AJF

My departure from Chicago to Detroit has been delayed a few months due to a commission from a chicagoland client.  So here is a look into my studio to see the project.  It is a recreation of an old concrete sculpture that has been destroyed by time and the elements.  My job is to recreate the sculpture to the best of my abilities and build an structural foundation that will withstand time and the elements better than the original.  I am currently in the armiture stage, which i see as the most important phase of the project.  A strong structure will mean long term success for the life of the sculpture.

The first picture is the room i built in my studio for the sculpture to prevent concrete dust from going around my painting studio.  The Santa painting is both a wall and a way to decorate my studio for the holidays.  I spent two seasons working for the Detroit Parade Company building floats for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, so i’m quite fond of the Parade.

Here is a brief moment captured on August 9, 2011, from around 4-9PM.  its roughly 600 stills at roughly 30 second increments to capture the movement of the clouds over my building, west to east, in my studio 5′x10 double window frames.  I guess I’m a cloud gazer at heart, (look at my portfolio and you’ll see clouds in many of my paintings), and i feel people should take the time to look at the world around them and appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds all of us, especially the fleeting moments like clouds passing through the sky.  Enjoy.

Clouds in my Chicago Studio

Youtube link: http://youtu.be/Ki22abEy7M0

Wishing you and all yours a Safe and Happy Holiday, and a Happy New Year!
Cheers to 2012!

Happy Holidays from me to you

All Sears Tower: January 19; Chicago Views

On display now, until October 9 at The BOB, 2o Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, on the 2nd floor.

Curious about the process, here is a time-lapse video showing the painting process over 6-7 months in my studio: http://youtu.be/HyYOt2sa2K8

The Story:

I treat a canvas like a blueprint and then build up the layers step-by-step until the painting is finished.  I don’t categorize myself in any genre but rather I’m an artist in the here and now making art.  Prior to these paintings I had been working in Black and white for almost one year.  It’s a simplified form of painting, life made easy by the beauty of monochromatic.  I use photographs as a starting point but eventually break away and just let the paint be.

From my studio window I could see the Sears tower and thought: “what is it like to be this skyscraper?”  I had painted the Sears, but I wanted to paint what the Sears saw.   January 18^th, 2009, I big storm hit Chicago and blanketed the city in snow.  January 19^th, blue skies and a beautiful low arcing sun to the South.  I walked to the Sears on that bitter cold day, went to the top, took my pictures and walked back.  For seven months, I worked on these paintings, side-by-side, in my studio.

The Paintings are a combination of my photographs and my own familiar relationships I’ve developed as an inhabitant in Chicago. Each view speaks of some event I’ve encountered since moving here; a bike ride, where I used to work, a street I drove down, where I live, I had a beer there, I sat there on a beautiful afternoon and listened to a concert in the park.   When I stand in front of these paintings, I am the Sears Tower.

Since being completed, they have been published in New American Painting and PackingTown Review.  And been on display in the lobby of the Willis, formerly Sears, Tower and 515 State, aka, The American Medical Association building in Chicago.

ARTPRIZE 2011

Often described as a radically open experiment in public art, ArtPrize is an annual three-week competition in which art works are displayed at more than 150 venues throughout downtown Grand Rapids.  Approximately $500,000 in prize money is awarded on the basis of public voting. This year, nearly 1,600 artists from 36 countries and 43 states will be exhibiting their work from September 21 – October 9.

The competition starts with artists matching up with venues, (museum, hotel, bar, restaurant, etc…), like a dating service, then once a match is made, the artwork gets installed in the space and competes for the prize.  Essentially, the whole city of Grand Rapids becomes one big gallery for a few weeks.  To register to vote, you HAVE to visit Grand Rapids and attend ARTPRIZE so as to keep the competition fair for all the artists.  If you do attend, I’d like to lobby for your vote.  The prize pool breakdown is: 1st $250,000. 2nd $100,000. 3rd $50,000. 4th-10th $7,000.

I will be displaying my four Chicago landscapes at The B.O.B., (Big Old Building).  The B.O.B., is centrally located in Grand Rapids, and is a multi-functioning building featuring restaurants, bars and concert venues.  I will be featured on the 2nd floor of The B.O.B. where pool tables currently are.  My installation will be my four Chicago landscapes in a prefabricated 16′x16′ box, that will contain all four paintings in correct directional orientation, so as to create an all-encompassing view of Chicago as you stand in the middle of the box.  Should be a fun installation.

Competition Dates: September 21-October 9, (I am installing my piece September 18).

The B.O.B. is located at 20 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI.

Vote UP code: 50191
Vote down code: 50190