Study of Nature

My next small painting available on Every Day Original tomorrow morning.


"The scientist does not study nature because it is useful to do so. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful."
- Henri Poincaré, Science and Method

Oil, 6 x 8 inches

Overview

My Online Solo Show with Abend Gallery is now live! The show includes this new painting of the Earth titled, "Overview".

The Overview Effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts while viewing the Earth from space.

The Earth is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, hanging in the void, shielded by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, national boundaries vanish, and the conflicts that divide people become less important, encouraging a sense of unity with all of humanity and life on Earth. The need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this planet becomes both obvious and imperative.



“When we look down at the earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile … Anybody else who’s ever gone to space says the same thing because it really is striking and it’s really sobering to see this paper-thin layer and to realize that that little paper-thin layer is all that protects every living thing on Earth from death, basically. From the harshness of space.”


-Ron Garan, Astronaut

For more about the Overview Effect check out the short film.

Oil, 24 x 24 inches

 

Bioluminescence : Curiosity

One of the pieces that sold in my group show, Taking Flight, at Rehs Contemporary last month.

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. Each organism being the exquisite and detailed 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 thought to be sources of illumination but are now dimmed; mythologies and superstitions humans have created as we struggled in the dark of ignorance to understand our world. But the process of science has revealed a luminous, living planet, more intricate and amazing than we could have ever imagined. Let us embrace the light of life in everyone, kindled over billions of years, and combine our efforts to light a brilliant future.

A print would make a great gift as we celebrate light in these dark winter months 😉

Oil, 16 x 12 inches

Oasis

A new painting from a study I posted earlier this year. The "Overview Effect" is a term used to describe a psychological shift common among those who have traveled to space. Seeing the whole Earth from a distance has a tendency to realign ones feeling and priorities in profound ways. If you have a few minutes, Overview, is a great short film on the subject.


"From that distance, my thumb fit over the entire Earth. I realized how insignificant we all are if everything I'd ever known is behind my thumb. When you see Earth from the moon, you realize how fragile it is and just how limited the resources are. We're all astronauts on this spaceship Earth and we have to work and live together.”

- Astronaut Jim Lovell


“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena... In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand... the only home we've ever known.”

- Carl Sagan, The Pale Blue Dot

Oil, 24 x 18 inches

Fusion Lighting the Stars

Painted for the upcoming 'Midnight Garden' show, curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine at Modern Eden Gallery, opening October 24th!

Also, watch for the color study to this painting on Every Day Original, Tuesday.

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Stars are continuous nuclear explosions! Not simply fixed masses of hot gas, stars are a balance of two enormous forces: gravity and nuclear fusion. On its own, gravity would crush a star into the oblivion of a black hole or other super-dense entity. But nuclear fusion pushes back, releasing so much energy that the outer layers of the star are literally blown away, aloft from the core, and in equilibrium with gravity. From lightyears away, these cataclysmic explosions flutter as faint candles in our night sky.


Stars live a looong time, billions of years, but eventually the fuel of fusion runs out and gravity prevails. In the span of the universe, stars exist as temporary states of matter that will one day transition into other things. Much of their mass will be crushed. But in the process, many will fuse carbon, the other elements of life, and form planetary nebula. Later, these nebula will condense into new solar systems, and perhaps be part of some other temporary state of matter lucky enough to be able think about it.

Oil, 18 x 24 inches

Detail

Bioluminescence : Altruism

Another piece for my seven person, bird themed show, in partnership with the Art Renewal Center opening Thursday at Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc in New York City!

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. Each organism being the exquisite and detailed product of billions of years of evolution, life is precious. The process of science has revealed a luminous, living planet, more intricate and amazing than we could have ever imagined. Let us embrace the light of life in everyone, kindled over billions of years, and combine our efforts to light a brilliant future. 

Prints Available Here

Oil, 16 x 12 inches

Bioluminescence : Question, Hypothesis, Experiment

Part of a seven person group show at Rehs Contemporary next month in NYC, this painting was featured in Forbes last week! The show is a collection of bird themed works by artists who received the Rehs Contemporary Gallery Award in last year's Art Renewal Center Salon. 

