Panorama of Cincinnati Art XXVIII

I am proud to be showing in the Cincinnati Art Galleries Panorama show again this year. I love being in this show as a majority of the paintings are by Cincinnati painters who have long passed from this world. Most of my favorite painters are dead. So, if you see the show and notice my work hanging with all these deceased painters- don't worry. I am still alive for now.

The show also has an lovely catalog. Here a view of the interior of this fine publication with two of my favorite pages. The Louis Henry Meakin painting on the right was one of my favorites in the show. I am pretty partial to the paintings on the left as well. There were some wonderful works including a Volkert painting of farmers gathering hay in the field that was pretty stunning. Make sure you get out to see this show.

Panorama of
Cincinnati Art XXVIII
A Benefit for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Continues through December 31st

A portion of all sales for the month of December will benefit the CSO
Cincinnati Art Galleries
225 East 6th Street
Cincinnait, Ohio

Holiday Shopping at the CINCINNATI INTERNATIONAL FINE ART FAIR

I will have some work in an Art Fair this weekend hanging in the Greenacres Art Guild booth with around 10 other guild members. It opens tomorrow night and runs through the weekend. It is a pretty big event with OVER 60 FINE ARTISTS AND GALLERIES.

I am not a big fan of all the big holiday sales and commercialism that happens the weekend after Thanksgiving. With everyone running around getting all their Black Friday discounts being little more than mindless consumers.  Where is the true spirit of the holidays?!
So, I want you to know, to fight this horrible trend, absolutely none of my work will be discounted during this weekend show. I will be selling all of it at full price. I have been told it is a deal already, so in my view that is good enough. I will have 3 small works- including the one shown in the image above. These would make great Christmas gifts- so much better than a big screen TV or video game system. I promise you it will be more pleasant than being at Walmart or Best-buy.

This big show is being held in the Cintas Center on Xavier campus, I am not 100 % sure, but I don't think there will be a game going on that day, but you have to admit that would totally add to the event.

CINTAS CENTER 

XAVIER UNIVERSITY

1624 Herald Avenue Cincinnati Ohio 45207 Free Parking

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER  30

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1
10 -6 

FREE PARKING

CHILDREN UNDER 12 FREE

OVER 60 FINE ARTISTS AND GALLERIES

 WWW. CINCYIFAF.COM

Secret Revealed

So, my Secrets are apparently not too secret as everyone seems to know which ones are mine. It is either that or something to do with pheromones. Nah, lets say it has to do with the visual charm of the work. That probably sounds better.
Mine was snatched up quickly by someone who already has around 4 of my secret cards from the past few years. Interestingly, on the very first Secret Artworks event 6 years ago, this same collector, who did not know me at the time, was with her husband. When the doors opened, they both rushed off to get cards they liked. They both separately got cards I had painted- obviously having no idea who did them.  Pretty cool considering there are usually close to 1000 5x7 cards by various artists to search through. Last year, her husband grabbed the card I painted as well. 
Here is my card for this years 2013 Secret Artworks which they can hang in the Richard Luschek section of their collection.

Clean Thoughts, 7 x 5, oil shellacked paper , ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

It is probably my favorite opening of the year. The work is donated and the funds raised go to the various Artworks community programs. Artists that donate work get to attend a hip and happening party (oddly I don't get to go to those very often).
I thought I would post a few process shots.
The artists are sent simple postcards. I decided to coat the paper with orange shellac which protects the paper from the oil paint and gives a warm tone to paint on.
I taped the card to a board and started painting. I wanted to create a little story and continue my series of light bulbs.
Here is a shot after about 40 minutes. I did not do a drawing, but just started painting on the orange card, doing my best to cover it fast. You can see the scene with the bulb suspended by a wire. You can also see the other Mr. Clean doll I have laying nearby on the table. Yes, I have 4 Mr. Clean dolls, you wanna make something of it?!

I got big shapes down and just continued refining and pushing shapes around. Here it is after about another hour.

