Blog Posts - The Nitpicky Artist

Where have I been?

5/8/2018

I really let time pass - it's been 3 months since my last post! What have I been up to? Well, I still haven't finished the coke cooler painting, but it's close. In the meantime, I painted a small commissioned piece for a family member, designed new frames for the paintings, and traveled to Jamaica for a honeymoon.

I'd like to share the small commissioned painting, but since it's a surprise, I don't want to ruin it.

On to the new frames. I'm tiring of my regular frames of the last 6 years. Also, I've had trouble reinforcing the mitered corners since the frame material is very thin. This results in some of the glued mitered corners cracking and coming apart. To fix this, I decided to ditch the old framing method and start using contemporary floating frames with spline reinforced corners. You can see how I did this in the pictures below with a spline jig I built to use on the router table. I also changed material from red oak to walnut. These frames definitely take more time to build, but I do like how the natural walnut looks with the paintings.

Lastly, Kate and I took our honeymoon in Jamaica on the last week of April. We had a good time at the resort where we stayed, but the bus ride to and from the Airport does make me grateful to live in the US. It's nice to be back home. We did take some photos, but neither of us got shutter happy. The last two photos are from the flight home. You can see that little assembly of tall buildings is all of downtown Chicago.

I won 2nd Place in Florida!

2/11/2018

Yikes, it's been 2 months since I've posted here. Mostly because nothing exciting has happened since the wedding. I'm still working on the big coke cooler painting and it's progressing painfully slow. There is probably still a few more weeks of work needed on it. I did pick up a small commission from a family member. It will be a nice change of pace to start another piece.

However, last week I found out that I was awarded 2nd place in the 11th Biennial National Art Exhibition hosted by the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda, Florida! I have two pieces in the show, "Remembering Iwo Jima" and "Drinking Happy Bird". The drinking bird won the award. Check out Judge Steven J. Levin's comment:

"This is a stunning piece in all respects -- composition, drawing, color and modeling -- and it makes one smile."

I'm humbled to win this award and quite relieved to have my shipping expenses more than covered. It was expensive to ship two crated painting down to Florida. $111 for the pair, one way!

If you want to see what took home 1st place, click the link below. This painting well deserved top prize.
1st Place - Sandra Kuck

In Non-Painting Related News - I got Married!

12/13/2017

Yes, it has happened; in a relationship for 10 years, then engaged for another 2, and now officially married. I don't post much here about my personal life, but I think it's worth noting life events. For the last 6 months it has been nothing but wedding talk around here, and it has been making crazy! I was incredibly nervous to stand up there and say "I do" in front of 150 people. Drawing attention to yourself is an introvert's worst dream. However, as Dec. 9th drew ever closer, I felt fine. Not too much anxiety and feeling much better about the wedding than I thought. With a few drinks of liquid courage, I sailed through the big day with ease and comfort. My new wife looked beautiful thanks to my sister Kasey who is a make up artist - I'm not the only artist in the family. See her website here - Make Up by Kasey. Here are a few photos of Kate and I, finally married after all this time.

Rainbow Cone Completed

11/7/2017

In the previous post you saw some work in progress images of the Rainbow Cone painting. I've been working on this piece off and on, but now it's finished. This is one of those paintings that I cannot believe I didn't think of sooner. Granted this is the first year I tried an authentic Rainbow Cone, two to be precise, but I have known for a while that this ice cream is a Chicago favorite. I was skeptical at first with this 5 layer cone of assorted flavors, but I really enjoyed it. However, you must go to the creamery and have them make you one for the full experience... it cannot be replicated at home.

If you missed the first part of this story here is a link to the initial post. http://www.nitpickyartist.com/blog/work-in-progress-and-new-painting-idea

Rainbow cone Painting Progress

10/15/2017

I've decided to finish the rainbow cone painting before I get back into an other work in progress. It isn't done, but it's getting close with only the cone needing detail. Below are some images of the ice cream in progress. I'll probably go back and glaze a bit of color into the green ice cream. This flavor is pistachio and I think it could be a tad brighter. Maybe a glaze of permanent green light and hansa yellow will shift the color just a bit warmer. I don't glaze very often but I do find it helpful for color and value correction.

Here is another image with the painting at an extreme angle to the light so you can see the surface. I'm really piling on the highlights with thick white and letting the texture of the paint mimic the texture of the ice cream. My medium for this is stand oil, 1 part stand oil to 1 part thinner. I mix it with titanium white until it turns into a thick, gooey consistency. I usually only use stand oil for this purpose as it is too thick for any other application.

"Remembering Iwo Jima" Accepted Into Viewpoint 49 Exhibit

9/14/2017

First competition of the year! Better late then never I guess. "Remembering Iwo Jima" is accepted into Cincinnati Art Club's Viewpoint 49 exhibition. This year, of the more than 300 entries submitted, there were 80 chosen to hang in the show.

