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Completed: "South Jersey Sunset"

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The picture I took compressed the image a bit. As with every painting on the internet, this piece looks much better in person. It is my first commission.

This piece, "South Jersey Sunset" is meant to depict a lazy summer evening in Ocean City, New Jersey-- Central Ave. just along the shore.

Acrylic, 16" x 20"

"South Jersey Sunset" WIP

(Click to enlarge)

My first intensive landscape. I wondered before why I never did one of these, and now I know exactly. They require an amazing amount of precision and attention to detail. And frankly, it's boring. The human form, to me, is much more motivating.

Next on the list is a traditional Asian painting-inspired canvas for my lovely girlfriend's new apartment. Would really still love to do a pencil drawing of Bruce Springsteen, but still working out the kinks on that project (consisting mainly of reviewing the copyright laws), and a few still lives.

Twitter

I'm on Twitter! You can follow me. But you don't have to.

(I'm really not that important, I understand my insignificance.)

Curtis out.

May 10, 2009

Elegy for Bobby

“He was a good man,”
I said

Once, years ago Bobby held me
In rough hands
He held me against
His chest
Lifted my toddler weight
And with translucent eyes,
I stared into his translucent eyes,
And seventy years
Passed between us
As I watched him watch me
Become a man
Longing to be held
Instead he taught me
He taught me the values of his life
Of commitment
Of Hard work
Charity
Of the shade of a maple tree, and a cold beer
Of a homegrown tomato
And taught me love in ways I can understand
For his wife
He flexed and stretched his arms
And built her a house
A house that still stands
For his children
He remained open
And faithful
For his friends
Always someone to shoot the breeze with,
And with Bobby, there was humor
And respect
And honesty

“He was a good man,”
I said

But that’s all I said

Working On a Dream (and a Painting, too)

Self-portrait (in progress). 16" x 20." Click to enlarge.

My big concern right now is the hair. I feel like stylistically the hair and the face are disconnected--a light water-acrylic wash with some lights may be a good remedy.

What do you think?

The painting's been a bit frustrating, but I've had Springsteen's newest album, Working On a Dream, to keep keep me company.

Overall, I am happy with Springsteen's Dream, but it's certainly not as lasting as I had hoped it would be.

There are some outstanding tracks throughout the album, though. "Outlaw Pete," the first track, is told like a traditional American tale of the west-- with all the untold, bombastic, and exciting aspects of a man, a horse, and a gun.

"Queen of the Supermarket" reveals a man's quirky love note for a cashier, while "Life Itself" carries the album with style, substance, and the Springsteen I am used to (Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?/'til we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts"). The track is bitter and revealing. It has the skepticism and self-fulfilling questioning I've grown to love from his earlier work.

I finished the album still mystified by Springsteen's depth and brilliance, yet missing the power and mystery that make many of his albums unforgettable. With Obama in the White House, and serious reformation sweeping this country, the bitterness and wisdom in Bruce Springsteen's work wanes.

Perhaps, overall, the album lacks a Springsteen who sings of pain, loss, and illusion, leading and guiding you through it, making the mystery a little easier to solve through his music.

December 22nd, 2008

Click to enlarge.