Painting Under Rainbows

Today was a crazy day in the studio. It seemed to alternate between having a dark black cloud parked over my sky light hitting it with wind and rain blocking every last bit of my north light, to clear blue sky, big white clouds around bright rainbows filling my studio with glorious light. As magical as that sounds it was mostly dark and rainy. In general, a pretty rough painting day. As much as I have tried, shaking your fist at the heavens while cursing never helps the lighting situation.
I still managed to lay in a little diptych today. I pulled this off in a few hours and think I can finish it up easily next session- in a few days after it dries.

Cream and Sugar, diptych, Each panel 7" x 5", Oil on Linen, © copyright Richard Luschek 2011

I Cracked that Nut

Just a brief update about my newest paintings. Aren't they just the cutest little things?
I am enjoying the process of doing paintings that have a relationship with each other. Sort of force the issue when the same object appears in both. My attempt is to have them work together, but to also be their own individual composition.
Below are the finished product after a bit of work to touch up the details and bring it into focus.

Nut, Washer, Nut, 2" x 3", Oil on linen
Bolt, Washer, Screwdriver, 2" x 3", Oil on linen
© copyright Richard Luschek 2011

The painting on the left is almost completely reliant on highlights and reflections for the composition. All else is pretty unified and evenly toned. The other has a more powerful and obvious abstraction. Despite the differences I think they balance each other nicely.
These paintings are revisiting a theme I did last year.

The Nuts and Bolts of Painting

I recently found a bunch of tiny 3" x 5" oval frames at the Castner Frame warehouse, so I made some canvas panels to fit them and am going to try to finish a set a week- until they are all filled.
I like doing these little guys, as I can play with composition in an oval rather than the normal rectangular format. I can cover the canvas and get some form, value and color fairly quickly- I spent maybe an hour and a half on these. If you design pictures you know that sometime the corners of the picture can be tough. Solution: paint pictures without corners.


So, here are the paintings with the setup to the right. Once these dry I will dive back in with a fresh eye and fix the problems- starting with the thing that is most off in a big sense. Probably value and color. Then refine the drawing a bit. I should be able to finish these up pretty quickly.

I shot these at an angle to remove the glare and now they are a bit wonky. I tried to square them up- but they are ovals, so...... I will post the finished paintings soon.

Panorama of Cincinnati Art XXVI

Sorry to be so lazy, but I just copied and pasted last years announcement of being in the Panorama show- with some updates.
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A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model.

I am honored to have been selected for Cincinnati Art Galleries 26th anniversary Panorama of Cincinnati Art.

Opening Day 1977, 18 x 24, oil on linen, © copyright Richard Luschek 2011

Click here to see the painting on their site.
There are two reasons I am sure this show will be fantastic. For one thing the title ends in -orama. Secondly, most of the paintings are by the "Old Masters" of Cincinnati painting. The list includes Edward Potthast, Joseph Sharp, and John Weis.  This is an Artorama of great art by wonderful dead painters. I have been quite vocal of my support for and love of dead painters. They have done the best art in the Western world and it is a club I hope to be part of in the future. In fact I have pretty much  guaranteed it. 

The opening was last Friday. Sorry, I should have told you.
Anyway, it cost $100 a person and will benefit the Cincinnati Opera. Now as much as I think it is completely fair for you to have to pay money to see my work, you can check Panorama for free the rest of the month. If you buy my paintings a percentage also goes to help the Opera. It's for a good cause. If you do go to the opening, I imagine  there will be wine and cheese. I don't know if there will be entertainment, but for the 26th anniversary, if it were up to me, we would celebrate Panorama with the band Bananarama. That would be incredible.

Anyway, below is the information about the show.

Panorama of Cincinnati Art XXVI

Over 100 works

by Cincinnati's most famous artists 

from 1850 to the Now.

Opening Reception Friday, December 2rd from 5:00 - 8:00pm

$100 per person (payable to Cincinnati Museum Center)

Located at 225 East 6th Street, Cincinnati OH
Please call Sarah at 513-381-2128 for reservations

*Ticket sales as well as a portion of all painting sales during the month of December will benefit Cincinnati Museum Center. The exhibition and sale will open free to the public Saturday, December 4th and will continue through January 31st. All items can be viewed on our website at www.cincyart.com

Exhibition and sale includes paintings by the following artists:

Stephen Alke, Paul Ashbrook, Tom Bacher, Herbert Barnett, Robert Blum, Paul Chidlaw, Mark Daly, Matt Daly, Julie Morrow Deforest, Frank Duveneck, Louis Endres, John Joseph Enneking, Henry Farny, Reginald Grooms, John Hauser, Arthur Helwig, Edna Boies Hopkins, James Hopkins, Charles Salis Kaelin, Kevin T. Kelly, Robert Knipschild, Thomas Corwin Lindsay, Richard J. Luschek, Lewis Henry Meakin, Emma Mendenhall, William Meuttman, Kate Reno Miller, Franklin Morris, Henry Mosler, Frank Harmon Myers, Elizabeth Nourse, Edward Potthast, Charles Reiffel, John Rettig, Wolfgang A. Ritschel, Paul Sawyier, Joseph Scheuerle, Dixie Selden, Joseph Henry Sharp, Leslie Shiels, William McKendree Snyder, William Louis Sonntag, Sr., Rudolph Tschudi, Louis Charles Vogt, Edward Volkert, John Ellsworth Weis, Bessie Wessel, Herman Wessel, Carl Zimmerman
& Others

 

Full Color Catalog available for $20