My New Business Card

I have had a pretty boring business card for a while. They get handed out enough that I thought it might be a good idea to try to make one that is a bit more memorable. I am often giving out cards when  I am painting outside, or if the topic "what do you do?" happens to come up in some social situation. My old card had the information, but no lasting punch. If someone pulled it out of a suit pocket a month after receiving it, they may not remember where they got it or why they should care and just throw it in the garbage. I needed a card that would jolt their memory somehow. Make then want to look at the website, get to know me and start collecting my work. Of course we all know sex sells, so I decided to put a drawing of myself hard at work right on the card. Impressive isn't it? I also thought I would try hand lettering it. I copied a font with an Arts and Crafts feel that I like, but the hand drawn look gives it some character.

I have always loved Art Nouveau. It was a short lived movement, that was full of beauty and great design. Unfortunately, it was quickly replaced by other movements of much less beauty and quality. I often refer to Art Nouveau and study it for use my own work, especially in my pen and ink.

Last night I drew this new business card that has more style and a bit less information. I removed my address, as I really am not sure how that information is relevant. Unless you want to just show up at my house out of the blue for lunch- which would be rude. With the phone and the internet, the address seemed outmoded. That opened up a lot of white space, I did have website and email, but thought if you can get to my website you can figure out how to contact me. If you don't know how that works you probably don't own a computer. If that is the case, then you can call me.
Above is the new card. I have yet to have it printed, but I thought I would offer it up for comments. Let me know what you think.

OK, This Time It's the Real Deal

The above is a photo of an reenactment of the auction if it were to happen in an actual auction house, if all the work being sold was mine, and if I were the auctioneer.

Just a quick message to let you know that there is a second auction going on at the Brigham Galleries. The opening auction mentioned in my last post was a test auction to see how things worked and to test for any problems. I did get two bids on my work, but they were not very close to the reserve price. So, to make things more reasonable the starting bids have been set to a level more realistic to the expected price.
So have a look again, and tell anyone you know that needs some wonderful art for their house. These prices are going to be a bit cheaper than you would see in a gallery, so it is good time to pick up some top notch work for very good prices.
Now, I of course am biased, and think you should definitely bid on the following paintings. Click Here

SOLD! To the guy in the funny hat.

Who'll give me a thousand dollars?
One thousand dollar bid, now two,
now two, will ya give me two?

Two thousand dollar bid, now three,
now three thousand, will ya give me three?

Two thousand two and a half, two-fifty,
How about two-fifty? fifty? fifty? fifty? I got it!

How about two sixty? sixty? sixty?
I've got two sixty, now seventy?
how about seventy? two-seventy?

Luschek-Father and Son (diptych)-22x28- oil

  

I am working with The Brigham Galleries [www.TheBrighamGalleries.com], a new Fine Art Auction House, and their first "Beta" auction just went live.   Art Lots are original, tightly edited, and of many genres.  The auction is only for special guests and I thought of you- all of my wonderful Blog followers.

 

The advantage of a ‘Beta’ auction is that you are participating in a semi-private, trial auction and will not encounter much competition.  You can find high-quality, original Fine Art at extraordinary prices.  Kinks are expected in a Beta auction, so make sure to report them to Administrator@TheBrighamGalleries.com.

 

Thanks for taking a look, enjoy all the beautiful art work! 

Especially mine. 

 

Google Landscape

I had a major revelation the other day while considering places to paint on the Ohio river. This idea could change the world of landscape painting as we know it. It's huge.
Google now can help with your landscape painting!
I have been doing a lot of painting so far this spring in the hopes of creating paintings that are more than just a 'vignette under a tree'. I want to do paintings that are more impressive and manly. Pictures that have some hair on their legs, if you know what I mean. Paintings that are planned out, iconic Cincinnati landscapes.
After a winter buried in snow, we have been blessed with wonderful weather this spring. I much prefer the sun and warm weather, so it was good to emerge from  studio hibernation and get outside with my french easel. Often the first few painting trips outside are a struggle, but so far I can finally say I feel comfortable plein air painting.
Here is my first landscape of the season painted on a square canvas.

