Archive for the ‘In Progress’ Category

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Last Henpeck Mural Completed!

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Henpeck Park Public Mural Ribbon Cutting: 10am, September 17th

Why the 17th? It’s the Friday before the World Canal Conference, hosted in Rochester, NY this year. Check out the schedule – there are lots of events happening on Sunday that are open to the public. Our goal was to have the murals installed in time for the Conference. We have plenty of time to spare, so be sure to swing by Henpeck Park after September 1st to check out the murals under the bridge. Let me know what you think!

For the sake of maintaining an element of surprise, I’m going to wait until after the ribbon cutting to post pictures of the entire murals. Here’s a detail of the last one! The boat is definitely my favorite part.

Steamboat Barge, Detail of Henpeck Park Mural

Monday was spent tweaking a few details on the third and last panel for Henpeck park. It was such a relief to finish the painting within the deadline. Then I spent most of today waiting for the threat of rain to pass so I could get on with the process of clear coating. Golden’s MSA Varnish requires an isolation coat of Soft Gel Medium. The medium dries to a moderate gloss and creates a permanent barrier to protect the painting in case the varnish must be removed. Little raindrops would not be a welcome addition at this stage!

The Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario, with the Niagara Peninsula in between, create some interesting weather effects. Sorta like big parallel stripes of clouds and clear skies that arch right over my house. It’s pretty neat! Today the very edge of the rain clouds hovered over the mural until 2pm, with clear blue skies to the North! Couldn’t the rain move just a LITTLE South?  It worked out alright since I had plenty of time to take care of a few other things, and finished the day by clear coating in the cool air and beautiful colors of twilight.

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Posted in Community, Erie Canal, Event, Greece Mural, In Progress, Murals, Painting, Public Art, WNY | 1 Comment »

Getting Close!

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Check out the article in the Democrat and Chronicle today! It features the Greece Mural, which will be installed as of the beginning of September. I love how they tied in Mural Mania and existing works along the canal. It gives readers a view of the vast picture of community art that this mural fits into.

Sally and Henry, from the completed second painting.
She’s a good ol’ worker an’ a good ol’ pal…..

This week I’m finishing up the last panel of the Henpeck Park public mural. Below is a reference photo of Junction Lock I’m using for part of the painting. Grainy old photos always make the details challenging to render!

Painting is going well and I’m definitely amped up about the installation! Transporting the nine finished sections of three 8′ x 12′ murals – to install on a barge over the canal! – will be the most exciting and nerve-wracking of my career to date. (I get giddy and paranoid just moving them into storage!)  I will be so happy to see them permanently  hanging in their new home under the Elmgrove Road bridge. I cannot way to see the final effect with all three sections working together.

I wonder what my next public art project will be? There are so many small towns along the canal with empty walls and piles of history. I would love to create another Treasures project like the one we just finished in Holley – art that illustrates a town by exhibiting historical and current points of interest, then provides them with an easy way to find all of that interesting stuff! All art has a function, but when you can really make it work for you – that’s even better.

19th century scene from the completed second painting.

Looking for something to do this weekend? The Rose Lummis is taking passengers on a scenic tour of the canal. I went last summer and it was a beautiful trip. I learned a lot about the canal, including what sort of creatures are swimming around in there. Tickets must be purchased in advance. I hope they have some left!

Painting is going well this week and I’m definitely amped up about the installation!

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Posted in Erie Canal, Greece Mural, In Progress, Murals, Public Art, WNY | No Comments »

A Public Mural for Greece, NY

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

It’s difficult to know where to start, when so much time has passed! I have plenty of paintings to share, but I don’t have time to write ten or twelve posts at the moment, so I’ll just skip right to the big news and fill in the gaps later.

Over the next six months or so, I will be working on a public mural for Henpeck Park, in Greece NY. After a period of negotiations, the contract has been signed, the panels are ordered – it’s offical!

Panel 1 : Constuction of the Erie Canal through Greece, NY

Panel 1 : Construction of the Erie Canal in Greece, NY

Click here to read the rest of this post.>> (more…)

Posted in Erie Canal, In Progress, Murals, Public Art, Uncategorized, WNY | 1 Comment »

This (First) Friday 8-7-09!

Thursday, August 6th, 2009
One of Connie's photo-transfer paintings.

One of Connie's photo-transfer paintings.

As you know, the Artist’s Alliance of Orleans County participates in Albion’s First Friday event. Every first friday of the month, a new selection of work is on display at Marti’s on Main.