 I let it dry setting it near the furnace pipe and then refined it on a second day to get to the finished image you see at the top of this post.
If you are an artist in Cincinnati and are not doing this event, what are you thinking?

Secret ArtWorks 2013

Once again I have painted a card for the Secrets Show. 
I know I am not supposed to show you the work- it being a secret and all, but here is a shot of the card.

It is not a great photo and really the other side is more exciting, but if you want to see it you had better show up and check it out. It is a happening party.
Click to buy tickets
Click to see the cards online.    Last I looked, mine was not showing, as I turned mine in about two weeks after the deadline- that is just how secret mine is. Anyway, if you saw it, you would know it is mine.

It all happens this Friday, November 22, 5:00 pm- 9:00pm

The Center in the Mercantile Building (The old Contemporary Art Center space)
115 East Fifth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

5-6pm: Cocktails & VIP Art Sneak Peek
6pm: Doors Open to Secret Works of Art
Valet parking available on Walnut Street between 4th & 5th Streets.
Handicap access on 5th Street.


Art Preview Week
November 18 – 21, 2013
Westin Hotel Atrium
21 East Fifth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Greenacres is the Place to be.

I am pretty sure Eva Gabor would have decorated the Green Acres farm house with one of my paintings if she had the chance. But this post is not about the sitcom, it is about the new Greenacres Art Guild located in the Indian Hill section of Cincinnati.

I am excited to be a member of this wonderful new group and to announce that the Greenacres Artists Guild Inaugural Show will take place the fall of 2013.  This show will highlight the best pieces of art from twenty seven of the most highly accomplished living artists in Cincinnati.  Opening Night of the Inaugural Show will take place on October 18th. 
Opening Night of the Inaugural Art Show of The Greenacres Artists Guild
     October 18, 2013 6:00 pm- 9:00pm
     $50.00 per person 
     8400 Blome Road, Cincinnati, OH, 45243, United States

The event will run thru  November 17th with the following gallery hours and be free to the public:

• Fridays 5pm-9pm
• Saturdays noon – 5pm
• Sundays noon – 4pm

For more information about the guild Click Here
For more information about the opening 
                   and to purchase a ticket  Click Here

 
 

Madison, Indiana

Last month I talked about my upcoming trip to Madison Indiana.
The judging was tough. A room of 200 pieces of art that have to be whittled down to a few winners is always a bit intimidating.  There were a few that I wished I could have given a prize, but if there are winners that means a few were not awarded prizes.
So, if you did not win, are reading this and are starting to get angry- please enjoy this image of a puppy sleeping.

It was helpful to have my wife Laura there for a second opinion and to basically listen to me talk my way through the process. To start, we both walked through the show without talking to each other, attempting to pick the winners of each category- Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, etc. Interestingly, we agreed across the board. Now, of course Laura and I have very similar sensibilities, have been married for 15 years and she has taken my classes for at least 7 of those years.

Still, as there were many other prizes to chose, we did have a few we did not see eye to eye on but in the end the decision needed to be mine.
Even though I have mentioned a similar judging process before on this blog, I wrote a brief statement for the show I thought I would post here:
It took every bit of the 3 hours I was given to choose the award winners from a strong show of work. I selected those works that met my list of criteria and I had the tough job of narrowing those down to a few now displaying ribbons. I will now try to explain my thought process for judging this show. 1)Composition is where I begin. Does the picture have a pleasing and lovely arranged abstraction of shapes? Is there a good, strong center of interest? 2)Color: I think most good paintings have some Red, Yellow and Blue­ meaning, there is color variety. Now, I do not mean specifically those colors, but at least a painting contains an assortment of colors in those primary families. A good picture will contain something "reddish", something "blueish" and something in the "yellowish" family. Color arrangements should also be harmonious and pleasing. Usually one color is prominent, while the rest are there to feature the "star" color and help set it off. 3)Breath and atmosphere. Easily the toughest to do and probably the unique quality that separates the masters from the rest of us. It is also a quality that in my view, elevates drawing and painting from mere photographic representation. Drawing by definition is the interpretation of form. Photographs by their nature are flat. By carefully managing the relative hardness and softness of edges, the painter can direct the eye and begin to create the illusion of form. This quality is best represented by working from life, or at least a studied knowledge of nature.
4) Subject matter was my final consideration. I did look at mood, story and the clearness of the message. If I was at all confused about the subject or forms represented, that work was crossed of the list. While subject matter is important and personal, it must be clearly stated through good composition, pleasing color, and breath of treatment.

