A new Chuck Close

I remember the first time I saw this painting.  I was in grade school, probably 10 or 11 years old and it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.  After 20+ years of looking at the same painting the wonder wore off.

Chuck Close

American, born 1940

"Frank"

1969, acrylic on canvas

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts recently purchased this screen print by Close.
It is awesome, go see it.

"James"

2004, color screen print

Edition 45 out of 80

Now with the newer work by Close, I can look back at his painting of Frank and see it with an idea of his development as an artist.  You can see both of these paintings on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Artork of the month: Joan

This sculpture is amazing.  The first time I saw it at the museum I was slightly fooled for a second (okay, I allowed myself to be fooled, it was fun).  This work portrays reality so well that her feet are dirty just as if she has simply walked barefoot across the floor.  I love it, and I am pleased to say it is at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts as part of its permanent collection.

John DeAndrea

American, born 1941

"Joan"

1987, Polyester resin, pigments, synthetic (?) hair

Go take a look at this for yourself...

...it is a graceful illusion. 

I quit smoking!!!

I have been a smoker since 1990.  I half tried to quit many times, although I never really wanted to quit. I had been very lazy about it and although I was completely disgusted with smoking for many reasons, I never had the motivation to stop.

I am now a nonsmoker.  I quit cold turkey and I have not looked back. I was able to stop smoking so easily this time because my reasons for quitting were more powerful than any desire to smoke. In fact I have experienced little to no craving for a smoke.

So in celebration of officially being a nonsmoker I want to share one of my favorite oil paintings at the Minneapolis Institute of arts with you.

Edouard Manet

French 1832-1883

"The Smoker"

1866, oil on canvas

"No one can be a painter unless he cares for painting above all else."

-Edouard Manet

BitTorrent #6 Auction

I am trying out Ebay for sales of my paintings, here is the listing of the piece I have available.

BitTorrent #6 is up for auction...

Let the bidding begin...
...lets just see what happens with this.

The big move

I have been a professional artist in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1996.  My time here has been both productive and romantic.  I could afford to live as an artist, and simply create works of art on an almost daily biases.  I can not remember a time that I was not painting and creating works of art.  Minneapolis has been very good to me, as I was able to easily establish myself here as an artist.  

My wife Athena and I have decided to move for a better climate, and greater opportunities for us both in our chosen professions.  We are moving to Maui, Hawaii this August.  I will be able to continue to be a professional full-time artist, and Athena will be able to be a full-time dog trainer.

Our dreams have come true, now all we have to do is work, and that is the easy part.

Thanks Minneapolis...

...you are currently the center of the art of the world.

Youtube: Bike to Burgers

I just bought a "GoPro Hero 2" camera for my snorkeling adventures coming up, and I needed to play with it, test it out, and see how it looks.

Chris and I took a ride through Minneapolis for Burgers and Beer.

Minneapolis is the #1 bike city in the USA...

...I have been an urban rider since 1996.