Parisian Cityscape - painting in Progress

underpainting,  oil on canvas
80x80cm
sold

Graffiti covered delivery trucks are everywhere in Paris.  French artists of the Nouvelle Figuration included tagged trucks in their works. French Nouvelle Figuration is similar to American Contemporary Realism (my style).  So here I go to blend my technique with the French.

Bond's Girl -

 

120x40 cm -

oil on canvas-

One of the gallery managers, requested I paint this based on a smaller painting slightly different. I called it Bond's Girl because the girl in black is a spy.

Summer Rendez-vous - A Contemporary Realism Painting of Paris-

 

Summer Rendez-vous -

50x50 -

oil on canvas

This summer Paris has been delightful. The only thing missing is a beach. This girl is heading to Paris Plages.

Amy - a contemporary Realism painting of Paris -

 

Amy-

80101 cm-

Oil on linen

sold

This is a street corner in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.  Much of the painting was done with a palette knife but the dress of the Indian woman is all veils.

Amy is one of my all time favorite paintings.  It sort of painted itself.  When I look at it I think of the book The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins because that's what I listened to while painting.

Le Select, a Contemporary Realsim oil painting of Paris -

 

Le Select -

80x80 cm -

oil on canvas

Le Select is one of the historical literary cafés in Paris. It haunts my paintings.  I've painted the elaborate neon sign, those lovely neons which are quickly disappearing. I've painted the terrasse, the garçons during the day, the interior, and a wide night scene of boulevard Montparnasse where Le Select is on one corner. This composition reflects another Parisian cafe scene I did while living in New York five years ago. The Cafe Flore.

A New Gallery

It's always great to share good news.  My friends tell me I'm a lucky artist and I believe them.
In June I began working with  Paris Art Web gallery currently in Honfleur.  Here is the link.Paris Art Web

Painting in Progress - Amy -

 

-The rough for Amy. -

Why Amy?  See the affiche above the man in blue?  That's the poster for the movie about Amy Winehouse.  I can't wait to see it.  

I love my paintings at this stage.  Most everyone who sees them live when they are merely blocked in like this, yells at me to stop painting, right now.  But I have a compulsion to lick the very edges of my canvases.  Amy is nearly finished and it differs little from what's here.  Lick lick.

- Amy is an F40 size linen canvas.   

The French have the weirdest canvas sizes.  P is for portrait, F for figure, and M is for marine.  Then there are the squares.  While the square sizes increase in increments of 10 centimeters, the weird sizes follow no contemporary rules.  An F40 is 80 x 101cm, a nightmare for framers outside France. These classic French sizes must be some residue of life before the metric system, the euro, the internet.  I've searched for the reason and found it's based on aesthetique harmony.  Yeah, gotcha. 

Time to update.  Even the Italians have adopted the metric system for their canvas sizes.

Rue Dauphine - Parisian night scene -

 

Rue Dauphine-

corner of Cafe Conti-

80x80cm oil on canvas -

sold

I've been too busy to blog.  Painting 80 small works and 15 large to medium size paintings for  upcoming dedicace 3 October in Lille at Carre d'artistes.

Tiger scupltures on Auction

Yesterday the ten tigers went up for auction. 
In this article they chatted up yours truely along with Ara Starck, daughter of Philip Starck. My head is exploding.

No doubts on gender.

New work in Progress

I've been so busy with new work and writing.  Blogging was on the back burner.
Also I'm plannning a new website where my writing blog and painting blog can be incorporated.  It's time for a change.  Writing is overtaking my passion for painting.

Thanks to the gallery Carré d'artistes I am developing a new series.  Children.  This painting is 80x80 cm and will be in the October show in Lille.  Time to bust my butt.  I need 80 small works and 15 larger.