Richard Anuszkiewicz a pioneering practitioner of OpArt (Optical Art) died on May 19th, 2020 at his home in N.J.. He was 89. Born in 1930 in Erie PA, Anuszkiewicz was a student of the great German/American color theorist, Josef Albers. His studies with Albers set the stage for his life long exploration of the contextual relationships of color. Through this lens Anuszkiewicz explored light, chroma, and line, creating sophisticated but playful work. “Color function becomes my subject matter, and its performance is my painting.”

I’m excited to participate in a virtual show hosted by Michael Rose who is an art historian, gallerist, appraiser, and gallery manager at the Providences Art Club in Rhode Island. Michael created the exhibition in response to COVID-19 and the corresponding gallery closures. The exhibit features 30 works by artist from across the globe, in various stages of their careers.

On my calendar this spring is the Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist exhibition that was scheduled to open at the Whitney Museum of American Art on March 13th in NYC. Of course the show is now suspended as a result of COVID-19. The Whitney’s website now has the caption “Dates To Be Announced” under the exhibition heading. I’m skeptical, that when the Whitney does reopen, travel to NYC will be practical, but fingers crossed. I certainly would love the chance to her paintings in person. After New York, the exhibition travels to its final stop at the Palm Springs Art Museum in California. Again dates are TBD.

There is often an underlying meaning in my paintings. This subtext is driven by formal elements such as color, line, texture, and shape. However, in this instance I directly reference an anatomical structure of our planet’s surface. A structure that is being erased; the Okjökull. This is a preliminary study for a larger 6 x 10 foot version of the painting.

This exhibition was created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Norman Oklahoma and Clermont-Ferrand. We Belong to the Land presents art works and historical documents that examine Oklahoma’s roots including Native Americans. Participants in the show presents a view of yesterday and today. Free exhibition for all, Hall Gaillard, from December 13, 2019 to January 2020., 18

Sonia Gechtoff is a painter who continually explored shifting relationships between abstraction and figuration. Born in 1926 (d. 2018) she achieved early success on the west coast with a solo show at the de Young Museum, showing along side Clyfford Still, Frank Lobdell, Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, and John Altoon in LA.

There’s a lot going on in the world of painting right now. Personally, I’ve learned about several inspiring painters recently that have somehow flown under my radar for years. So I’m making an effort to make sure that I’m better informed. This month I’ll be highlighting two painters that I hope you will take the time to explore and get to know. 

This article is for all of us oil painting nerds who love to try something new. In late 2018 I began to make oil paint sketches on paper. I hadn't used paper as a substrate for oil paint before, but was encouraged to give it a try by artist Angela Piehl. After completing my first experiments on paper, I was hooked. Oil Paper offers a quick and easy way to make expressive oil paintings and experiment with painting mediums. I love using it for my monochromatic oil sketches. They generate compositional ideas for my larger paintings and enable me to explore the vocabulary of color and movement. These new works on paper have been exciting to create and have energized my painting practice.

If you can’t tell, I love blue. But not just any blue. Ultramarine has really captured my attention this year. I have been working on a series of blue monochromatic works on paper. This show features 6 of my newest works.

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The first few months of 2018 has been a busy commission season.  I have been working on several custom abstract oil painting for clients in the midwest and on the east coast.  This past . . .

Day and Night is a portrait of a modern flute player.  The flutist’s vocation is one that has shifted significantly from a male-dominated profession to one where women occupy . . .