The Artist’s Reception and Awards will be on Friday, October 6, 2017, from 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM at the Greenwich House Gallery, 2124 Madison Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208

ViewPoint 49 will be Open to the Public October 6 through November 4, 2017
Monday through Saturday 11:00 - 5:00PM

Visit the link below for more information-
http://www.cincinnatiartclub.com/cac-viewpoint.html

"Remembering Iwo Jima" Oil on Panel 24" x 18"

Recent Encounter With An Email Scammer

8/26/2017

Earlier this week I received an email from someone named Buttry Stephen, who saw his wife checking out my website. He also was impressed with my work and was interesting in making a purchase. I wanted to share these emails to show what a scam looks like pertaining to artwork. Here is the first email...

Greetings,
My name is Buttry Stephen from Michigan. I actually observed my wife has been viewing your website on my laptop and i guess she likes your piece of work, I'm also impressed and amazed to have seen your various works too, You are doing a great job. I would like to receive further information about your piece of work and what inspires you..Kindly confirm the availability for immediate sales.
Thanks and best regards.

I was suspicious the moment I read it. There are several grammar errors and it's strangely worded as though it was sent through an internet translator. The most notable red flag comes from the last sentence, where he asks to, "confirm the availability for immediate sales". "Immediate Sales" is a awkward phrase. I also tracked the email and could tell it was sent from San Francisco, even though Buttry claims to be from Michigan. Though this email was suspicious, I decided to respond. Here is what I wrote...

Hi Buttry,

Thanks much for the kind words and compliments. Inspiration for my work often comes from items that have a great presence. Sometimes these are iconic objects, or nostalgic/sentimental pieces. Many times I'm drawn to witty items because I find them cool and/or fun. Then of course I concentrate on painting them to the best of my ability.

These are the finished paintings I have here in my studio -

"Satisfaction" oil on panel 12"x12"
"Drinking Happy Bird" oil on panel 14"x14"
"Walked in Lincoln's Steps" oil on panel 54"x18"

These can be viewed on my website - http://www.kylesurges.com/nostalgia-series.html

My other paintings are available at McCormick Gallery. Here is a link to their site - http://www.thomasmccormick.com/artists/kyle_surges

All the best,

Kyle

Shortly after sending the email, I receive this...

Hello Kyle,
Thanks for the message, it could be any color, but medium size or large.
However, I would greatly appreciate if you could possibly recommend a
few completed piece within my budget $1000- $15,000- ready for
immediate
sales i check your website but i could not see the price of the art work.
Please do email me back with images and prices of any available works
in that range.
cheers.

Yet another email with incorrect grammar. I tracked the email again and found it was sent from Kansas, which is odd. Also, $1,000 - $15,000 is a pretty large price range. I wrote back with prices...

Here is a list of the prices for the paintings -

Frito Bandito - $2000
Sharper Straighter Cleaner - $2200
Pepsi Cap - $1500
Remembering Iwo Jima - $4500
An Artist's Payday - $3200
Drinking Happy Bird - $3600
Satisfaction - $3200
Walked in Lincoln's Steps - $5000

Please use my website to view the paintings.

At this point, I'm just playing along. Where could this be leading to? This time his response came to me in my spam inbox.

Dear Kyle,
Thanks for the message again. I must tell you I
intend to give my wife a
surprise with the immediate purchase of the
piece. Also If you'd like to
know, I'm relocating to the Philippines soon and
our wedding anniversary is
fast approaching. So I'm trying to gather some
good stuff to make this
event a surprise one..I'm okay with the painting and price,(Drinking Happy Bird $3600 and
Satisfaction-$3200) I think it's
worth it anyway, so I'll be
sending a check after you are done with the frame.
As regarding shipping, you don't have to worry about that in order not
to leave any clue to my wife for the surprise. As
soon as you receive and cash
the check, my shipping agent (who is also
moving my personal effect) will
contact you to arrange pick-up..
I would have come to purchase the piece myself
but, at the moment, am on
training voyage to the North Atlantic Ocean (I'm
an ocean engineer) with
new hires who are fresh from graduate school
and won't be back for another
couple of weeks..
Regards!
PS: In the meantime, kindly get back to me with
your full name (you want
the check payable to) cell phone no. and contact
address (preferably for
USPS OR UPS not P.O box) where a check can
be mailed to so I can get the
check prepared and have it mailed out to you
asap..
Thank you!

Wow! Look at this one, he has all kinds of plans and stories in this email! Buttry is an Ocean Engineer on a training voyage who is from Michigan, and relocating to the Philippines?! What a joke! This is the point where I let him know I'm not sucker.

My gallery will be handling the transaction so contact them for sales. I don't deal directly with clients, there are a lot of scammers out there, and too high of risk for fraud - you know how it is...

Kyle

I didn't hear back from Buttry after this. I'm not sure what the outcome would have been if I sent him my address. There is a good chance I could have received a fraudulent check. Or sometimes with these email scammers, something supposedly drastic will happen to them and they will have a whole new set of plans later on. One thing that is consistent with these email scammers is that they try to make a personal, relate-able connection with you. They usually have a long, drawn out story with ridiculous content to try and feed on your humanity. Buttry was pretty clever in using his "wife's interest" as a ploy to reach out to me. It's not uncommon for spouses to purchase art as gifts for each other. Be careful out there, use common sense when dealing with these idiots.

