Sales are nice!

Sometimes people ask whether something is for sale. I think the question comes from the idea of "losing" something that came from inside, that is very personal and that, perhaps, no one else will understand. I get that.

I got into painting never expecting to show anybody anything, much less find people willing to pay actual money for them. It turns out that people like some of my stuff. (I'll also note that the buying public often ignores my best work - bunch of philistines! I still love you.)

The truth is that there are only a few pieces that are so special in that internal connection sort of way that I will never sell. There is one painting that I have some regret selling but the right person bought it so it's okay.

Yesterday I sold a painting that has gone through many iterations, changes of direction, and frankly several layers of paint. I put it in an abstract show at Johnny's Gone Fishing and yesterday I got a call that someone wanted to buy it. So up to Johnny's to pick up the other pieces and sell one. Kevin Morgan bought it and he explains part of the why here. An interesting story that starts with a poem by Tao Te Ching and includes references to chaos and complexity theories (the painting is titled "Chaos" and I also have an interest in chaos theory) and mucus. Kevin is interesting.

So here it is:

Chaos. Acrylics, ink probably some other stuff on canvas covered with cheesecloth. 24 x 18

A new one

So this one is a modification of a Color Field influenced piece from a couple of years ago. It wasn't terrible, but it was also not terribly interesting. So I took a metaphorical axe to it. It became less an abstract...okay, not really an abstract but I like the colors.

It's acrylics on unprimed canvas attached to plywood (waaay more than you want to know).

Monsignor, acrylics on unprimed canvas, maybe 36 x 24?

A couple of new old things

First another one from the "finding something there" in an old failure of a painting. This one was actually pretty easy - so easy that I don't know why I didn't see it earlier. Basically most of the black you see was white before. And is not uncommon, I found some realism in an abstract. So it's 3 friends "Hanging Out."

Hanging Out, 24 x 18 acrylics on canvas

Number 2 was different. I started with a heavily gessoed over big (for me) canvas. Karen gave me the new Joan Mitchell biography for my b-day. Joan is one of my very favorite artists. The energy of her canvases is amazing. Oh to be that talented! So I was thinking about Joan and her use of color and composition. After a couple of hours last night - getting late - I stopped, happy with how it was going. Karen thinks it's finished. I'm not convinced- I'm not sure I see where the eye is drawn. But I have f-ed up enough paintings by not letting them soak in before continuing. I have NOT f-ed paintings because Karen told me to stop. So I'm stopping for now.

Thoughts?

Birds in Flight, 36 x 24, acrylics on canvas

February show of my abstracts at Johnny's Gone Fishing

I'll hang a show in the back area of Johnny's Gone Fishing on W. Main Carrboro tomorrow, January 29th and it will be up through February. I've decided to show abstracts. Here's a new one. I pulled a failure from who knows when and saw a few glimmers of hope in it. After a couple of days of fooling with it something popped out. Finished and ready to go.

This is Not a Stained Glass Window. Acrylics on canvas. 24 x 30

This has nothing to do with my painting!

chris beachams 4, originally uploaded by beekalove.

Me and my boys at the remarkably gracious Christmas party/dinner we attended at the Edmondson's home in suburban Philly. Photo by my remarkably talented niece Becca Beacham.