Of course taste does come into play too. As I walk around the show I think about which paintings would I want to take home. While it was not a major factor, framing was a consideration. There were a few that I think maybe would have had better consideration had they been presented in a better frame, or one that did not overpower the image. 
I am probably most known for my still life oil paintings, so I was surprised that many of the top winners were not still life or oil. Best of show was a lovely watercolor by Rod Lance and Reserve Best of Show was a pastel by Ray Hassard.

Best of Show:
Rod Lance of Carmel, Indiana 'Madison House' watercolor

Anyway, that is about it. Hopefully everyone was satisfied with the judging and no one in Madison is  currently burning effigies of me on their lawns.
In all seriousness, I had a great time, was very inspired by the work I saw in this show and hope to participate in future events at the Madison Indiana Art Club. I was able to talk with some of artists in the show who were asking for comments on their art and how to improve in future work.

I will now add a bit of an advertizement for the Madison Art Club, since one of the members- Bob Saueressig, was such a hard sell for the Club's upcoming show. I would like to enter but probably have too much to do already- but you all should enter.  

Click here for an entry form. 
With the $25 entry fee you two canvases, a 12 x 12 and a smaller on that will be hung on a tree.
Deadline is Oct. 20th. This looks like it would be a fun event.  

Powdering my Wig

I am heading to Madison Indiana to judge their 15th Annual Regional Fall Show. I will be following that up by teaching a two day Still Life workshop for the Madison Art Club.

I have posted a few times about judging shows, it is something I really enjoy and I believe it tends to sharpen my views on what makes for a good picture.
If you live in the area there is still time to sign up for the workshop. It promises to be a fun and informative couple of days.

Painting Workshop
Madison, Indiana,  September 13 - 14

Learn the greater art of “seeing” as practiced by the Boston School Tradition and how it is applied to Painting Still Life. 

Participants will gather items they wish to paint and begin arranging them.
The focus of this class is to provide an initial introduction to the steps taken and the principles applied in the art of still life painting.
This includes:
    -the conception of a "visual" idea for a painting. 
    -the arrangement  and organization of values, hues, and chromas on the canvas    -the execution of a coherent and helpful charcoal drawing with which to compose the stuff within the picture plane. |
    -the execution of  a lay-in or 'start' in oil.    -what to consider while pushing towards a finish.

Fee: $175 per person, supplies not included. Class limited to 15 students.

I will post next week as a follow-up on both the show and the class. 

Zanesville Museum 69th Ohio Exhibition

My painting 'Tea Time' has been accepted in the Zanesville Museum 69th Annual Ohio Exhibition.

 

Tea Time, 20 x 16, oil on line, 2008, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

September 14 – November 16, 2013
Opening Reception Saturday, Sept. 14, 2 – 4 p.m.; Awards announced at 3 p.m.
 Phone:  740.452.0741
Address:  620 Military Road, Zanesville, OH, 43701, United States
Google Map

  This annual juried exhibition at the Zanesville Museum of Art is open to all Ohio artists and artisans. Seventy-five works by 68 artists (from 45 towns and cities around Ohio) were chosen for this exhibition.

