"B&H-Electric Eye 127

I had no idea Bell & Howell made still cameras. Then I found this one on eBay and had to acquire it to paint. What a cool camera. It's pretty monochromatic, so I decided to paint a colorful background. The scene is our table in the living room and I treated the background pretty abstractly. 

 

"Mum's the Word"

 

I noticed a big display of mums the last time I was at the market. And this bunch caught my eye It was mainly bright pink with a few yellow flowers mixed in. What a perfect fall scene. I decided to use a loose, carefree style for this painting, and did it rather quickly. 

"Apples"

 

We went apple picking for my wife's birthday last week and managed to pick a massive bundle of apples. And the wide range of colors, sizes, and shapes was astounding! Here are a few samples of our haul!

"Sun Spot"

 

When I took the photos of the lilies, I wasn't sure which one I should paint. So I did both! This is the second one. I think they both worked out okay and maybe I'm being a knucklehead, but it made sense to paint booth at the same time, That way I could make better use out of the colors I mixed up. 

"Haiku Twenty-two"

 

It was a sunny day at Kensington Metropark and the lake was absolutely overwhelmed with lilies. Then I noticed the way the bright sun was reflected in the water and I thought it would make for an interesting painting. I think it works. 

"Dirty Birches"

 

Came across this trio a couple blocks from my home. I thought the difference in coronation was interesting. I don't recall seeing a birch copper colored before. And to spot three different types of birch trees, right next to each other was striking. 

"A Portal to an Alternate Universe"

 

Okay, I was seriously considering titling this one "Gash" since it's basically a birch tree with a huge gash in its trunk. But that doesn't have a poetic and charming quality to it. So I thought I'd call it, well, something ridiculous. Hence, the meaningless and irrelevant title. 

"Brussels Sprouts"

 

What can I say but this is another in my series of Veg-A-Sketches. I thinks it's one of my better ones. And I'm proud to say that within 10 minutes of posting it on InstaGram, someone offered to buy it! I guess it turned out okay. 

"Roseville Theatre"

 

I just love old movie theaters. And this one, in Roseville is a true classic. I've driven by it a million times and recently figured I'd better paint it before it's gone. It seemed like ever time I passed it, the sun was wring. Finally, one sunny Sunday morning, a couple weeks ago, the conditions were perfect. This is the resulting painting. FYI, my wife's nickname is Joe, so I decided to use her name instead of the actual  Bob's for the barber shop. 

"Kodak Flashfun"

 

If it was up to me, I would have named it "Funflash" instead of "Flashfun" which I think sounds pretty awkward. But maybe I'm jaded because of all my years in the ad biz. Anyway, since the camera was pretty monochromatic, I figured I needed a colorful fabric for a background. Voila! I found this in a bag of scrap material. I think it offsets the camera nicely. 

"Barn No. 157"

 

A while back I asked a gallery owner what kinds of paintings sell and she told me barns and birch trees. Well, I've done my share of birch trees, so I thought I'd give barns a try. Not that I'm in the business of making money with my art. I've been fascinated by barns for ages. And in Michigan, they seem to be disappearing at an alarming rate--due to mega farms and the evil spread of ugly suburbia. So I've been venturing out on weekends in search of old barns. This is the first of many barn paintings to come. If you live in the Metro Detroit area and know of any picturesque barns, feel free to email me the info!

"Vantastic Duo"

 

The title is a tip of the hat to Vinnie, whose sunflower paintings are an inspiration to anyone who paints. I know my paintings don't hold a candle to those of the master's, but I'm trying. I loved how blue the sky was that day and I think I came pretty close to duplicating it. 

"Fingerling Potatoes"

 

Just another in my ongoing series of Veg-A-Sketches. Enjoy!

"Sunflower Power"

 

A couple miles from where I live, someone has planted a bunch of sunflowers. They're now about eight feet tall and in full bloom. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to paint these glorious plants. Here's one of two paintings I did. As you can tell, the sky was bright blue, and I decided to paint them in as loose, almost carefree style. 

"Ask the Man Who Owns It". Detroit Packard Plant

 

A few years ago, a South American billionaire bought the long abandoned Packard Plant. He had big plants for fixing up and reusing the complex. So far, the only thing I can see that he's done is put a fence around the entire complex. Maybe some work is being done inside, but it sur4e doesn't look like it There are vast sections of the plant open to the elements. I'm absolutely fascinated by all the old factories that dot the Detroit landscape. Unfortunately, many of them are being torn down before I can document them. 

"White Spider Plant"

 

I have no idea what this plant is actually called, so I decided to name it the White Spider Plant. It's pretty weird looking--almost like something from outer space. Once again, I mixed the greens from various blues and yellow and I really like the way the background turned out. This plant was from the Belle Isle Conservatory, which I visited shortly before the Covid lockdown. Luckily, I took enough pictures to keep me busy for a while. Can't wait to get back in there, because there are always some surprises. 

"Peace Lily"

I took a photo of this in the springtime, and just got around to painting it. For the various background greens, I mixed the colors rather than use greens out of the tube. Wow! What a difference it makes. They have a much richer quality to them. It's hardly discernible in this photograph, but in the flesh, the colors are more saturated. Painting is an ongoing series of lessons and discoveries, that's for sure. (Actually, I custom mixed the colors for the flowers as well, since there wasn't anything that came close from the paint tube.) 

"Spartus Vanguard"

Another one of my camera paintings. Obviously.  This is my friend Frank's daughters camera. As I may have mentioned. I'm thinking of doing a book of my camera paintings. It's going to feature spreads with a camera on one page, and a brief blurb on the other. Maybe something about what made the camera unique, or what it was known for. I'm thinking about putting together a sample spread or two and approaching a publisher. Any suggestions are welcome!

"Shadowlands"

If you've been following my paintings, you know I'm fascinated by shadows. Here's one more example of me incorporating them into a painting. 

"Pink Hibiscus"

I thought I'd do a loose painting of an Hibiscus flower. Got an extreme close-up photo for a reference. I like the simplicity of this one.