High Waters of Spring (this is a working title), Oil on canvas, 18" x 18"

This is the suspension bridge painted from the Kentucky side. The river was pretty high from the rain.  There is normally a sidewalk where the tree shadows are. I spent two days on location. I wanted to go back one more time, but a few cloudy days kept me away. By the time it was sunny again, the river receded, the bridge was closed for painting, and they ended up covering large parts of it with tarps, so I just finished up in the studio.

 

 Here is my easel with some Canadians that stopped by for a gander at my painting. 

Since that was such a lovely experience,  I was wondering if there are any other cool spots along the river that may be off the beaten path. So I started looking around using google maps. You probably know that in satellite mode you can just follow along roads by using that thing that looks like Mickey Mouse's gloved hand to drag yourself along.

I started by just typing Cincinnati, Ohio into Google. I did some screen shots of my computer desktop to show you how this works.

I zoomed in to get to the spot where the above bridge painting was done. If you have a scroll wheel on your mouse you can zoom in that way, or just use the magnifying glass on the upper left of the image. As you scroll in, it sometimes switches automatically to street view (if not, you can often select street view by double clicking on a road), then you can look around and move down the road as if you are in a car. I got it close to the spot where I painted the above picture and here we are.

As you can see, this is close to my spot. The image shows the river much lower, but you can still look around to see what else is going on. Can't exactly compose a painting with it, but you can find something worth visiting.
I scrolled out to get to the satellite view, and moved down the river till I found something that I thought might work. I scrolled in again, and found this view. Is that cool or what?

Even though movement is limited to the roads, I can see this is a nice view of the Cincinnati skyline. I can tell there are plenty of spaces to set up an easel and the road is easily accessible. I can then just click 'get directions'  and I have a possible location. Google is not yet able to transport you there, but I am sure that is just around the corner.
The street view feature really only works if some Google nerds have driven their fancy street view camera van down that particular road. Some remote locations are not going to work till the vans start driving in the boonies. You will just have to scout things out the old fashion way- by driving there, getting out of your car and hiking around. Satellite view may at least hint at some places worth driving to.

I thought you might find this useful if you are looking for scenic spots to paint. Travel around in google maps for a while.
On a side note, it is also a way to see if any of your neighbors have a backyard pool so you can start being nice to them and maybe get invited over for a pool party.

Here is another painting I did last week of Mt Adams found the old fashion way.

Early Spring in Mr Adams, oil on linen, 10" x 18"

A Landscape Class You Have To Take

Spring Time is here! What a great time to get outside and paint. I suggest you take my landscape painting class. You might as well since I added a gadget which is currently charging your credit card as you read this post.

Imagine Going From This: 

To This!
In just 8 weeks!

Individual results may very.

Enough silliness- Basically, you should take the class.

If you have never painted before but have always wanted to, this is a great introductory class that will take the fear out of oil painting.  This class is for both hobbyists and professionals. It is also a good class for teens trying to build a portfolio for college. Students that have taken the class multiple times see continued improvement. I try to introduce the techniques in a simple, easy to understand manner, not mention it is load of fun.
Here is the information, and a link to the University site where you sign up.
Sat., 10 am-1 pm; April 10-May 29; 8 wks; $179 (no discounts), supplies are the student’s responsibility. A list will be sent with your enrollment confirmation or see www.uc.edu/ce/documents/comm/PAINTING.pdf.. 
Location: First class meets at my studio in Eden Park; then at various parks thereafter.
Click here to register.

If you want to do some reading ahead of time so you can say smart things and be the teacher's pet, I suggest the following. (This also gives me a chance to try out the new Amazon link thing on the blog).
Contact me via email if you have any questions.