fin

finished it last night. have a happy new year peoples.

on the easel

started this 18x18 last night. i was a bit concerned that the background would be too noisy. we'll see how it unfolds. i decided to not ground this one and have it floating. its a collaboration piece i'm doing with my friend richard salcido. he sent me the background but i kind of went overboard on it. i guess the nature of a collab is to just let it happen. right?

postcard

here's the flier/postcard my friend Richard Salcido did for our two man show next February at Silver Queen Gallery. i think it looks great!

tiger lillies

here's a 24x24 i have going on right now. can't wait to work on it tonight after work!

two more finished

here's two more recently finished works. one with blue flowers is 30x40 the other is 24x24.

done

two finished 30x40's. they're both going to be in the show at Silver Queen Gallery in February amongst many other works by myself and Richard Salcido.

pics

here's some quick close up pics of some pieces i have going on in the studio.

Pitcher Plants

finished this 11x14 tonight. i'm doing two more this size. love painting pitcher plants!

studio

here's some shots around the studio and some canvases in various stages. i'm currently working towards a show in February at Silver Queen Fine Art in Park City, UT. it's a two man show with one of my best friends Richard Salcido. we were roommates in college and have been friends ever since. its funny, we've always fed off each others work and somehow our work is different yet they go together well. you can check out Richards work :here: and some newer works :here: seriously, i'm surprised he isn't as big as he should be. together we will be, in due time. haha

Happy Dia de Los Muertos!!

this is my favorite time of the year. you got halloween then dia de los muertos back to back!here's a pic of mine and my wonderful muse's (and girlfriend, Christy) costume from halloween. she made her own head dress from the 99 cent store. we ended up using acrylic paint for the decorative parts. haha

cacti

started another 30x40 the other night. i'm getting excited about this one because my backgrounds are usually lighter in value. at first i was unsure how the colors were going to sit and react with each other. so far its worked out. i've painted cactus blooms but not an actual cactus before. being from the southwest myself, i have a nostalgic feeling for these beautiful plants.

inhale exhale

some quick shots of a piece i'm currently working on. love them nepenthes, i had to add some in this piece. it's interesting how these recent works are tightening up a bit. they're not as loose as some of my other works. this isn't a bad thing but merely an observation. i pretty much go with it and whatever feels right at the moment. i'm finding a lot about myself and my process these days, meaning that painting unfolds at its own pace and sometimes rushing things or feeling rushed isn't always the best solution. of course the artist is always in control of the pace of their work, but just like life and nature you have to let it unfold and emerge on its own.i tend to fight with this internally on a daily. its sort of like when we cut our finger, we can remedy and clean the wound but the body heals at its own pace regardless of how we would like to speed things up. painting has taught me patience, or is teaching me rather.

another in progress

here's the start of another 30x40.

WOW!

A fan of my work by the name of Julie Patrick recently got one of my paintings tattooed on her!! This is definitely a first for me. Wow. Thanks for the pics Julie.

nuevo

here's one of three 30x40's i have going right now. it's quite a challenge to push green on a background this color. i'm digging it.

Done (i think)

finished last night. well, there's still some fine tuning but the majority is done. on to the next! pardon the poor image quality. snapped em' quickly before work this morning.

getting there

another progress pic.

Flores

update on the piece from my last posting. it's 24x24. i still like seeing the painting emerge during the process.

quick pics

i've been in the studio working out compositions for some new pieces. there are three 30x40's and four 24x24's waiting to be painted on right now. in this current grouping i've worked out the compositions and drawings on the canvas beforehand so i can paint on several at a time. even though the ides are generally worked out beforehand there's still that gap of transition between the sketch and putting it down with paint that lends for so many possibilities of adding and subtracting elements. here's a couple of quick pics from the studio this morning.

Collective

well, i'm done. this will be at Sirani Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA. this weekend. now it's off to make more work!

almost there

not sure if people who check out this blog are getting sick of these posts about this piece. eh. anyways, worked on a hummingbird today.

mas

another pic. added a cuckoo bird yesterday.

Nepenthes

progress pic from this evening. loves me some pitcher plants.

commute and stuff

i snapped some pics on my way to work yesterday. no particular reason. i guess just to share what i see. things change on a daily around here, as wherever you reside, which makes observing your surroundings a real treat. its really about noticing the beauty, randomness, and potential all around us.