Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Artwork of the month: St. Benedict of Palermo.

One of the recent acquisitions at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, a sculpture of St. Benedict if Palermo, is so stunning you are truly missing out if you don't go see it right now.

Attributed to José Montes de Oca
Spanish, 1675-1750
"St. Benedict of Palerno"
1734, polychrome and gilt wood, glass

St. Benedict was the first christian saint of african origin to be canonized.  And as with all saints it took a while for it to be official with the church, this guy more so because of who he was.
He was born in sicily, 1524, to parents that were freed slaves from ethiopia.  Yep, he was a black man and the church wasn't progressive enough at the time to canonize a black man.  He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 then canonized in 1807 by Pope Pius VII.

St. Benedict was know for his extraordinary religious devotion, patience and understanding when confronted with racial prejudice, and acts as a truly devoted man of god.

"St. Benedict of Palermo" was purchased by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2010.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Minneapolis #6 is complete.

I just completed another of my Minneapolis works.  Enjoy it.

Minneapolis 6
24 x 12, oil on linen


Check back later...
...the next Minneapolis painting is on the way.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

BitTorrent 12 "The Peloponnesian War"

I just finished another painting in the BitTorrent series.  It is my philosophical representation of the "Peloponnesian War" and how I see both sides of the massive conflict to be.  I have used a triadic harmony in opposite of what I normally work with in color.

I am currently working on my compositional ideas for a series of works on "The Peloponnesian War" that will focus on the individuals involved in the war.

BitTorent 12 "The Peloponnesian War" 
24 x 36, oil on linen

Thanks for thumbing through my blog...
...More to come soon.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

New studio in NE MPLS

Hi all,

I haven't had the time to post much lately as it has been a very busy few months.  Wedding planning has taken over my life, as it probably should.  

I have almost finished the studio.  I only have a few alterations to the work flow and some winterizing to do and its complete.  I have been working on new paintings, the kickstarter rewards and a new set of wood chairs.  


here is a picture of the studio as it is now.



Thanks for thumbing through my blog...
...More to come soon.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Wedding Rings

Athena and I picked up our wedding rings this month...
 We worked with a jewelry designer named Karin Jacobson, she owns Karin Jacobson design where all of her jewelry showcases a wide variety of style and type from necklaces to rings to bracelets and more.  It tok me several months to chose a place to go for our wedding rings, and I chose perfect.  

Karin worked with us to design the rings, and it was fast, it was fun, and overall Karin gets our business in the future.  

This is the set, Athena's engagement ring, her wedding band and mine.

Here are a few pics of Athena's engagement ring, it is a natural 1.04ct green diamond set in palladium. 




Thanks for the fantastic wedding rings Karin, they are works of art...
...we love them.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Minneapolis 5 "Contrast of Temperature"

Hi all,

I just finished another painting in the Minneapolis series.  It's a fun piece based on warm colors and the contrast between them.  This work will be on exhibit at Regla De Oro Gallery in the spring of 2012.

I have been having fun with simple ideas on smaller canvases in preparation for my last BitTorrent oil painting.  I hope you enjoy this.

Minneapolis 5 "Contrast of Temperature"
12 x 24, Oil on linen


Thanks for thumbing through my blog...
...More to come soon.


Monday, September 12, 2011

Gallery 13

Well the exhibit is down and the results are in.  the show was great, it went very well as it generated the kind of response we were looking for.

here are some more pics of the show...









thanks to all of you that came to the opening night, it was fun.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Opening Night at Gallery 13

The opening event was a great success with somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 (Best guess on the clicker) people attending in total throughout the evening.


Here are just a few pics we took before the opening started...
Philip and his work

Catherine and her girlfriend Kim with Catherine's work...

Philip, myself, and Chris just checking it all out...

Athena and her friend Shanna in front of my work...

Athena and I at the Local after the opening closed down...

Ed, me, and Shanna...

Ed, Athena and I...

Chris and myself...


All in all it was a very successful night, and it spawned many opportunities.
 I look forward to the artist talk and coffee and cakes talk this month at the gallery.
Once I get it all organized I will post more pics of the event.

see you at the artist talk...

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Artwork of the month: Revenge is sweet.

Anne-Louis Girodet de Rouncy-Trioson
French, 1767-1824
"Portrait of Mlle. Lang as Danae"
1799, oil on canvas

This painting is purely a revenge painting.  Lang commissioned a portrait of herself from Girodet.  When the painting was completed Lang refused to pay believing the portrait to be unflattering of her beauty.  The woman was so vain she couldn't see herself. 

Lang was a beautiful woman, well know professional actress, vain, adulterous, gold digger.  This completely insulting painting was intended to immortalize Lang's character flaws.  Lang is shown as a prostitute, holding a cracked mirror.


The turkey with the wedding ring is the rich sucker she married for money.

The gross mask is her lover Leuthraud with a gold piece stuck in its eye socket

This painting is filled with insults directed at Miss. Lang who must have blew her top when she saw it.  Honestly from all that i have read Miss Lang got exactly what she deserved, to be remembered 200 years later for being a complete bitch.  

Bravo Girodet...
...you remind me of Rob McBroom and his portrait of Tim Taylor who also got what he deserved.  


Let me tell you about Mr. Taylor.  If you were to see any of his online posts, you’d quickly find a smug, egotistical man who thinks he’s a genius, but isn’t.  Amongst his many targets is fellow duck stamp artist, Rob McBroom who found some of Tim’s mockery on an online message board (09, 10).  Like Girodet, McBroom chose to respond with art, not words by recreating Tim’s drawing of a wood duck that he also uses as his avatar on the very forum where he bullies other artists.




Still fighting in the Cold War against the Soviets that’s been over for over 20 years now, Tim has a rabid disdain for anyone who doesn’t agree with his extremist right-wing views employing such outdated terms such a “pinko” or “commie lib” to put them down.  Whereas Girodet bitingly used symbolism to showcase Ms. Lange’s  terrible qualities, McBroom takes the things that Tim detests most & incorporates them into his wood duck to irrevocably associate Tim with what he sees as is ideological foes.

As a Tea Partier, Tim opposes Barack Obama both as a politician & a person, so the Obama logo is a logical choice

 Tim is also a Birther, which explains Obama’s birth certificate in the duck’s neck.

 A Soviet ruble is the duck’s eye so the window to its soul is Communist.

 Finally, dozens of photos were culled from various sources on the internet of Tim & collaged into the duck’s feathers.  To further link Tim with Socialism, he’s seen cavorting with Joseph Stalin & Vladimir Lenin in many of the images.


I am having too much fun with this, so lets just close it up.
Seriously Tim Taylor is an overly egotistical self important prick.  He is the kind of guy that simply looks for an argument on the internet, picks on people relentlessly for no reason other than he can see that the people he targets are better than him.  Yep I said it publicly in a blog, Tim Taylor is a jerk and will be remembered 200 years from now as a jerk.  Tim will not be remembered for his contribution to the art world, as his paintings are nothing special.  So no wonder he targets artists that are.  

Rob McBroom
American, born 1973
2011, digital image with acrylic, plastic gems, glitter, on canvas.




To all of you out there getting even with a prick...
...do it so they never forget their shame, I know I am.




Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sneak Peak for you

Here is a sneak peak of a portion of the exhibit opening on the 9th this month.  


I will have more for you to see tomorrow night, and until then see you all at the Gallery at 7pm friday the 7th.