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So here we have it. This past week I constructed a printing press with my fiance’s father. It is a high quality piece of machinery involving three pieces of 16 X 24 inch plywood, two long 2 X 4’s cut up, a piece of maple for a cross piece and a 2 ton car jack. The press, miraculously, is a success. I, I am finding out, am a novice at the art of printmaking. That said, this whole process, has been completely and utterly awesome.

I have been etching into plexi glass plates and making small, 5 X 7 inch, prints. At first the paper was too wet, and I was losing the image to smudging and then I have been etching too hard and making some super huge grooves that are not printing well, but the one spot in the following prints gives me great hope, because it is exactly what I am looking for.

Check out the two semi-successful prints that I made this afternoon:

The print to the left was the first print. I liked how the line came out, but I was looking for a bit more atmospheric shading. So I added a little cross hatch in the second and found that the light cross hatches actually came out clearer than any other aspect of the print. And so, I think I have finally figured out how to obtain the quality in the prints that I am looking for. We will both see tomorrow when I post the results of my findings.

Today, I also took my street scene painting that I have been working on to a new level. It is nearly complete, and very successful thus far. I am extremely pleased with the result. The aim is to finish it by tomorrow so that I can take it to see its buyer.

This may be the first piece that I have ever put together with five people in it. And remarkably, I cam coming to enjoy all five of the figures. And to anyone who is upset that this piece is already spoken for, I would be glad to take a commission on another similar piece, because this has been an immensely interesting and enjoyable project.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today. I will try to make it back tomorrow with the finish of this street scene and with a higher quality print.

Until next time.
peace.
-Mike

I have lost my internet connection at home for a little while, but have now figured out a schedule using my public library to update Keep On Trucking, which is good because I have a lot to share these days.

I have been working extensively on the plumbing in the trees series. A few hikes in the New Hampshire wilderness as well as a keen interest in the piping around me has honed my focus to a more earth tone approach and less busy pipework. In my observations I have noted that most pipe work is relatively limited. There is not a lot of excess pipe work. Perhaps it is the expense of materials and a matter of flow, but no matter, I have decided to carry out the same sort of structure in the piping in my trees. Trees are very efficient life forms, so I feel I should keep their piping to the point and keeping flow.

The earth tones have also allowed me to focus a little more on form and to keep the pipes feeling as if they belong to the trees. The wild color palette seems to throw the tree off from the pipes. I really don’t want this, I want the two to feel fully integrated. Here are my results for the week. Let me know what you think:

I am really pleased with the leaf life structures of the negative space in this piece. The simplicity of the branches has felt good to me as well. However, the pipework may still be a little to complicated. I am still working that out in my head.

I am much more satisfied with the leaf area in this piece. I feel the color really plays well against the drawing and with the overall yellow of the rest of the works’ ground.

I have also started working with the pipes and the universe drawings. This is still in the fledgling scale but I anticipate spending most of the summer working on this series anyway, so I am not too concerned with that. I feel that this work will be more complete when the viewer is amidst the elements in the piece. Big plans big plans.

And there you have it. I hope you like it. There is so much work to do, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find these posts a little more regular coming soon. I have a lot of small projects that I have put off that I am now finding some momentum for, so be on the lookout.

Until next time.
peace.
-Mike

It has been crazy in Lewis Acrylics land. This past week I got my first two days in a row off from my day job since the 31st of January. I can’t believe that 2 months have gone by so fast, but now I’m coming down from the winter job and trying to find something until I start graduate school in June. So I thought one of the coolest ways to do that would be to put together a Google store for Lewis Acrylics. It was really easy and I’m pretty stoked about that.

If anyone wants to check out the store, there are a lot of paintings at incredibly reduced rates, and since it’s through Google Checkout you can even use a credit card and all of that jazz. You can check it out here!

I think it looks pretty slick. Hope you like it too.

In other news, I am starting to work on my plans for my summer projects at MECA. I have sent in the enrollment check so it seems final. Next thing is obviously to start sketching out the main projects.

This sketch is going to end up somehow being the centerpiece for a major show coming up that I will be working on while at school. I don’t know if you will be able to tell the grandiose nature of it from the sketch, but in my head it is all starting to come to life. Check it out, and drop me a line with your thoughts.

Well, for now, I’ve got a bunch of work to do, so I should get going and starting working on some more stuff. In the meantime, help out a starving artist and pick up a painting, and for those of you with incredibly limited budgets like mine, there are some plans for some super cheap stuff going up in the store soon too.

Til next time.
peace
-Mike

This past month has been insane. In the month of February I was awarded 3 days off at my day job. So far in March the trend has continued. Fortunately there is an end in sight just as things are starting to pick up with a couple paintings that I am working on. I love when everything comes together.

I thought I would just quickly post a couple images as I just finished painting with that “I could stay up all night and just look at this mark and this mark and this mark” feeling. It’s awesome. The artist’s high.