Already 5 years old, this painting was a turning point for me. I was very happy with the results and the over all design of the painting. The general light effect of the painting was set in a higher key. It was not the typical, light objects set in a dark background. This was grouping of white object in front of a window on a sunny day. The white objects are silhouetted in front of the bright window light. It was a definite challenge and I came out of the experience a better painter. At least that is my view of the situation.
Most painters have that "pain = gain" experience. These difficult problems can show that painting is not a formula as much as it is a reaction or experience. It is not a race to a finish in a step by step process. It is a series of studies during which the painter learns about his subject in visual terms.

Below is a shot of the painting next to the set up.There was actually only a period of a few hours during with the light was just right. I think this photo is shot just after the light changed. While I do have north light, a mostly unchanging light source, the window behind the scene was facing east, so it obviously was very much changing. The first few days I painted the entire day to see when the light was best. As it moved along I had to focus in on a particular light effect.

ViewPoint 2013

I was honored again this year by being selected to show in the Cincinnati Art Club's ViewPoint Competition. This year, more than 400 entries submitted, there were 72 chosen to hang in the show.

The judge, John Ruthven, will select the awards in person after the show is hung. He selected the below diptych. I discussed the painting a few blog posts ago.

After the Game, Father and Son, diptych, each panel 8 x 6, oil, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

 

The Opening Reception

 

August 2, 2013 - 5:00 to 8:00 PM

Awards Presentation - 7:00PM

Cincinnati Art Galleries

225 EAST SIXTH STREET / CINCINNATI, OHIO 45202

The Exhibit will be open to the public

Monday through Friday 9:00AM - 4:00PM

and Saturday 10:00AM - 3:00PM

Continuing through August 30, 2013

Here is a photo of last years show, with a big arrow pointing at me. Please note, the photo was altered to hide my bald spot. Who takes a photo from above like that anyway? Come on Mr. Photographer person. Two basic things you have to do, not take photos that will highlight my bald spot. Also, don't  make me look fat. Anyway, maybe I will wear a hat this year.

More Frames

Cincinnati Art Galleries recently had a frame sale. Once again, I was tempted, and drove down to have a look. C.A.G. is this cities foremost gallery of antique paintings, so I was excited about the possibilities. The sale did not disappoint.














It was my wedding anniversary, so I showed serious restraint and only purchased 3 frames. I had been warned by my lovely wife about bringing too many more frames homes.
All of of these frames will be slipped around my paintings in the near future. Two were particularly exciting as they at one time framed paintings by two of painters from Cincinnati's Golden age of painting- John Weis and Joseph Sharp.
One of the frames even had a gold leafed tag for Joseph Sharp. It is a nice rustically carved wooden frame from Mexico with a pleasant finish.  Not sure what to do with the tag, I may save it and make my own, or repaint the tag with my own name.

I am not sure what painting was originally in this frame, but I imagine it was probably an Indian picture. As it turns out I am 1/16th American Indian. I believe my Great Great Grandmother was Sioux Indian. Not sure I can pull it off but maybe a self portrait capturing that heritage?  I mean if Johnny Depp can do it in his latest film.... We both make very handsome Indians.

The painting I so rudely forced myself upon is one by Joseph Henry Sharp (1859-1953), called Bear Nose- Sioux, 9" X 6".

Father and Son

Happy Father's Day.
I recently finished a pair of still lifes that are yet another father and son grouping. I am very attracted to the idea of diptychs, or groups of paintings, that have a connection. I like them to play off each other, not just thematically but compositionally. I think it creates an interesting dialog with the viewer added another layer to the story.

After the Game, Father and Son, diptych, each panel 8 x 6, oil, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

I also like using objects that date from my childhood or before. I bought both of these vintage bottles at antique stores. They were empty, though that is not always the case when buying these old bottles. They seem to be be more expensive when they contain the original beverage. I just bought an Orange Crush bottle from the 70's that has some pretty nasty looking liquid still in the bottle. When I use that for a still life I will have to open it up and dump the nasty, orang-ish liquid out and replace it with orange drink that does not have brown floaters.
As the burger bottle is a light shape in the middle of a dark bottle I wanted the dark soda to be the mirror of that shape on the Son image. I ended up filling the Pepsi bottle up with Coke, which was all I had and probably is against the law. Hopefully you can't tell.
Painting the clear glass section between the Pepsi logo and the soda was crazy fun. It was an area that would change quite a bit depending on how I was leaning. If I leaned just slightly I could get all manner of abstractions. I would move around to see if there were any improvements, and painted them as they came. 

