Next Five

The Tie painting series are all 12"x12"

"After the Show"

"Blue and Gray"

"Blue Vase"

"Boat Ride"

"Along for the Ride"

The top 4 were painted for the show, and the last one was painted afterward for a friend.

These paintings were some of the last ones I painted for the show and I think they were some of my best. I was starting to really getting the results I wanted, and they were a lot of fun to paint.

Five Ties

Tie painting series are all 12"x12"

"Salesman"

"Wrapped and Tucked"

"Showcase"

"Night Out"

"Unwrapped"

I love painting ties. I actually started painting ties after seeing some of ZP older tie paintings, but had to steal the idea and make it my own. Most of these ties are from thrift stores and are of the polyester variety, which gives them a lot of flavor.

Thanks for all of the comment and emails. Just to let many of you know my family has been packing up and getting ready for our move. I start medical school next month and am excited (and mostly nervous) for the change. I will try and get the rest of the show posted soon.

Larger Five

"Chorus Line" 24x20

I painted this one on canvas, and had a really fun time with it. I am sure anyone who has painted tulips knows that they can really move a great deal when there is a light source on them. I ended up painting this until three in the morning since they kept moving, and I didn't want them to change the next day.

"Grandma's Jar with Lemons" 16x16

I can't seem to get away from some objects, but I really like painting this salt shaker.

"Nostalgia" 20x20

This painting really put up a fight with me as I painted it and took a while to finish, still I learned some cool things while working on it and really enjoy the final product.

"Reflection Cluster" 20x20

This was another fun one with some challenges.


"Stacked" or "Orange Mug" 16x20

I have been so used to painting mugs on a small scale (6x8) that I forgot how invigorating it can be to paint large. I think the mug itself is about six or seven inches tall. It felt like stretching my legs out after a long car ride.

Five more

"Gardner Apples" 9x12

"Glass Bird" 12x9

"Family Matters" 12x9

"Green Glass" 10x8

"Peeking In" 10x8

The first four are part of my show, but the last one I donated to a fund-raiser for the Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake. These were all fun to paint, but after this point I decide to paint even larger and see how that would go. I will post those ones next!

First Five

"Oranges in a Bowl" 12x9


"Little bit of Yellow" 12x9


"Looking Off" 10x8


"Sugar Bowl" 12x9


"Tour Guide" 10x8

Here are some of the earliest paintings I did for the show. I will be posting all of my paintings from the show this week, however, you can see all of my paintings right now at the 15th Street Gallery website.

These were all fun paintings to do. They were really some of my first attempts at painting a little bit larger than 6x8, and for the most part I followed a lot of my same painting-a-day composition. These felt like a step in the right direction and I was happy with how they turned out.

Thank you all for your comments and emails!

One Man Show

"Taking Sides" 12x12

Hey everyone. I am having a one person show at the 15th Street Gallery in Salt Lake City this Friday the 18th from 6 to 9. These are some of the paintings I have been working on for the past four months, so they are all new. I will post the images from the show afterward, so if you can't make it you can still see what I have been up to.

If you can make it I would love to see you there!

"Takin' my Time"

I have not gotten around to painting anything new lately, so here is a painting from a quite a few years back.

I realize that I kind of disappeared for a few months, and here is why….A few years after graduating in 2003 with my degree in fine art I decided to go back to school and work toward another goal - to become a doctor. I have recently been involved in the application process for admission, and have flown to three different states for interviews. A few weeks ago I was accepted to a medical school in the Midwest and will be moving there in July with my family.

What does this mean about my art? This part I am not sure about. I am still trying to get new work for a few shows I will be involved with this spring, but when med school starts I don’t know how much I will be able to produce. Certainly ‘the man who chases two rabbits catches neither’ applies here. I imagine it is quite possible to still paint small paintings while still in school, but it is also possible that new work may not surface much. My friend Lane Bennion actually went to medical school as well to get his degree in medical illustration and he had time to paint while there. So, I guess we will see.

Thank you to everyone who has given me support and followed my work! Art will always be a big part of my life, but it may have to go into hibernation for a bit.

So, that is what has kept me out of the studio, and I hope to get in there again soon.

"Plum Stack"

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I love painting plums. I love their blueish tint they have until it is rubbed off.
Salt.

"Compliments"

I have a group show coming up and this is a piece for it. This painting is a bit larger (12"x11") than I have done in a while, but it was a lot of fun. The crazy thing is this painting only took me slightly longer than my little ones. I can't think of a title for this one (working is not the title), any suggestions?

"Tomato Distortion" - SOLD

I really love how glass distorts stuff behind it. This painting was going to go in a different direction, and then I just placed this bottle in front, and whammo, I had to leave it. I love distortion...did I say that already?
Well folks, in an effort to sell some of the paintings on my eBay store, I have marked all store paintings as free shipping (not including the regular auction paintings). I think I will leave them with the free shipping for one week. Thank you all!

"Sunbathers"

"Lookin' Up"

I know that fraud has been around for a while, but someone just tried to scam me. I had a person claim to be interested in a painting, and wanted to send me a check for it. She also told me stories of how she was hospitalized and after a close call with a miscarriage, in an effort to make me sympathize with her. Similar stories can be found here and here. In fact if you ever think you are being scammed just highlight parts of the email and do a google search, these guys often use the exact same lines in their emails. She finally sent me a check for $2000. I then realized it was a scam and stopped communication with them. If I had put the check in the bank, they would have later told me they had paid me too much and would like me to pay them back the difference. They would have got my money, and soon after the check I received from them would have bounced.

These guys are bad news. So, those of you who sale your work, be careful. ;)

"Drinking"

I actually finished this one late last night. I wiped down the first one and then after a bit of rearranging, and adding, I finally got this one done well past bedtime. And, although I am tired today I think this one turned out okay. : )

"Reaching"

I saw some great paintings over my trip. One artist (I don't remember the name) used a lot of black, and it got me excited to try this painting.

"Peaches"

I will be out of town for a few days. My wife and I are celebrating 10 years together. The congratulations definitely goes to her for putting up with me for so long. : )

Love you Monica!

"Lonely Apple"

"Green and White" - SOLD

"Stacked" - SOLD

I wasn't sure if I had used this title before. It's all starting to become a blur. Fun little painting.

Doug Braithwaite has started a new blog, and I am very excited about it. He is definitely an artist worth watching.

"Lounging" - SOLD

These guys have definitely gotten a bit soft. You can tell they have lost some of their roundness. But actually they have more character this way. Just lounging around.

"Lookin' Round" - SOLD

Thanks for all the nice emails and comments lately.

This was a fun little painting, I have really liked painting that blue in the background lately. Anyway, I gotta go to sleep.