The first image is actually of the piece that I am working on now which gave me such a high. It is too dark in the studio to take a decent pic of it tonight but in sketch stage yesterday this is what it looked like.

I am stoked with the way this is piecing together. I also have big plans for the lower (you can’t see it cuz it is not attached yet) part of this piece. It is going to involve some construction and be generally awesome!

The second image is of a more resolved piece in the smoke series which I am really excited about. This one came about in that flurry of putting down paint in efforts of trying not to waste any right before you have to leave studio. Sometimes this results in some very happy mistakes.
I for one am loving these.

I am really digging the amorphous quality of these smoke pieces and am really starting to see some reference to some Stuart Davis and Brian Barneclo in the shape of the smoke. More to come soon. For now I’m out. Just wanted to share quickly while I was feeling the right vibe.

peace
Mike

Welcome to all of you new folks that are following the blog! It’s great to see that more folks are checking it out. As any of you who have been reading the blog know, I’ve been accepted to graduate school, and with my acceptance I have made a bit of a shift in the work that I have been creating. I have been trying to think about projects in a larger scope as opposed to a purely illustrative manner.

One matter that I have been pursuing is irrigation and trees. In 2006, I was putting together several pieces with tree roots subbed out for by pipes. I am completely obsessed with pipes and I really don’t know why that is, but I find the designs and abstract images that are created by plumbing and heating to be amazing. Weird sure, but it does keep me amused if I go any place with exposed piping.

I have five panels that I am going to link together in my newest piece. I plan on connecting the piece with pipes between the panels. I have several sketches as to how to arrange this but haven’t quite narrowed it down yet. I will keep you posted on the composition of that piece as I am more certain of it. For now I have three of the panels in my “forest” started.

As you can see this one is very basic. I am toying with taking the whole thing back to that blue color and just drawing in the tree without rendering in paint. The second and third are a bit more developed:

I am very into the yellow creating negative space that almost looks like foliage in the tree. I feel that this “sparseness” really starts to get at the point that the whole piece is supposed to be going for. What do you think? Too blunt, too cryptic?

This one is starting to come together a bit. Though as I look at all of these pieces together I realize that I could probably do a whole lot more with the pipes to mimic the branches in the trees. More to come folks, more to come.

On another note, I have been working on some urban scenes. One is for a friend, who has been claiming that he is going to buy the piece ever since he saw the sketch. I hope he likes the painting as well as the sketch. I always feel as if there is a lot of pressure on me when someone is interested in something from the get go.

I am really into this old man. I am also very into the mock storefronts from my childhood. In case you don’t know, I grew up in Croghan, NY. The meat market was one of the only places that folks in the rest of the state knew about. So there you go. Oh and by the way, I used a lot of creative license here, Ralph’s is nowhere near the Meat Market, it is two towns away and there is also not nearly that many buildings or people in Croghan, but it’s nice to think about those places anyway.

The last piece is just a quick one. I was thinking about my friend Katie who I met in Minneapolis last summer. She’s from Pittsburgh, which if you hang out with her you will find out very quickly. She’s quite proud of the fact. Anyway, I was thinking about the mid eighties graffito pieces of New York City and decided that Pittsburgh needs one too.

Hope you think it’s successful. I like it.

Glad to hear any thoughts that any of you may have. Hope you enjoy the work. Until next time.
Peace
-Mike

I’ve been invited to be in the Alice in Wonderland show coming up at the Hive gallery in LA. The show is sort of a celebration of the book and Tim Burton as it correlates to the movie coming out. I’ve been working feverishly to try to get my piece together. I have an idea to make it very cool, but the parts of the piece really need to come together in order for me to make it work.

For now though, here is the completed drawing at least, with some of the final paint on it. I really like it. I ended up looking through a bunch of images of Alice in Wonderland Walt Disney style and while drawing from some of the photos came up with this Alice. You will notice that my Alice doesn’t really look like she would live in a Walt Disney world, and I’m completely fine with that. Still it is nice to have something in your head to think about while trying to put a character together.

I know there are all kinds of crazy characters that I could have worked on, but I really like the imagery at the beginning of Lewis Carrol’s book. I think during our boredom a lot of us find ourselves falling down a hole with all of our memories and influences in it. Or wait, was that literal? I’m so confused. I guess it’s good I’m not an English major.

well, I have to go to my day job, but on a good note, I start graduate school in four months, so the day job won’t be a factor soon. Woot. Til then folks.

peace
-Mike

February has been quite the sparse month for blog posts. I apologize. My day job has been very busy and I have been taking some time for rest and relaxation after getting all of my paperwork for graduate school applications submitted.

It has been a busy year, but it has paid off. I have two exciting bits of news today. First off Indie Fixx has approached me to be involved with the Feed Your Soul project, and I have had a little time to put together a piece for them. As I understand it, you will be able to get a free print available only through the Indie Fixx website. I will be doing two or three different prints for the project. Here is the initial drawing for the first. I really like it.