The lettering on the Burger bottle gave me fits. I repainted it at least 4 times. I also scraped out the C on the Reds hat a few times till I got that just right. 
The Pepsi bottle went a lot faster. This time the glove was a struggle. Below I am posting each painting after the first day. For some reason on the father image, I did not start painting until very late in the day and had to knock out the start in about 90 minutes. The son painting had the benefit of a full day lay-in.  Throughout the process the painting did not change too much- other than to come into focus. I did add the green of the checkered pattern of the table cloth above the glove. I also moved the straw in the Pepsi bottle on an angle sympathetic to other angles in the image. The straw move was actually a great suggestion from one of my students. The new straw location also positioned the straw closer to the front of the bottle and added a nice orange glow from inside the soda, breaking up that dark shape in a pleasing way.

After the Game, Father and Son, First day lay-in, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

I'm puttin' on my top hat!

"Tyin' up my white tie,
Brushin' off my tails.
I'm dudin' up my shirt front,
Puttin' in the shirt studs,
Polishin' my nails,
I'm steppin' out, my dear,
To breathe an atmosphere
That simply reeks with class"

I have a collection of landscape paintings hanging in a group show that opens this Saturday. The show is at the University Club in downtown Cincinnati and will feature other local artists Carl Samson, Linda Crank, David W. Mueller, Chuck Marshall, Ann Geise, Bruce Erikson, Clem Robins, Bruce Petrie, Jeff Gandert and Sue Gutzwiller. 
It is a wonderful historic private club with an amazing permanent collection of art from Cincinnati's Golden Age. The opening is a very fancy 'members only' event that is black tie. So I get to shove my crusty self into a tux. Though unlike the song, I do not have a white tie or tails, and I will certainly not be 'polishin my nails'.  I may dig out some dirt and oil paint from under my nails and brush my hair. My rugged handsomeness will have to make up for that "class" thing.

While the opening is for members only, you can visit the show during its run. It is a private club with a dress code so I think men need a jacket to get in the club. Not a good idea to drop in shirtless, wearing flip flops. I suggest you call first- 513- 721-2600.
http://www.uclubcincinnati.com/ 

One of the paintings in the show was started and finished the summer of 2008- or so I thought. I got it back from a gallery and decided it had some issues. One was the hard diagonal tree that clipped the corner. It was just too insistent. The skyline had changed a bit too.
I went back to the spot in Fairview Park to have  look so I could fix these issues. Well, for one thing, my tree was gone. Our skyline also has a major addition. I decided to add the Great American Insurance building (the tall one on the left) since it is such a major part of the skyline and because it improved the design.

Hazy Downtown View, 25 X 30, oil on linen, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

 For some reason I never got a good shot of this painting the first time around, but here is a shot of the painting 5 years ago, before it was even finished, but you can see the issue with the tree cutting that corner. The interesting thing, was with the tree gone, I decided to just paint until lit looked the way I wanted. I improved the shape, added some light along the edge, and pushed some green over the trunk to break up the mass.
Hope you can stop by to see the show.

Hazy Downtown View, unfinished from 2008.