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. Each organism being the exquisite and detailed 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 thought to be sources of illumination but are now dimmed; mythologies and superstitions humans have created as we struggled in the dark of ignorance to understand our world. But the process of science has revealed a luminous, living planet, more intricate and amazing than we could have ever imagined. Let us embrace the light of life in everyone, kindled over billions of years, and combine our efforts to light a brilliant future.

Oil, 30 x 20 inches

Detail

 

Figure Study

Life study from pre-covid times. I haven't been able to do many of these lately.

Original available here.

Oil, 16 x 12 Inches

Also, there's new text and design on the "About" page of the main website. Check it out if you want to hear a little of what my work is about.

...And Cassini is now showing in the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition! The online show is up until September 12th. It's a great looking show!

Cassini, Oil, 18x 24 inches

Oasis

A new detailed study available on Every Day Original Monday morning!

“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena... In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand... the only home we've ever known.”

-Carl Sagan, excerpt from The Pale Blue Dot

Oil, 8 x 6 inches

Detail

Nebular Nook

A new detailed study available on Every Day Original, Monday morning!

Within the nebulous gas of deceased giants, new stars are born. Stretching out their first solar winds, they carve out a space for themselves in the dust. Young stars, just a few million years old.

Oil, 9 x 6 inches

Detail

Interview with the Savvy Painter Podcast

I'm excited to announce that I did an interview with the Savvy Painter Podcast! We had a great conversation about communicating with art, the role science can play as a fulfilling human story, feeling a sense of wonder with the universe, and a discussion of my painting process. Come have a listen and let me know what you think!

A Glimpse, Study

A new study available Saturday morning, December 21st, on EveryDayOriginal.com!

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man... I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of reality, as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the reason that manifests itself in nature."

-Albert Einstein, The World As I See It

Oil on Panel, 9 x 12 inches

Detail

As usual, those subscribed to the EveryDayOriginal.com newsletter will be the first buyers to whom this will be available on Saturday morning, December 21st. So if you're interested, be sure to sign up!

Also, EDO has just opened a new gallery space on Artsy.net! This space will feature larger works, different from what is available on the regular EDO website. My painting, Nullius In Verba, is participating in the first show in this new space titled, "Beyond the Every Day". The gallery is covering free shipping until December 23rd!

Nullius In Verba, Oil, 24 x 18 inches

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.

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I'll be exhibiting this new piece and more next week at IX in Reading, PA Oct 23-27!

Nullius In Verba
Oil, 24 x 18 in

Inertia - Final Painting

It took a few more technological advances, but it was largely Newton's insights from 1697 that have allowed us to put more than 2,000 mechanical messengers and observers in weightless orbit around our planet. He explained that orbiting objects, like our robotic satellites or the moon, are constantly falling to the earth. They are just traveling fast enough that by the time they would have fallen to the ground they have passed, or missed the earth, only to find themselves on another side of the planet falling still.

In order to miss the earth's surface from the altitude of low earth orbit, the International Space Station, for instance, must travel an amazing 4.76 miles per second (7.6 km/s). Meanwhile, the moon is far enough outside our gravitational pull that it only needs to move little faster than a typical bullet; a mere 0.635 miles per second (1 km/s).

These speeds may not sound like a tranquil, weightless experience, but Einstein showed us this is all relative. The Earth is currently taking us on an 18.6 mile per second (30 km/s) trip around the Sun and I can still pour my tea without making a mess ... usually.

Oil, 18 x 24 in

This painting will be coming with me to IX, Oct 23-27!

Prints are available here.

A Galaxy Within

This new piece from an earlier study has been accepted to the Oil Painters of America annual Western Regional Exhibition next month in Santa Fe, NM!

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We are each a little galaxy of our own. It's a mind-bending exercise trying to comprehend the 100 billion stars found in a typical galaxy. Yet, each of us has roughly the same number of neurons in our own 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

Oil, 24 x 18 inches

Original will be available at the OPA Western Regional Show in November. 

As usual, prints are available here.

I'm also pleased to say my painting, Bioluminescence, has been selected as a finalist in the August BoldBrush Competition! Congratulations to all the winners!