The Feed Your Soul project is pretty self explanatory. What is it that feeds your soul? So I was looking through my bird books and found a book that compares the musical notes that birds make. This is a series of three different musical lines taken from Indigo Buntings over a three year period, indicating a change in song over generations of Buntings. The music is still very similar. I tried to show different generations through different hats. I think it works pretty well. Let me know what you think, and I’ll let you know when the print is available.

The second bit of news is absolutely amazing to me. Anyone who has known me very long will tell you that I’ve wanted to get into graduate school for at least the past five years. Finally I can stop wondering, because I’ve been accepted to the Maine College of Art’s MFA in painting with a focus on Independent Curating. I am thoroughly excited and look forward to what this will do for my work and my world scope.

Lastly, thank you to all of the new followers of the blog. It is lovely to see folks checking the blog out after all of this time. For those of you there from the beginning, can you believe that it’s been a little over three years. Love it!

All of you have a good holiday! Go hug your Mom! She misses you.
until next time
-Mike

It has been a fair amount of time since I’ve last posted. My apologies. It has been immensely busy on this end, both producing some artwork and also with that 9-5 job thing, and applying to the curating program at Bard College (cross your fingers by the way).

I have finally scanned in a little bit more work, though I am only blogging a couple things today. The smoke series is continuing, and I am happy to say is becoming a bit more amorphous. It was really good for me to be working loosely with the small drawings for the Concord Variety because it got me drawing quicker and thinking about the whole piece again. So where do we go from here?

Smoke in a scene with other people. This piece is also based a little on conversations I’ve had with friends about too much social media in public. So I’m going for a serene old man surrounded by a techie invasion in this piece. So far I’m feeling pretty good about it. I really want the paint to be sort of the ethereal nature of De Chirico. Surreal is good, but not all out surrealism.

This piece is by no means done, but it is a big step for me, because I am starting to think a little more about including elements from home, and having the smoke interact. It really has a little more depth in meaning, which is something that I’ve really been struggling with for some time. So I hope you enjoy some of these new pieces coming up.

Second and on a completely different note, I’ve started work on a wallet design for Tinymeat via my use of Twitter. So there you go all of you Twitter naysayer, it is most definitely good for something. Haha. Here is the front piece for that wallet.

I love the squirrel. So expect some more squirrels in the future. It is a bit of a shout out the The Bird Machine in Chicago. Jay Ryan’s squirrels kick butt! So there you have a bit of what I’ve been working/thinking on. I hope that you like the direction things are taking and if not, there’s some other stuff coming up soon, so hopefully everybody will have something they like.

until then.
peace
-Mike

Jamming’s a state of mind. And Jamming I’ve been. Welcome back for today’s installment of “what is floating around in Mike’s brain?” There’s a lot of exciting jazz on the docket today so stay tuned….

I am the featured artist today in the Concord Variete. I will be showing some birds and birdhouse pieces from the Dwellings exhibit, some random bird pieces and a few new drawings that I put together yesterday and the day before. I really enjoyed making some small drawings “just for fun” as they were pertaining to no show and were really just on a whim.

They will all be framed and a cheap pick up if you can make it to Concord tonight. Here they are in no particular order.

Yup these two drawings were packed with some pink punch. As an artist, I really love pink and who knows maybe in everyday life I will one day own a pink caddy? You never know.

What do you think of this guy? I really dig this character. I was thinking Boss Tweed and Thomas Nast drawings, but way more innocent and a little more avian. I gotta get a book of Thomas Nast. He was the man.

Next we have another fine specimen of robot chasing a seemingly innocent bird. This doesn’t sound familiar to you does it? I can’t get enough of this stuff. But it beats blue dogs…

Next up is a little Valentine’s Day action for the robot in you. This guy has a heart and a trapdoor to show it!

Last but not least….I’ve been thinking about fishing and baseball lately. That is what I usually am thinking about long about the end of January. Why you ask? Because I live in a New Hampshire and it is cold and snowy, and I know that once fishing and baseball seasons arrive, there is only like 2 months of winter left. Ha.

Hope you folks have a good day. I’ll be back soon, and if you’re in Concord tonight, stop in and say Hello.

peace
-Mike

I have been doing a lot of work focusing on smoke lately. It is the first experiment in bring the old to work with the new. I have also wanted to do a bit more figurative work. Both of these things are in full swing.

I am quite pleased with this sketch as I am thinking more about smoke and line as smoke as a compositional element. The figure is slowly working its way into a series of old men smoking and walking. Kind of a peaceful moment.

I’ve also tried to work in some more of the static bubble over the top of the sketchiness. I’m kind of trying to play with catching a solitary moment. It really is impossible when you think about it to have just the present.


Here is the first one in the series that I have been reworking while thinking about the catching a moment concept. The shapes are taking on kind of a Fernand Leger feel. I love it. Now just to work on some color contrast.

The latest in the constructor series.

And finally a quickie that I am working up for the True Brew series. Just some old concepts with better compositions to be painted and sold cheap. Funding my rent for February you know?

until then
peace
Mike