Old Western Electric Telephone

8"x12" oil on canvas panel. With all those cords behind the phone, I jokingly refer to this as "The Octopus Phone." Now, I could talk to you about how I pilfered this phone from a case in the Mother Unit's home and how she has since noticed and now wants it back, but let's skip my larcenous ways and talk painting. When painting narrow shapes I sometimes, actually often, paint against form. Painting against form is when I drag my brush sideways across the direction of the shape instead of along in the same direction as the shape. You might be able to see some of what I am talking about in the phone's cords; look at the red on the top bend of the cord on the left—the strokes go sideways across cord. Almost all of the cords here are painted against form. Most of the time I do not even know that I am painting against form because I have a practical reason for doing it: It allows me to glob on more paint in a small space. Not a fancy explanation, but there it is for your consumption. • If you crave more boring commentary, check out my Beverly Hills Show report below.

Report on the Beverly Hills Show
(warning this may run long, so if you have a pot on the stove‚ go tend it and avoid my babbling)
I was in the Beverly Hills Affaire in the Gardens Art Show this past weekend and I consider it a success. Why a success? I will tell you... Any show where I get to meet my online friends and fellow artists Marie Fox and Bradford Salamon (great people); a guy walks in and says, "I'll take eight of the portraits." (yes, I am bragging, see the text* below for the reason); somebody I don't know walks up and sticks a BH second place ribbon on me (it was close, but no blood was spilt); a park ranger threatens to tazer me (he was joking... I think/hope); and a friend brings a picnic lunch to nosh (Thanks Viv!), is a great show. And the Spousal Unit was with me the whole time, which pushed the show into the "Perfect Weekend" category for me (and all the men within a two mile radius my space). I want to thank all who visited (but not the men who came over just to talk to the Spousal Unit).

* So there I was, in the wilds of Beverly Hills grappling with a "gallery owner" who was trying to chisel away at me (it doesn't work by the way) when a collector walks in and cooly states, "I'll take eight of the portraits." Now, while I was extremely happy with the sale—especially considering that the gentleman had really taken his time throughout the day to closely study the portraits prior to returning and pulling the trigger—I was even happier to see the look on the "gallery owner's" face when his efforts were so wonderfully torpedoed. So yeah, I am bragging.
Posted October 14, 2011
sold • private collection beverly hills, ca