Dear Reader,

Greetings. Just one week remains in the Studio Sale!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

In 2020 I painted this 6x6in imaginary cityscape titled "City By The Light Divided". This tiny painting changed the way I approach cityscape painting. I became less reliant on reference, more spontaneous, and more instinctual.

City By The Light Divided

I was so pleased with the composition, and I remember thinking, what a shame this was such a small painting, I could have used this idea for a larger and more impactful work. In hindsight, this thought is a little funny, but my attitude has always been to keep moving on to new ideas and new compositions. It simply had not occurred to me that I could repaint/redevelop this composition for a larger painting!

Earlier this year I was invited to create a 24x24 inch painting for TWENTY, the Robert Lange Studios 20th Anniversary Exhibition. To be honest, I got my wires crossed, somehow remembering the prompt as 16x16 in, and began painting "Incantation" for the show. Halfway through "Incantation", I realized my mistake, and ordered a larger panel for another show piece. While staring at my large blank 24x24 square (a beautiful new Artefex aluminum honeycomb panel), my mind wandered back to the little square "City By The Light Divided", and a precious spark of excitement (so vital for creative pursuits) was ignited.

First stage. Getting some tone on the panel:

Next stage. Blocking in the rough impression from the original:

Next stage. At this point, everything looks a bit cartoonish. This is when the real challenge begins. At this size, there's so much more that I need to define and invent:

Getting specific with details of this cityscape is an interesting challenge. I just start building around the brightest lights, finding a rationale for their placement and size, making the perspective make sense. Juggling ambiguity with definition. On the lower right, I create some sort of elevated roadway because it works with the perspective of the oncoming headlights, creating a layered look to the city that feels interesting to me. The darkness, the wetness of the streets, the eerie blue light, the looming monolithic structure... all giving me Blade Runner vibes. Near the end, I feel there is something missing. We are elevated and distant in a way that is making the scene feel too detached, too impersonal. That's when I decide to make the raven our proximate protagonist. Does the title refer to the bird or does it have more to do with whatever resides in the distant monolith? I'm still not sure, and that's how I like it.

Here is the finished painting, "Raven's Throne" (24x24in oil on aluminum):

Raven's Throne

View high-resolution image HERE.

A closer look at some of the details:

Framed:

"Raven's Throne"

debuts November 1st at Robert Lange Studios

$12,000

TWENTY

50 ARTISTS. 50 MASTERWORKS. 20 YEARS.

November

I'm honored to have been invited to create work for this special show! Check out the show page here (pieces are still being added).

Almenara Art Prize

My painting "Life Beneath The Stillness" has been selected as a Finalist in the 2024 Almenara Art Prize, which means it will be eligible to win one of the top awards at the Awards Gala in Córdoba, Spain on November 7th! This painting is also one of only ~50 artworks which will be physically exhibited and on sale at the "Real Circulo de la Amistad" in Córdoba from November 7th to November 30th. Check out pictures of the beautiful venue here.

The list of Jurors is impressive. If you're familiar with the world of contemporary realist fine art, you've probably heard of many of them.

This was very cool news to receive, and I'm honored to have my work featured. I was invited to attend the Awards Gala, but unfortunately the travel and timing wasn't feasible for me. The amazing folks at Gallery 1261 have painstakingly packed up my painting and shipped it off to Spain. We'll see what happens!