen, once again emphasizing the subject of the old reflected in the new.

NY Yacht Club 175th Anniversary

NY Yacht Club 175th Anniversary
Oil on canvas
20x16 inches

One of the more whimsical building facades in Manhattan can be found on 44th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It is the home of the NY Yacht club which in 2019 celebrates their 175th anniversary. A visitor to my ChaShaMa exhibit this past August mentioned this to me and suggested it might be an interesting subject to paint. I had in fact taken many photos of this building and had painted a small study several years ago. It seemed a good time to reexamine this building subject and here is the result. I captured the light hitting the side of the building as the sun was setting in the west. The interior lights were lit casting a golden glow within, creating a nice contrast with the gray stone ship's exterior and sea creatures adorning the front of the building. As I've noted many times, they just don't build 'em this way anymore and I'm delighted when I come upon these unique and beautiful building facades.

Two Group Exhibitions to start off 2019

Happy New Year!

Starting off the year with participation in two group exhibitions.

Art From the Boros VI is a large group exhibition featuring the work of 50 artists. Two of my reflection paintings are on view in this diverse and eclectic exhibit which runs through February 2nd at the Denise Bibro Fine Arts space located at 529 West 20th Street in Chelsea. Here a link to see selected works on view.

The 122nd Annual Exhibition of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club is now on view at the National Arts Club located at 20 Gramercy Park South, on view through January 25th. Here is a link to see selected works in the exhibit.

I've chosen my painting, "Miss Martha" for this exhibit. Several years ago, I won an award for my painting in this annual exhibition and unfortunately I had the flu the night of the awards dinner. My friend Martha stood in for me, and accepted the award with I'm sure a few pithy remarks thrown in for good measure. Martha passed away last March and I think of her often. Having this painting hanging on the wall at the National Arts Club was one way of honoring the memory of my friend.