This Friday we’re celebrating Connie Mosher’s solo show at Salih Studio and Arthur Barne’s solo  show at Elsewhere, along with our monthly First Friday event at Marti’s. I admire the distinctive style and personal expression of both artists, (plus they’re just great people) so I’m very happy for this opportunity to promote their work.

If you haven’t been able to make it to an AAOC First Friday, I would definitely encourage you to try for this one. As always, Marti’s on Main will be full of a great variety of work by AAOC members, including my recently finished mural panel “Origins” and a few of my plein air paintings. I’ll be there on the porch, working on the next mural panel…unless I’ve wandered over to Salih Studio or Elsewhere!

I know it will be a beautiful night – strolling by the canal as the sky turns orange and pink, night breezes cooling the air, streetlights highlighting little tableuas of concrete and steel in green and blue. And hey, if none of that can get you there, I promise that there will be some fabulous peach cake in the refreshment area, made by yours truly. How can you resist?

Posted in Community, Erie Canal, In Progress, Murals, Painting, Public Art, Shows, Treasures of Holley Mural Project, WNY | No Comments »

Demonstrations at the County Fair

Monday, July 27th, 2009
bessie

A quick sketch from the fair last year. Animals are fun to draw, but challenging. I try to pick animals that are half asleep!

This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, painting a Treasures of Holley mural panel outside of the Trolley building at the Orleans County 4-H Fair.

How lucky can you get? Painting murals with a country fair as the backdrop! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to visit the cows and goats, draw some chickens, snack on fried dough and milkshakes…. and hey, all of these are good reasons for you to visit too.  If you’ve never been to the Orleans County Fair, check out their website. There are tons of events and attractions, I couldn’t even begin to list them all.

And of course my reason for being there! Each day I’ll give a breif demonstration (see the previous post for details), summarize the project, and answer questions. Hope to see you there!

Posted in Art, Community, In Progress, Murals, Painting, Public Art, Treasures of Holley Mural Project | No Comments »

ToH: Article in the Paper

Monday, April 20th, 2009
An early settlement in "Saltport".

This is one of the many images I'll be referencing for the mural. An early settlement in "Saltport".

Here’s a link to a nice article that was printed recently in the Medina Journal. Various papers and newsletters have expressed an interest in publishing articles about the project, so it looks like this will be the first of many. The more the merrier! Each publication informs a new group of people, which leads to more participants in Treasures of Holley – which will make all of our efforts that much more successful!

With large projects like this, everything seems to take just a little longer to organize then expected.  If you’re wondering when the workshops and demonstrations will be, don’t worry they’ll be scheduled throughout the summer so there will be plenty of opportunities to watch the murals develop, and participate in the process. The first one will be in May, but we’re still ironing out a few details so I’m not sure of the exact date.

If you’re interested in painting, please send me an email or post a comment. That way we can start compiling a list of people to contact with detailed information.

Posted in Art, Community, Erie Canal, In Progress, Murals, Public Art, Treasures of Holley Mural Project | No Comments »

ToH: Paint from Golden!

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

golden

A plain cardboard box full of simple, unassuming jars of paint arrived in the mail last week. Few things are more fun for an artist to get in the mail then materials- it’s like Christmas! And this particular box of paint was even more interesting then the usual shipment. A donation specifically for Treasures of Holley, sent directly from Golden Artist Colors, New York State’s very own acrylic paint company and factory. Over the past several years I’ve heard  high opinions about Golden from various seasoned professionals. Perusing their site, you’ll find innovative new products (especially the mediums for mixed media artists) that really get the imagination going. Also impressive, they are far more open about safety issues, such as ingredients and toxicity, then most paint companies. There are pages of health, safety and environmental information on their website. If you paint in acrylic, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

I look at these little jars of paint and imagine the transformation of 128 square feet of blank white panel into a colorful illustration of Holley. They may look smaller then you would expect, but they’ll do the job with some to spare. The amount of paint still in the jars after a mural is finished always surprises me.  But I won’t be painting 128 square feet by myself! Mrs. Zavitz’s art students at the high school will be pitching in. In exchange for their hard work, we’ll discuss all sorts of professional artist’s issues, the creative process from start to finish, and the importance of using quality materials.

I’m really looking forward to working with them, especially after meeting with Mrs. Zavitz for the first time last week. We chatted about the project as well as issues related to art in WNY, and teaching art in high school. It’s always reassuring to meet an art teacher as enthusiastic and inspired as Mrs. Zavitz. Teaming up with  someone like her that is open and flexible, and willing to fit something extra into the curiculum, is  a big bonus for ToH.

