Love the story behind this painting. Was at the fights in Phili with my father and some friends. I’m a diehard – I’m there for the first fight and stay through to the last round of the last fight. Many people leave after the main event. Well, one night, after the main event, there was a 4-round fight featuring this guy from Phili, Joey. Must have been only 100 people left in the place, 90 of which seemed to be friends and family of this guy. They were going nuts chanting his name, “Joey, Joey.” Was a great fight. Went toe-to-toe with this other guy from the Carolinas. Both guys leaving it all out in the ring. Joey scored a knock out with seconds left in the fight. The place went wild. Seemed to us like this was the fight of his life. Called Joey to the ring ropes and snapped some shots of him – he was so excited by the win. Wasn’t snapping the shots as a painting reference, but when I reviewed them, was drawn to the light behind Joey’s head. And, his eyes were closed. Gave the composition a spiritual, religious icon feel. Can sense his weariness the way his hand hangs over the rope.
A number of years ago, Stacey and I visited Cape Cod. Took a ferry one early morning to Martha’s Vineyard. The harbor was misty and gray – real cool vibe – loved the pastel colors, so took some shots. While we were sitting there, this dapperly-dressed older gentleman walked on by. Caught a shot. Love the heat of the one exposed light bulb against the cool colors of the harbor mist.
Took the reference shot for this painting the same night I took shots for Beachcombers, Sea Isle Promenade, and Sea Isle Sunset. Just before sunset, everything was bathed in a beautiful shade of indigo. Didn’t put too much effort into this one – just wanted to capture the gist of the scene.
This is the same swing in Ocean City, New Jersey as can be seen in Giant Swing. Took the reference photo for this painting at the top of the entrance way to the amusement pier. Washed out the detail in the riders – wanted the focus to be on the swing lights. Having the riders as blurs gives this painting a sense of motion.
This painting is similar to Wonderland Swing – same swing. Did this one quickly. Happened to take some reference shots with all of my children in them. Liked the washed out Ferris wheel in the background. Put more work into the chains and lines of the swing – liked the contrast against the structure of the wheel. In Wonderland Swing, the swing chains are almost nonexistent.
Love The New Alhambra boxing arena in Philadelphia. Go to the fights regularly. This is a view from the balcony over the entrance. Some of the best bouts are ones on the undercard – young guys with nothing to loose laying it on the line – that’s why this fight’s only 6 rounds. Took a reference shot before the final round – just the right time to catch the atmosphere of the place. Purposefully kept my brushstrokes loose and detail light – just wanted to capture the essence.
Was at a local produce market. Had a bin of Fairy Tale Pumpkins (yep, that’s the name). Liked the washed out, almost salmon color and deep segmentation of these pumpkins. My pallet is usually pretty bright – liked the neutral, dulled pallet required for this painting. My daughter, Em, named this one.
Painted this from a reference photo taken along one of the main roads in Lancaster County. Passed an Amish buggy every few hundred yards. This painting is part of a series of Amish buggy scenes.
Love playing Hot Wheels with my son. Love painting them as well. This painting is a take off on “Jam” – an award-winning painting I completed in 2007. When painting Jam – was thinking about the way my son lines the cars up in neat rows – I liked the blocks of color. As I was working on Jam, the grid of cars reminded me of traffic jams (had a lot of time to think about traffic jams when I was commuting into Philadelphia). “Crash” is a natural extension of that same idea. Sometimes, my son just likes to dump the cars in a big pile. Was going for a more abstract composition, but couldn’t resist drawing the viewers eye to the monster truck. Hid a bunch of stuff, like names of my children and friends, in this painting. Also selected cars that had a bit of novelty to them. See if you can find the shark car, the WWII bomber car, or the gorilla car. And, over half the cars have flames on them – seemed appropriate given the painting is of a car crash.
Love vacationing in Sea Isle City, New Jersey. On the bay, there are a number of great seafood restaurants. Two of my favorites are Mike’s and Marie’s. Mike’s is a great hang out. We love to order big take-out pans of steamed clams in a butter/lemon/wine sauce. Or, we’ll bring some beers, order some broiled seafood, and hang out on their deck. Marie’s is much the same – love their fried scallops – best I’ve had anywhere – when we order a to-go bucket, it’s usually half gone by the time we get back to our place. My daughter and I took the reference photo for this painting from a side street pier across from the backs of the restaurants. Particularly like that we were able to capture the famous Sea Isle water tower (“Smile – You’re In Sea Isle City”) in the background.
