Blowing it up in Raleigh and Clayton.


I have been painting up a storm in the studio lately, on canvas and on the panels I made from salvaged wood. The paint is building up nice and thick on the little owl. The Piranha is just getting going. Here is the Big Daddy Owl I am working on. It's changed a lot already and still has more changes to go through.
Here I am with my little artist, she has been quite prolific lately with her gouache paintings.
If you get a chance, swing by the Clayton center this month. My wife and I are showing. We were featured in their newspaper.

What is your spirit animal?

The painting laying down with the squirrel and the bunny is inspired by a couple of friend's honeymoon trip to Niagara Falls. Also against the wall is another painting referencing their trip.
Our dog isn't actually this mean. But he could be. Above is his wiener dog friend, Ollie.

Magnified through a pickle jar


Purple chick in progress. Extreme close up.
Meet Nugget, our dog. He's pit bull mix. This painting is in progress.
Have you ever wondered how people can hear each other when they are both talking?
A new series of paintings in the works. I built these wooden panels from salvaged tongue and groove boards. The surface is very textured, with ridges and gaps. It's fun to really pile the oil paint on to these. I start the composition as totally abstract before settling on an image.
A close up of an in progress chicken.
Three animals in progress- wood panel. The painting sitting above it is a black elephant.

Black Friday Art Friday

Instead of shopping this friday, I spent the day in the studio. Here is a new crop of paintings freshly arranged.
Here is my commissioned piece, almost finished!
Studio corner, filled up.
Here are some pieces I am working on now. Stay tuned to see how they come out!






Guitar and all.

Recent projects as of late. Here are paintings of a rooster, and a cat, bird and hamster. Both are about halfway done. I will be building up the paint layers now.
Here is a painting of my cat Seamus, who has a feral side. I just started this one, and will be adding lots to it. I built the wooden panel from some salvaged floor boards.
Here is a rabbit that was just started today. Still in it's very first phase, it is more of a sketch in paint right now.
Speaking of paint....
And finally, the guitar collaboration I have been doing with Anna is done. Our client had an old Silvertone guitar that wasn't playable and commissioned us to each paint half. It was a really fun project.

Climb inside my brain

The guitar is a commissioned piece that I am doing in collaboration with Anna. Surrounding it are some more small paintings that are in the works. Knock Knock, Red Suit Rhino, and Work.
Some wee little paintings that are just beginning to take shape.
Commissioned painting, measuring 4 by 4 feet, 25 pounds, and 3 pounds of paint. Barracuda Ladyfingers. The ladyfingers are okra. Get ready to see some layers of paint on this one in the next coming weeks.

New commissioned painting in the works

Here I am working on a scale size drawing in Lee and Sam Mobley's sun room. The painting will hang in this room when it's done, on the opposite wall. Lee and Sam were kind enough to cook dinner for my family and I that evening. Lee has named the painting, "Barracuda Ladyfingers". The next step will be transferring this drawing onto the canvas I have built.

Studio view, Kat commission


On top is my wall in the studio right now. Lots of new paintings and some classics in the mix. The painting below is a commission I'm working on for a client with four cats. Each cat has its own succinct personality.

Fish show, Fish mural


Above are images of the finished mural. I am very pleased with the great work done by all the kids! It's in Artspace's connecting gallery. That's the hallway connecting Artspace to city market in case you didn't know. Below are pictures from the opening night of my Fish Show, in Artspace's lobby gallery. It's up for the rest of this month.

A little paint goes a long way

Everyone had such a good time painting today, lots of great imaginative colors. This group of kids really knows how to paint. Tomorrow we will add the finishing touches!



Big Fish Sculpture

This summer is my summer of fish. With my fish show opening in Artspace's lobby First Friday (June 2nd), I am teaching some summer classes that have fish as a theme. This week I am teaching Big Fish Sculpture class at Artspace for the Artspace summer arts program. The kids in my class are in 3rd through 5th grade and are beginning to plaster their fish sculptures. The armatures for these sculptures consist of newspaper and cardboard. The kids are doing a great job. Stay tuned and watch these fish come to life as the kids begin painting them tomorrow!

Sosta show and Shoppe


Above are some shots of our show at Sosta. It is now more or less my show- Anna needed all of her work back for her Block show. If you're downtown, stop in for a sandwich or coffee. The show will be up for another week. Sosta is on Davie St. in the Progress energy building.
We have T shirts and pottery in the Shoppe. I am collaborating with a fabric artist. She is interpreting my paintings and making them into quilts. Also she made an apron with a piranha on it.

Details, details





I got quite a bit done on my piranha this Saturday. I worked a lot on the scales of all the fish paintings. Below the picture of the piranha is a detail of the scales and below that the background. The final picture is of part of the large fish painting I'm doing showing the layers that are building up. I like to keep the painting very loose feeling but in other parts very controlled. It's a nice contrast.

The Fish Show




These are works in progress for my fish show in Artspace's lobby this summer. Right now, I am building layers of paint, working on fish scales and getting my colors right. The top two paintings were started while I was painting live at Margaux's restaurant on May 12th. The third painting down is a biggie, about 54 x 56". I have put a lot of time into the scale pattern trying to maximize my colors. The final painting is part of my quilted grid series. It is the only painting in the series that is just fish. It's also coming along.