Posted in Art, Community, In Progress, Murals, Public Art, Treasures of Holley Mural Project | 1 Comment »

ToH: Landmarks, Route, Sketch

Friday, March 20th, 2009

photos

Treasures of Holley Update: meeting with Marsha DeFilipps, town Historian of Holley.

Sitting down with piles of old photographs from as far back as 1860, and someone as knowledgeable as Marsha, was a great start to my planning process.  We were able to pick out the most important sites around town and within an hour the route had practically formed itself. A little history, a little architecture, some nature and personal interest stories – it’s balancing out very nicely. I walked the route that afternoon – a comfortable 35 minute mile with all of the stops, riddles and trivia figured in.

Today I’m working in my studio, roughing out sketches. It takes a lot of photo reference, time and thought to compose eight mural panels. Here’s the plan so far:   Panel 1 – Today on the Erie Canal;     Panel 2 – The Beginning of Holley NY;    Panel 3 – Flora & Fauna;     Panel 4 – The Old Canal;     Panel 5 – Flag Day in Town Square;      Panel 6 – People of Holley;      Panel 7 – Sandstone and Local Architecture;     Panel 8 – Murray & Clarendon.

Before April, I hope to have several demonstration and workshop sites scheduled. Dates and times will be posted here as well as in local papers. I think I’ll start at the school. With a few energetic students, we’ll have 128 sq feet of panel primed in no time!

Posted in Art, Community, Erie Canal, In Progress, Murals, Public Art, Treasures of Holley Mural Project | No Comments »

Cedar Waxwing Sketch

Monday, February 16th, 2009

waxwingsketch

This sketch was presented by my client as a Valentine’s Day present, for a mural that will be completed in the Spring. A sketch usually isn’t worked up to this level of detail, but I was having such a great time with my 3B pencil. It’s been years since I sat down and did a finished drawing, and this sketch reminded me how much I enjoy it. It will probably be framed (unlike most of my sketches which sit in a pile in my paper file). You’ll probably be seeing more drawings here in the future!

Cedar Waxwings are really neat birds.  They like to hang around water, devouring the insects that gather there. Their acrobatic feats as they snatch bug after bug from the air are a lot of fun to watch. They’re also very social birds, usually seen in small flocks. The event illustrated in this sketch has been described as a courtship ritual, and sometimes as a social ritual. A pair of birds might sit on a branch for quite a while, gently passing a berry or other small object back and forth. You can read more about them here.

Posted in In Progress, Murals, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

A Tale of Two Chickens

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

passenger side

The chickens painted on the passenger side of the truck are portraits of two chickens that live at Kirby’s Farm Market. Photographing the chickens while they were roosting at eye level provided that direct avian stare that I knew would engage any observer that saw the mural. Their suspicious, inquisitive expressions made me crack up every time I looked at the photo.

It was a challenge trying to capture that character and life, but proof of my success was not long in coming. The Saturday after I added the chickens, Ted and his wife were driving the truck to the public market. As they were pulling away from a stop light, Paula noticed a woman driving away on the passenger side, laughing to herself. I guess there could be another reason for her laughter, but I’m pretty sure being under the close scrutiny of two chickens was the cause.

A lot of people are curious about our choice of adding chickens to the mural. First of all, we just like chickens. We think they’re delightful and entertaining critters. But the most significant reason would be the adventure of Rochester the chicken.

In the summertime, the market truck is loaded for public market the night before and the back door is left open for ventilation. One night, unbeknownst to anyone else, a particularly curious and adventursome Rhode Island Red decided to roost in the market truck. She slept very comfortably all night, and didn’t make a sound when Ted closed the door at 6am the next morning.

But I guess the 45 minute trip into Rochester got her a little excited. When Ted opened the back door to what he thought was a truck full of plants and produce, that chicken blasted by him in an explosion of feathers, and headed right to the roof. All day long, she toured the public market from the rafters, flying here and there, evading everyone that tried to catch her. A week later, a ten year old boy finally managed to get his hands on her and she was returned to her home in Brockport, where she lived a long and much less adventurous life. From that day on she was known as Rochester, and I’m sure you can still find plenty of people at public market that remember her. That’s a pretty good reason to have chickens on the market truck isn’t it.

Posted in Art, In Progress, Murals, Uncategorized, WNY | 1 Comment »

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