2024-12-11

Florida Bovine : 2024-12

Florida Bovine
11 December 2024
Acrylic on vinyl
18 x 18 in (45.7 x 45.7 cm)


I was on a trip through Florida and saw this ship off the Fort Lauderdale Beach. It was a great contrast against the sky and reminds me how massive the oceans are. This ship is huge, but it isn't really huge on the Atlantic. Painting the ship itself stressed me out a bit, but I was happy how it turned out. It's called Florida Bovine because I painted over a print of a cow gifted to me by a friend. Funny enough, the day before I finished this, I saw the same print in the restroom of a Chick-fil-A.

This is a gif showing the original bovine. This cow waited over seven months for me to get to it.
I used it to clean brushes in the interim, but once started, it was a couple days.

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2024-12-10

Musket Mesa : 2024-12

Musket Mesa
10 December 2024
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 in (45.7 x 60.9 cm)


I wanted to keep this one simple. I love the contrast of mesas/hills against the huge sky. I'm still working on painting mesas but was pretty happy with these. I painted over something but have no idea what it was. I was getting better at that, but slipped on this one. It seems the mural had taken too much attention.

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2024-12-04

Hayden Pass : 2024-12

Hayden Pass
04 December 2024
Acrylic on canvas
18 x 24 in (45.7 x 60.9 cm)


I wanted to work on some more abstract pieces and this was my latest creation. The original vision was a more linear separation between the top and bottom. However, I liked sharpness and contrast of the vertical projections. It reminded me of some of the "meaner" mountains in Colorado. There's a lower spot which harkens to the the first pass I usually take when giving a mountain flying course. On the northern edge of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range, Hayden Pass offers an east-to-west/west-to-east crossing.

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2024-11-08

CALTEXPENN : 2024-11

I hadn't actually walked around in LA for a long time. We had a great lunch at Captain Kidd's Fish Market and Restaurant. Walking around Redondo Beach, I saw this juvenile black-crowned night heron. Birds are amazing.

In Fort Worth, we stayed in the Worthington Renaissance which is right downtown. It's a great walk-around neighborhood, and I was able to visit some galleries. The upper left picture is Sour Pickle, by Eva Marengo Sanchez, 2024. It is priced at $7000. I'm always interested in the concept of pricing art. The upper right painting had some great faces. I think it and the two below are by Gwen Meharg, but it was a little hard to tell by the labels.

A couple of great faces.

The water feature in the Sundance Square Plaza.

Nice horse on a water spicket, very nice brick building, and a cool alleyway near the horse.

This abstract was in the hotel's lobby - always looking for abstract ideas.

In Pittsburg we stayed at the Omni William Penn Hotel. Very nice hotel. There are some galleries within walking distance. Not overly large but free which is a nice thing for a city to do. I lost track of which gallery I was in, but they were all part of the Pittsburg Cultural Trust. Above left is the hotel, on the right is Morning Yoga by Josh Mitchel, 2024, 13x17 inches. I thought it had great contrast and lines. Pretty sure that's his website based on other images.

More examples of good contrast. These are Civic Arena No 9 and Civic Arena No 10.
Both by Cory Bonnet, oil on steel and panel from the arena, 2023, 36x40 inches.

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2024-10-18

Tampa : 2024-10

I had a layover in Tampa.  I really wanted to go to the Dali nearby but underestimated the distance and didn't give myself enough time.  Fortunately, there was another art museum just a short walk from the hotel. It was the Tampa Museum of Art. You never know what you'll get at an art museum, but overall, it was a pretty good museum and in a great building.

The plight of "untitled". Personally, I enjoy titling pictures, paintings, works of art. Works of the title, "Untitled", give off the air of "I don't care". These four etchings were a great example. Etchings take time and work, and these are pretty good.  I think they were from a class offered by the museum. All four (and many more) - "Untitled".  They represent four different artists you might be interested in, but I'm not going to list their names.  As far as I'm concerned, they're untitled.

These heart planes were pretty cool. There was a formation of three in the main entrance. At first I thought this was a very small museum, but the upper level had more than expected. I also realized I entered from the back. These hearts are in the large room you'd first see from the 'main' entrance. On the right is an example that some people consider anything art. It is a replica of things in a bathroom. The screen shows the artist manipulating wet hair on a wall. Regardless of your thoughts, it's in a gallery. It's Ablutions & Affirmations, 2023-24 by Marina Shaltout. The hearts are Goodbye My Love, 2013, by Esterio Segura (Cuban, b. 1970).

I thought these paintings had great contrast.  That is something I continue to work on/strive for. Pictures with stronger contrast are almost always better.  At least they get people's attention.
R: Harold Newton (American, 1934-91), Painting of the Indian River, c 1958, oil on board.
L: Alfred Hair, (American, 1941-70), Marshland with Palm, c 1958, oil on board.
Different painters but from the same group - Florida Highwaymen.

Cool model of an artist in his studio - failed to get his name.

This display was three walls of a single room. It moved and was very peaceful. Below is a gif.

C. Paul Jennewein (Self Portrait)
Oil on canvas, c 1918, 18 x 14.5 inches.
This artist had some good work in the gallery.

On the way to the gallery, I passed the Rivergate Tower. It made a good contrast against the sky. Also, it had some cool anticultural concepts - my favorite being water placed on glass over a walkway. Here are some shots.
The tower itself from the west, southwest.

The water mentioned above. It was a windy day so the effects were very cool.



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2024-10-15

Flying Toad : 2024-10

Enjoying flight, Belle, and each other.

A beautiful day to tow in Lola.

Some shots are just epic.

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2024-10-03

Baltimore : 2024-10

Nice building, nice brick - Pratt Street Power Plant.  Had a great lunch at Phillips Seafood.

USCGC Taney WHEC-37 in dock near Phillips, and her medals (below).

A great sign - if you were confused to whom it's written.  Another great
brick building, holding the Public Works Experience.

I like word play and this was a great idea incorporated into a nice walkway in Pierce's Park.

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2024-10-01

Ghost Town Museum : 2024-10

We visited the Ghost Town Museum in C Springs on the first day of October. We'd seen it several times and we finally made the time to give it our full attention.

The shot - on a couple of saddles and Kim's new hair!

Some of the rooms and old carriages.

A two-headed calf from 1963 in Peyton, CO and a news/printing room.

A 1903 Cadillac with one cylinder making 8HP!  Best seller.
I also panned for gold, found some gold but didn't get any action shots.
Kimberly thinks it's pyrite crystal, but it's gold.

Some Michelin 3-Star meals - thanks to Kimberly!

Walked a graveyard in Idaho - perfect weather - and saw a very apropos tombstone.

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