Bioluminescence IX

The light of life and the natural world. Of all the vastness of space, as of yet, we know of only one planet that supports life. At least within some great distance from here, life is rare. Having been the product of billions of years of evolution, life is precious. This point of light and inspiration stands in contrast to the lanterns and lights that are historically known to be sources of illumination but are now dimmed. These extinguished lights represent the litany of outdated mythologies mankind has created. In much darker times of human ignorance they seemed to show the way, but thankfully, those days have passed.

Now hanging in the current show, "Animalia," at Abend Gallery

Oil, 30 x 24 inches

I'm happy to say Cassini has received First Place in the Daily Paintworks Monthly Competition! Check out the entrants and winners here.

Cassini, Oil, 18 x 24 inches

Alpine Evening

A new large nocturne landscape appearing in "The Land," a group exhibition at Abend Gallery, opening this weekend!

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 13, 6-8 pm.
On view through August 3, 2019.

Alpine Evening, Oil, 40 x 40 inches

I'm happy to say Blue Bower has received an award in the Art Renewal Center annual salon. As part of the award I'll be participating in a show at Rehs Contemporary Gallery in NYC next spring and I'm really looking forward to it!

Nullius In Verba

Latin for "on the word of no one" or "take nobody's word for it", Nullius in verba is the motto of the oldest national scientific institution, the Royal Society, founded in 1660. Sir Isaac Newton served as president of the society from 1703-27. The motto is explained thus:

It is an expression of the determination of Fellows to withstand the domination of authority and to verify all statements by an appeal to facts determined by experiment.

Available tomorrow morning on Every Day Original.

Oil Study, 10 x 8 inches

Detail

Archer

A three hour life study from a while ago.

Oil, 16 x 12 inches

Available here

Old Study

Going through old work, I found this 3 hour portrait study from 2014 that I had never photographed.

Oil, 12 x 9 inches

Also, the Available Works section of my website now sports snazzy images of example frames and walls to give a sense of scale. Here are a few of them:

 

Bioluminescence - Violet

A recent, tiny Bioluminescence commission.

This represents to me, as with the rest of this series, the natural world as a point of inspiration.

Oil, 6 x 8 inches

A Galaxy Within

We are each a little galaxy of our own. Mind-bending as it is trying to comprehend the 100 billion stars found in a typical galaxy, each of us has roughly the same number of neurons in our brain, performing a symphony of consciousness. Similar too, is the number of atoms that write out our DNA code. We are a staggeringly complex and unique collection of natural components, come together for a short, precious moment.

Large numbers are difficult to fathom, but to be disappointed in the realization that we are “just” collections of atoms moving in accordance with the laws of physics, is to misunderstand the depth of this astonishing complexity, and the billions of years it took to evolve.

“We are the miracle, we human beings. Not a break-the-laws-of-physics kind of miracle; a miracle in that it is wondrous and amazing how such complex, aware, creative, caring creatures could have arisen in perfect accordance with those laws [of nature] … Our emergence has brought meaning and mattering into the world ... It bequeaths to us the responsibility and opportunity to make life into what we would have it be.”
-Sean Carroll, The Big Picture

Detailed oil study, 6 x 8 in

Available tomorrow on EveryDayOriginal.com

Bioluminescence VIII

A new painting in the Bioluminescence series.

Oil, 20 x 24 in

Landscapes

Three landscapes now on display in my three-person show at Abend Gallery.

Oil, 20 x 24 inches

Oil, 20 x 24 inches

Oil, 20 x 24 inches

Detail images:

Blue Bower II

On view now at Abend Gallery, in my three-person show, "Storytellers."

Lucky are we to find ourselves nestled in such a comfortable nook of the cosmos. We have evolved, of course, to fit this planet like a glove. Yet for that evolution to take place, a multitude of serendipitous circumstances were necessary. It is possible we owe a debt to the vastness of our universe, which has created such statistical possibilities. From our planet's protective magnetosphere and temperature, balanced in the range of liquid water, to our Sun's stable size and Jupiter's gravitational deflection of hazardous debris, we are privileged to occupy so tufted a nest. It may be the only soft spot such fragile and short-lived biological creatures as we, will ever be capable of reaching – a precious thing, this beautiful blue bower.

Oil, 24 x 30 in

Detail

Detail

Three-Person Exhibition

Coming up in just over two weeks! Opening February 2nd at Abend Gallery, I'll be showing with Mary Chiaramonte and Dana Hawk. Until then, I'll be sharing some detail images of my paintings for the show...

Detail Image

In other news, I found out right before the holidays that Bioluminescence IV received First Place in the Oil Painters of America Fall Online Showcase, Signature Member Division! Truly honored. A big thank you to the judge and the OPA. Check out all the excellent winners here.

Observation II Study

Up on Every Day Original tomorrow morning! This is a study from an older painting which I recently revisited for an experiment in what could have been.

"When he [Johannes Kepler] found that his long cherished beliefs did not agree with the most precise observations, he accepted the uncomfortable facts, he preferred the hard truth to his dearest illusions. That is the heart of science."
-Carl Sagan

Oil, 8 x10 inches

Reference for the background of this piece was collected while visiting the telescope in the 127 year old Ladd Observatory, in Providence RI.

The Face of Cassini

A new video documenting the painting process of Cassini. The satellite dish in her hair was a last minute addition that you can see me pencil in at the beginning of the video. I then added a flower later because the dish looked lonely on it's own. Full image on my website.

About Cassini:

In our pursuit to understand the solar system we find ourselves in, we sent an explorer on a billion mile journey to the Saturnian system. The Cassini Spacecraft sent back amazing new data and images of Saturn and it's 62 known moons, 46 of which were unknown when Cassini left. We learned that the moon, Enceladus, may have everything it needs to support life deep in it's global ocean, Titan has a liquid methane sea, and so much more.

Last year, low on fuel after twenty years in space and so much information gained, Cassini took several dives between Saturn and it's rings to learn a little more before it's mission came to an end. To avoid possible microbial contamination of any of Saturn's moons, Cassini dove and burned up in Saturn's atmosphere, while sending back it's final data.

Email subscribers: Sorry, videos don't seem to get included in emails, watch here.

Starswept

A little starscape for Abend Gallery's 28th Annual Holiday Miniatures Show opening this Saturday.

Starswept, Oil, 8 x 10 inches

Earlier this month, I had a great time exhibiting at Illuxcon, the best convention for imaginative realism. It was full of great people and great conversations! It was extra awesome this year to have my image on the program cover, and other show materials.

And finally, here are some Detail shots of my last completed painting, Hubble:

Hubble Deep Field

Since it’s launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has produced some of the most spectacular images of our universe. In 1995, the spirit of discovery led the Hubble team to point the telescope at the darkest patch of sky they could find, not knowing if they would see anything at all. In that patch of sky, the size of a pinhead at arms length, the Hubble Deep Field observation revealed 3,000 galaxies stretched out to distances of up to 13 billion lightyears. Since looking deep into space is also looking deep into the history of the universe (when the light left it's source), the observation was our first nearly complete view of the entire history of the universe in one image. Hubble’s observations narrowed our knowledge of the age of our universe to a decimal point of accuracy (from a range of 10-20 billion years down to 13.7 billion) and brought us that much closer to understanding where we sit in this vast and beautiful space-time.

Oil, 18 x 24 inches

More about the Hubble Deep Field observation:

Take a look at the Hubble Deep Field Observation here or check out other Hubble images.