 

Spring Time Still Life

Seventh Inning Stretch, 18" x 10", oil on Linen, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2012

I just dropped my latest still life off at the gallery today. The painting can be viewed hanging at Cincinnati Art Galleries downtown. I have had a lot of other projects at the moment keeping me from personal work. I decided I had to do something for myself.
I would say for most of my young adulthood, I really did not pay much attention to sports other than to watch the occasional "important game" involving the home team. Over the past few years my interest in baseball has grown. I remember baseball being on the radio a lot when I was a kid. My Grandma took me to a few games in the mid 70's during the Big Red Machine era. All of these are very pleasant memories. Now the sound of the game on the radio is very soothing and familiar. I listen in the studio and it just seems to go well with the process of painting for me. This interest had developed over the past few years into my wanting to paint Cincinnati Reds pictures.The first few were pretty generic, but they are getting more specific and personal.
My desire here, is to do paintings that appeal to me, have some pleasant connection to my past, are pleasing designs.
This painting came together when I found this old 7 up bottle in an antique store. I knew the green bottle would go great with a Reds hat. I was thinking of what else to add- cracker jacks came to mind first, but as I was setting this up I remembered that I used to chew a tremendous amout of grape Bubble Yum. This gum is probably partially responsible for my TMJ and a good portion of my fillings. It has been years since I purchased any gum. I went to the store and bought a pack, but as is the case with most packaging these days, the current branding is ugly, terribly over designed, and rendered with a ridiculous mascot- Bubble Yum now has a punk rock duck with a Mohawk and a nose ring. I guess that is what the kids are into these days. The old packs had this classic, simple design. I wanted that look.
The internet is fantastic for researching packaging and retro products. I found very nice scans of the gum online that I could print out to scale and create my own stand-in packs. I even contacted a packaging collector who was very helpful, sending me a few photos of an actual pack from various views.
I wanted the scene to have some life to it, so I made a pack that I could open with the fancy tear strip, and a piece missing. I cut a block of wood as a stand in for the gum and wrapped it up.
Below is my homemade, fancy Bubble Yum replica. The pieces were all individually wrapped, so I created a small wrapper in photoshop with a partial scan I found online. This also was wrapped around a little block of wood. The packs had this red plastic pull strip inside so I cut a strip of red electrical tape to replicate this.

I started the image with the crappy new Bubble Yum pack, knowing I needed a better prop. Here is the layin with that initial set up. This is after about 3 hours of work.

I just knew I wanted a purple there, but I did not have the right pack. I dashed it in to check the composition and color. Then began the search for the perfect pack.
I placed the handmade Bubble Yum pack and repainted that area. Try to ignore the glow in the dark Halloween skeleton hanging on the wall, it has nothing to do with the painting, that is just were it lives in the studio.
If you purchase this painting during the Reds current home stand I will include a pack of delicious Bubble Yum- though it is the crappy new design with the punk rock duck.

Colors and Knowledge (Spring Landscape Class)

In one week my Spring Landscape class will begin.

Plein-Air Landscape Painting
 Sat., 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM; 4/13/2013 - 6/1/2013
8 wks; $199.00 supplies are the student's responsibility.
Location: First class meets at artist's studio in Eden Park; then at various parks thereafter 
 Click here to register for the class.

A few things you should know about my class. This dog did not take my class and his painting is the proof. I know he looks proud, but this painting is terrible.

One thing that you will learn in my class is how to use an easel to hold your painting while you work.


I will not be holding your painting for you. Honestly, I am not sure who is smarter in the photo above: the horned painter or the human easel.

You will not be laying down to paint. I mean, how lazy do you have to be? We will learn to stand- upright on two legs- so we can step back from our work and see the whole painting along with our subject thus making the best decisions.  

We will not be using black. I will suggest a chromatic and efficient selection of paints for our landscape paintings. This guy will never be an Impressionist.  Not a bad likeness though.

In all seriousness, it is a good class for both beginners and painters with some experience. I am very hands on and teach to each individuals level of experience.
Comment here or email me if you have any questions.