Work In Progress and New Painting Idea

8/20/2017

Here is some progress on the Coca-Cola Cooler painting. This is the largest painting I've done since school - it's 40"x32"! I know this is nothing compared to some art, but this is really large to me.

Currently, I'm working on the first layer and just trying to get to the acrylic gesso covered. I'll have the background completed in the next couple days and then I'll let it dry for a week or so. This white background is mostly titanium white which is a slow drying color. I learned early-on not to work on a painting with large wet areas of paint. A mistake made in semi-dry oil paint on a very smooth panel is almost irreversible. So with this big painting too wet to work on, I'll turn my attention to another piece.

My other painting is much smaller, only 12"x8". It's of a famous south side Chicago ice cream, Rainbow Cone. This maybe intended for a bit of a niche market, but many people in Chicago are serious Rainbow Cone enthusiasts; some will wait in line for an hour to get a cone at the original location. I didn't grow up eating Rainbow Cone, nor have I ever heard of it until I started dating my fiancee, Kate. Her family goes crazy over this ice cream and like many Chicagoans, grew up eating it.

I ran into a bit of trouble with how to get one of these ice cream cones into the studio to be photographed. My initial plan was to make the ice cream cone here at the house; Rainbow Cone also sells the ice cream by the quart. However, the unique, patented ice cream scoop plays a major role in how the cone is made. I even emailed the folks at Rainbow to purchase a scoop, but they were unfortunately unable to sell me one.

The nutty things I do to make a painting

With my plans scrapped to make the ice cream cone at home, I decided I needed to buy a couple cones at the Creamery and transport them home. Of course this would require some way of keeping the ice cream from melting. So I converted a cooler into an ice cream cone transporter. I made a cone holder to be placed at the bottom and a top rack to hold a block of dry ice. Remember cold air sinks, and hot air raises. Luckily, obtaining dry ice wasn't too difficult, many grocery stores around here supply it. I had no idea if this thing was going to work. Was the cooler going to be cold enough? Would the ice cream fall over during to ride home? Was the teenager making the ice cream cone going to create a worthy representation? A lot could go wrong!

Photo Reference, Not a Painting!

Luckily, I got the cones packed into the cooler with the dry ice and loaded into the truck before they had a chance to melt. To my surprise, they were in perfect condition after the ride home and I was able to get a great, sharp photo reference for the painting. As you can see, this is a unique ice cream cone. The first layer is chocolate, then strawberry, palmer house (cherry w/walnuts), pistachio, and finally orange sherbet. I'm excited to get started.

"Satisfaction" Painting Completed

7/27/2017

The "Satisfaction" painting is complete. As mentioned in a previous post about this painting, I decided to invent my own sleeve for this one. So instead of a sleeve that has the record company's graphics, this has an electronic circuit schematic. The circuit is from the early 1960's Maestro Fuzz-Tone pedal, a simple electronic that created the distorted guitar sound on the record. The fuzz guitar tone is the result of Keith Richards plugging his guitar into this fuzz box that was then sent to a guitar amp. The tone is very distinct and it is the first thing you hear on the record. If you listen closely, you can hear Richards turn the Fuzz Tone pedal off and on throughout the song. Being a hobby guitar player, I picked up some knowledge of electronic circuits and came up with this schematic idea for this painting.

Maestro Fuzz Tone

As an interesting side note, this fuzz guitar tone on "Satisfaction" was only supposed to be used as a place holder for a horn section. According to Richards, "this was just a little sketch, because, to my mind, the fuzz tone was really there to denote what the horns would be doing." However the producer, engineer, and other Stones members voted to release the single in favor of the fuzz guitar sound.

Here is the finished painting, 12"x 12", oil on panel. All that is left is to put a frame on it.

Completely completed - Oiled Out and Framed

7/8/2017

This painting is 100% done now that it is oiled out and framed. You can see in one of the images where I only oiled out the center of the painting. It has the same effect as varnishing a picture, but without the bother of a final varnish layer. Note that mid to dark tones only benefit from oiling out - I left the white foreground alone. My oiling out medium is 1 part stand oil and 1 part walnut oil. All oils can yellow with linseed being the worst. I like stand oil because it doesn't yellow as much, but it's too thick, so I thin it with walnut oil. I apply it using my finger and spread it around as thinly as possible. Alkyd mediums are a good option too, but they dry quickly, so work fast!

I stopped varnishing my work ever since a negative experience a few years ago. I always felt uncomfortable with the procedure. If something goes wrong, there isn't a good way to correct it... so I stopped varnishing. If I do want to add more protection to the painting, I will frame it behind anti -reflective glass or apply a cold wax medium. See my review of these products below.

Anti-Reflective Glass

Cold Wax Medium

I also submitted this piece to a large competition in Wisconsin -over $8500 will be given out in rewards. I have entered this show every year since 2013. Hopefully this painting gets in!