Sketchbook blog

I sent off another 50 small wood rounds to Art-o-mat at the end of September 2019. You can see my packaging in the background of this shot.  I tried to limit my color palette and focus on tropical flora inspired by Matisse.  I really enjoyed painting this red coral. My goal has been to finish 100 pieces of work per month, but lately I've experienced some family tragedies that have taken over my time and emotions.   So to highlight the positive, here are some cute pictures of the family having fun in September.

Brightly painted wood rounds full of fruit I've gone a little crazy with painting fruit for Art-o-mat this summer. This cherry from my Mini Masterpiece collection owes its origins to the painters like Matisse who were Fauvists. Fauvism (1899-1908) was a twentieth century art movement made of up artists who called themselves les Fauves , or the “wild beasts.” Painters like Matisse, Cézanne, Gaugin, and Seurat contributed to this style and composed still life paintings with fruit in vivid brushwork and bold colors. In this Art-o-mat package, I have depicted a subject (like blueberries, which are a superfood!) in a Fauvist style.   I hope these miniature originals brightened your day with hopeful, uplifting color. My almost 2 year old, Nate, thinks these wood rounds are puzzle pieces. He and Alex like to "help me" work on them. While I worked on this batch last Father's Day weekend, we were missing our...

I'm cranking out some new Mini Masterpieces for Art-o-mat, and these pieces have a new and improved look. My entire set of 50 delivered yesterday to Worldwide Art-o-mat Headquarters includes 100% Matisse elements.  In the past, I painted subject matter on mini canvases or on wood blocks. But then I decided it would be cool to paint modern art on organic, touchable wood rounds.  All of these above are painted on either oak or cedar wood. The Formula Each of my Art-o-mat pieces has the following: 2 layers of gesso, multiple layers of Liquitex heavy body acrylic paint, Posca acrylic paint markers, 1 coat of spray gloss sealant, 1 coat of glossy liquid sealant, a jute string for hanging, my signature and date on the back, flannel fabric gift-wrapped with embroidery floss tie, an insert regarding the art history behind the painting, and my business card. About Matisse Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) was a French sculptor, printmaker, and ...