Painted this one off of a reference photo taken during the same night as one taken to create “Cadillac Diner.” Taken in Wildwood, NJ. Love how Wildwood embraces the retro 1950’s neon light-look outside their restaurants and hotels. Love the contrast of the cool blues at dusk and the heat of the neon light. Fun to paint.
Painted this from a series of reference photos taken at a farm in my wife’s family. Combined a few different images and used some imagination to create this scene.
A simple, fun composition of Philadelphia-themed Funko Pop sports figures. Painting is a sister to the painting “Justice League” created a few years ago. Had the opportunity to adjust the reference photo on Procreate. Enhanced colors and contrast. Blurred out the background. Have gotten comments – “why that guy?” I wanted to represent as much of the Philly sport scene as possible. And, I’m limited by Funko Pop availability – some of my favorites don’t exist as a Pop. Would love to have added Dr J. and Mike Schmidt. Would have also liked to include the Philadelphia Union soccer team. But, love that a Reggie White Pop was released just as I started preparing this composition.
Started this painting with idea of doing a still life of artist figurines – finger puppets and Funko Pops. Then, thought about adding some images of artists. Morphed into using self portraits. Loved adding artists like Frank Frazetta and Boris Vallejo, ones that I idolized in my youth (and still do), to classic artists like da Vinci and mixing them in with modern artists like Matthew Barney – loved bringing all of those who’ve inspired me together – would love to be a fly on the wall at that “party.” Took liberties with the portraits – exaggerated color saturation and value contrast and changed elements of the portraits to serve the broader needs of the painting. When researching portraits, as I looked at Warhol images, was struck again (as I have been in the past) of his repeating grids – a few of his self portraits repeat the same image with varying colors in a grid. Struck me – in our current COVID-restricted environment, I’ve participated in a number of Zoom/Google meetings during the day. Staring at Brady Bunch Opening-like grids of people all day long, and saw the commonality with the Warhol paintings – his portraits seemed prophetic. Inspired by that for this painting. Also liked inserting figurines on top of a “flat” surface and creating a stark contrast – was a fun challenge getting the figurines to read as if they’re popping off the background. With this painting, I’m pushing the boundaries of what’s considered a “still life”, celebrating artists that I’ve been inspired by, and celebrating our current situation/virtual meeting culture.
Going back to my roots with this one – neon sign, nighttime reflective paintings. Have always loved the contrast of warm lights against cool backgrounds. This painting is of a diner in Wildwood, New Jersey. Love the retro 50’s-style vibe of the signage in this shore town.
Created this oil painting at the request of my son, Cole. “Dad, you should do a soccer painting.” I told him, “one condition – we do this together.” That’s why there’s a portrait of him by my signature. And, Cole named the painting. Painting includes all of Cole’s favorite players. And, the players had to have the right, most-representative jerseys on. Once the painting was finished, we had a number of giclees made – gave the prints to Cole’s best friends as high school graduation gifts. Names of his Blue Devil teammates and coaches are in the painting. I have loved watching Cole’s love of the game develop. And, I’ve become a fan as well. The game has been a wonderful gift that has helped me get closer to my son – enjoyed commemorating that experience in this painting.
Had fun painting the reflections from the Christmas lights on this one. This painting is all about light and texture. Composition is very complex. There’s lots of fur, clear glass, and reflective surfaces. And, the lights create all kinds of reflections. So, “white” hair in the painting was painted using yellow, red, purple, and a host of other colors. The complexity of this one made it fun to create.
Another toy car painting. In this one, wanted to use different size cars. Wanted the larger cars to form the main structure of the composition. Then, I used smaller cars to fill in the gaps.
This one took a long time to complete. Hope I never have to paint a piece of popcorn again. This painting features a bunch of food places that I love from the Jersey Shore. For me, and other folks living around the Philly area, going “down the shore” means going to the beaches south of Atlantic City. Ocean City, Stone Harbor, Avelon, Wildwood, Cape May – my in-laws have a place in Sea Isle City – in the heart of them all. Salt water taffy and fudge are a given – my favorite is from the Fudge Kitchen in Ocean City. Manco and Manco’s pizza is a must – love that they put the sauce on top of the cheese. Michael’s Seafood, Marie’s Seafood, The Lobster House in Cape May – all are great. The best cheesesteak place anywhere, including Philly, is in Atlantic City at a place called The White House. Their Italian hoagies are great as well. They actually rip out the center of their roll to make way for more meat. I’m gaining weight just thinking about my next visit to the Shore.
Painted this from a series of reference photos taken at a farm in my wife’s family. Combined a few different images and used some imagination to create this scene.
