I just finished up my "Drinking Happy Bird" painting. The cocktail he is sipping is an old fashioned. I found that once you start drinking these, you really don't want to stop, which pairs nicely with the slogan on the box. Originally the liquid in the bird was red, but I changed it to match the color of the whiskey. I took a bit more artistic license and changed the words on the box from 'NON-INFLAMMABLE' to 'INFLAMMABLE'; he is drinking alcohol of course. The painting is oil on panel and is 14" x 14". I'll be painting the frame for it today.
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The paintings are slowly progressing, but they are coming along. I currently have three that I'm working on and one of them is a large piece. The drinking happy bird has the first layer of paint completed and it is now time for detail. I'm getting into some letters and refining the orange slice.
Lastly and least importantly, my show, "High Definition" at McCormick Gallery received a review. It's a mostly unfavorable review and I think those of you who come here to see my paintings and read my posts will have no problem disregarding this nonsense critic. I don't feel I need to say too much about it because it won't affect me or my work. But if you are looking for a good laugh, check it out here - http://art.newcity.com/2017/04/28/is-there-a-place-for-tromp-loeil-in-trumps-post-truth-presidency/
The second one features one of those novelty drinking birds. He is standing on a box drinking an old fashion cocktail - which happens to be my new favorite adult beverage. These pictures also show how I transfer a photo image to a painting panel using graphite. Thanks to all who were able to attend the opening on the 17th. We had a good turn out and even sold a few paintings already. It was a pleasure to meet the collectors and admirers of my work. Many thanks to McCormick Gallery for making this all possible. Join me on March 17th from 5-7pm for my second solo show at McCormick Gallery. I’ll have eleven paintings for this new display titled “High Definition”. The subject matter for the show will range from WWII items, to rock n’ roll records, to candy bars and Twinkies, but all paintings will follow the basic theme of nostalgia - and as the title suggests, each piece is rendered to the smallest detail. The show will be on display until May 6th.
This piece has a bit of fun with what it's like to sell a painting as a hyperrealism artist. The small red, round sticker is an artist's best friend because it's used by galleries to mark a painting sold. While a sale is always welcome, the amount is rarely enough to substantiate the many hours spent painting detail - at least not for me at this point. So the snack size Payday candy bar represents an artist's paycheck after the sale, hence the red "sold" sticker. The background, painted a tint of money green, is oversized to make the small Payday feel even smaller. This is the final completed painting for my show, "High Definition" at McCormick Gallery which opens March 17th. http://www.thomasmccormick.com/exhibitions/104 I had the idea for this painting last summer. It took so long for me to start because I ended up growing my own poppies. After learning that you cannot buy poppy flowers, I was forced to start with the seeds. To my surprise, these plants grew really well indoors and I got some good references. Unfortunately, the flowers don't last long, especially once cut - they wilt almost immediately. I had to work from only photo references to complete the painting. Recently I've considered protecting my paintings with glass to prevent damage to the painted surface. It seems like every time I submit a piece into a show, it returns to me with some minor little scuff or scratch. The severity is never enough to contact the show's curator, but it is frustrating. So for one of the group shows I submitted to, I decided to cover the piece with plexi-glass or clear acrylic. I chose acrylic because it's clear, easy to cut at home, and shatter resistant. Although the piece didn't win anything in the competition, it was returned to me in perfect condition. It was nice not to have to repair or clean the dust from the painting. Now that it is time to sell the painting in my next solo show, I wanted to invest in some good anti-reflective glass or acrylic. After some research I found a company called Frame Destination and they offer a product called Gro Glass. Gro Glass is a much cheaper alternative to the crazy expensive prices offered by Tru Vue. Like Tru Vue, Gro Glass also has an entire line of different types of picture glass. For my application, I was interested in a product that was water-clear and had an anti-reflective coating. I decided to go with Gro Glass's Artglass WW Anti-Reflection and Frame Destination cut it to the exact size I needed for my painting. For a about $40 shipped, I received a high quality piece of glass that looks fantastic and does a good job at blocking reflections. See the difference from standard acrylic and this specialty glass below. As you can see it removes nearly all reflections except for leaving a bit of the window. This is obviously not the most ideal place to hang art, but I think it was a good test to see just how much this glass is able to remove reflections. According to Gro Glass, regular clear glass and acrylic will reflect about 8% of light off it's surface. Their anti-reflective glass reflects only about 1%. I'm satisfied with this reduction and once it's placed in the correct lighting, this glass is truly invisible. Here is the proof... This piece is ready for the show. I bet people won't even realize there is glass covering this painting.
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Kyle Surges's Oil Painting Blog
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