Fechin house

Yesterday I finally visited Taos Museum of Art and Fechin House, Taos, New Mexico. I was fortunate to see 5 paintings and 2 lithographs by Nicolai Fechin along with his house and studio he designed. It was truly an eye-opening and inspiring experience. I got to see so many things I did not or could not see even in the finest reproductions in the books on his work. His expressive yet highly refined brush strokes and incredible use of colors were truly exciting and educational. I tried to soak up as much as I could while I was there. His architecture design was also incredible. He designed all wood works and hand carved them himself. The lady we talked to at the front desk said Fechin had painted during the day and carved wood during the night. He was in the truest sense, a total artist.

Fechin House.

Fireplace on the first floor.

A litho print based on his drawing.

Portrait of his wife Alexsandra.

Portrait of his daughter Eya.

Father Fishing.

Manicure Lady.

Self-portrait.

His Daughter Eya's playroom.

Hand made light fixture.

Exterior of his studio.

His studio.

 I would LOVE to revisit this place.

Origami Heaven review on the New York Times

A review on Origami Heaven exhibit was on the New York Times on 12/5/2015.I am truly honored to be part of this group show!

 

Vanitas 3-2 update (12-1-2015)

I have finished 1/3 of this drawing from the top. I am happy about the way this is going so far. We cancelled our trip to Hungary and Austria this Christmas, so I might be able to finish this a little earlier than I antiipated...

Fresh A.I.R. Gallery Fundraiser

I participated in the fundraiser for Fresh A.I.R. Gallery for the seciond time. I decided to do a drawing this time because I had had a kind of frustrating experience last year for the lighting being so bad I couldn't even see the colors I was using. Ironically this year my gessoed board was receiving very steady spotlight. Funny how things work! Anyway, I finished a charcoal drawing. Here are some snapshots.

Here is John, working on his piece.

John and Chuck. Mike is behind them.

Angela taking a break. She had a nice painting.

Karen working on her painting with a big brush.

Sean talking to one of the guests. Kevin is seen in the back.

Pertain and her drawing.

Sean displaying his master strokes.

My work in progress.

My piece almost finished.

Auction display view. From left, Pertain, Kevin, Chuck, Sean and me.

Me, Karen, Angela, John.

Mike.

The names of the participating artists.

Vanitas 3 part 2 started

Last week I started working on the part 2 of Vanitas 3 diptych. This one has a smaller amount of fabric and more flesh tones, so I am hoping it will be a little quicker to finish. The size is exactly the same as the part 1: 21" x 14".