Frames Anonymous

I am thinking of starting a program or support group for painters where we can get together and discuss our addictions. There are two main passions most painters have difficulty controlling, the first being our overpowering need to be surrounded by piles of books. Mostly art books, but titles on poetry, philosophy and history are often included on the shelves. The second is a constant search for frames for our paintings.
Mine specifically focuses on looking for and buying old, unusual frames. I have a growing collection and have recently come to realize, through the growing insistence of my wife, that I may have reached a limit for frame ownership. This limit is mostly due to the fact that the frames are empty and do currently contain any of my paintings.
Another unfortunate problem is that many of the frames that I like, are kind of tough to fit with appropriate paintings, and an eventual owner. Which it turns out is a goal a painter should have- getting framed work into collector's homes.
Recently I purchased a set of five large frames from an online auction. They were part of a set of frames for stations of the cross and hung in a Catholic church at some point. The frames will hold a painting 33" X 24". Honestly, of all the crazy old frames I have drug home, these have the most potential. They are pretty classic and simple frames that could accept portrait, figurative, landscape or still life. I am pretty excited about this purchase.

They need a bit of work but are generally in pretty good shape, with all the molding intact. There is one small piece missing, but I will be able to replicate it. They are painted gold, but I am not sure if that is the original finish. They are oak I believe, so stripping them down and finishing with a wood stain may be a possibility. Though, getting the paint off may be more trouble than it is worth. I may just paint them black and add some gold leaf to the inset at the opening.

I think these will be great frames for a series or group of similar paintings.
Of course, as I unload the piles of frames from my van into the house, the big issue is figuring where to put them. I have a lot of other large frames that are stacked around in my basement waiting for paintings. I am close to ending up on one of those hoarder reality TV shows.

Below is a very cool frame I purchased at an antique store a few years ago, shown leaning up against my garage. It is an awesome frame- also from a set of stations of the cross. This painting will need a pretty impressive  and unique picture. I may remove some of the overtly religious symbolism to allow for a broader range of subjects to fit in this frame. 

This frame I got out of an old house a friend of mine was rehabbing. This was over the mantle and probably held a mirror at one time. It has some wood missing from the carved creatures and needs molding to finish it out at the bottom. Again, it is large and requires a grand subject.

I think I may have admit that I have a problem and stop buying old frames until I have filled a few with paintings and placed them in galleries or homes. I suppose I should get to work. If anyone wants to commission a special painting or subject for the above frames, let me know.

Artists!- contact me if you also have a frame and/or book buying problem and want to talk about it. The first step is admitting that you have a problem- and then letting me know if you have any cool frames you want to sell me.
We could meet in a very cool antique store in town that has a lot of still life objects. OK, maybe I have three addictions.

A few Valentine's Day shows

I have some work in a few local shows I thought I would share.

Off To The Races, 12"X 9", oil on linen, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2012

Cincinnati Art Galleries, LLC
Please join us on Valentine’s Day

Thursday, February 14th
4pm - 7pm
to view over 50 paintings priced from $250 to $3,500
Enjoy Art, Drink Wine & Bring Your Valentine


225 East 6th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
513-381-2128 sandlers@cincyart.com
Exhibition continues through March 15th


CINCINNATI ART CLUB
SIGNATURE MEMBER SPRING EXHIBITION AND SALE 
==========OPEN TO THE PUBLIC=========

Friday, February 8th .........6:00 to 8:00 p.m.    Opening reception
Yeah, I know, we missed it. 
But........
The Show continues Saturdays and Sundays:   

Open for viewing: Sat. & Sun., Feb. 9, 10, 1-4 p.m./Feb. 16, 17, 1-4 p.m.

Copper and White, 14"X 11", oil on linen, ©copyright Richard Luschek 2013

The Cincinnati Art Club is located at the foot of Mt. Adams at the corner
of Parkside Place and Martrin Drive.  Our nearby neighbors are Playhouse
in the Park and Krohn Conservatory.

Use www.Mapquest.com for directions from your home
to 1021 Parkside Place, Cincinnati, Oh 45202

The Third and final ongoing show is at Gallery 42.

Basement Still Life- Storage Closet #2, Oil on linen, 16 x 20
©copyright Richard Luschek 2012

Gallery 42 in Mason.

117 West Main St., Mason, OH 45040

Contact:   513.234.7874

http://www.gallery42fineart.com/

The show will feature my new Basement Series and other various still life and landscape.