Help me Win $500!

This is a quick reminder that you can still vote for the Peoples Choice Award at the Celebration show and help me win $500. You don't have to register or give away personal info, just click the link and choose your favorite painting...hopefully your favorite is the stack of gooey chocolatey doughnuts Thank you to all you stars who have voted so far! If you haven't Please Vote Now

Star Spangled Splurge : oil painting : 24x18"

http://www.connectionsforart.com/ArtGuildNJ/RSI/Celebration_2013/PeoplesChoiceAward.html

See the show in the flesh until June 29th

Celebration RSI Bank 1500 Irving Street Rahway, NJ 07065 rsibanking.com

Not Mushroom in Here - so stop by early!

Baby Bella mushrooms still life oil painting 8x8"

Unlike yesterday, today we will have A/C, fresh ice from the freezer and I can at least get a caffeine fix on a regular basis with Dunkin Donuts just across the road. Might have to indulge in a doughnut or two throughout the day. Stop by 1978 Gallery today to see 6 splendid local artists doing their thing.

I love Joy Yagid's new amazing owl photos...and she has a very scary wall of eyes!

Florence Wint's wall is joyful, with crazy color, sparkles and fun.

Evelyn Graves' jazz inspired collages are so cool you can hear the music in her pictures.

Luis Alves collages may be thought provoking, but they usually make me smile whilst my ideas of fashion and beauty are being gently tweaked and tested.

Luis Alves Collage at 1978 Arts Center 2013

I haven't seen Allan Wood's new work yet, but he always has some very interesting photographs. I particularly like the more abstract quality of some of his landscapes and close-up shots of nature - stay tuned to Facebook for some updated pics

Me? Well I was only half way set-up on Friday, so come by today to see the finishing touches

Jo Bradney oil paintings at 1978 Gallery 2013

Sunday, June 2nd, 11-5pm South Orange Maplewood Studio Tour 1978 Arts Center, 1978 Springfield Ave, Maplewood, NJ studiotoursoma.org

Sushi Boy and Wasabi Dog

Stop by Caldwell today to meet Sushi Boy and his faithful companion. I hope we'll be in the shade!

Saturday, June 1st 10-5pm

Art on the Avenue Bloomfield Avenue (I shall be between Gould and Brookside) Caldwell, NJ 07006 caldwellmerchants.com

the new afternoon pick-me-up

avocado in pink, still life oil painting | SOLD

oh the delicious creamy tang of fresh avocados, scooped straight from the skin with my trusty grapefruit spoon - my favorite afternoon snack. Thanks to a suggestion from my friend Florence Weisz I now eat them sprinkled with a little lemon juice and crunchy sea salt.

And thanks to the internet I am going to try them for breakfast this morning, mashed on toast with a runny egg on top.

How do you like yours?

Stop by and see them tomorrow at

Saturday, June 1st 10-5pmArt on the Avenue Bloomfield Avenue (I shall be between Gould and Brookside) Caldwell, NJ 07006 caldwellmerchants.com

Whittled Vittles - cute baby carrots

cut baby carrots oil painting still life

I seem to remember a time when carrots where long and muddy and some of them had leaves too. And they were somehow more carroty than the carved perfection of these cute carrots poured from a plastic bag. Or am I just getting old?

The old fashioned carrots are less convenient though Oh and the chlorine leaching slime story that does the internet rounds now and again turns out to be an Urban Myth - see snopes.com for more than you ever wanted to know about the fascinating process of carrot whittling.

Now if they could just work out how to carve little faces and cute animals into the carrots wouldn't that be cool.

Question: Does the spelling Vittles (instead of Victuals) bug you? It is a legit spelling but it is an old one.

Draining at SOMA Studio Tour

Stop by 1978 Arts Center this Sunday June 2nd to see "Draining", my favorite of the recent new paintings. I love how the realistic blueberries, fresh and bursting with juice starts to blur into abstract strokes of color as the painting itself starts to drain away through the holes in the colander. Thick paint is scumbled and troweled over a hidden under painting which has been sanded and scraped away and liquid paint is dripped and poured and mingles with gestural brushstrokes.

You can plan and personalize your tour using the online map and pre-view galleries at studiotoursoma.org or you can get a taste of each artist at the 10th Anniversary show TEN at Pierro Gallery, South Orange before you start.

And this year the Studio Tour is FREE again. Just pick up a map and start your treasure hunt!

Sunday, June 2nd 11-5pmSouth Orange Maplewood Studio Tour 1978 Arts Center 1978 Springfield Ave Maplewood, NJ 07006 studiotoursoma.org

May 23rd - June 23rd TEN Pierro Gallery 5 Mead St. South Orange, NJ pierrogallery.org

Will it be : ) or : ( tomorrow?

what will the holiday weather bring us tomorrow? Will it be a Backyard BBQ Burger Bliss : ) or a Miserable Soggie Frownie Burger : (

Happy Holiday Weekend from the Blueberry State

blueberries still life oil painting 9x12 | SOLD

Two new paintings in need of titles this weekend. So sink your teeth in and get your creative juices flowing. After an inspirational short stack of blueberry pancakes for brunch, I think I shall crack open the thesaurus, along with a couple of afternoon ciders and see what ferments.

mini still life oil painting of blueberries

Warm Pears in Burgundy

Day off for you today. This one named itself as the pears slowly toasted under the hot studio light and filled the room with their delicious autumnal scent. Not at all the thing for a cool spring day!

All these new paintings will be out and about the first weekend in June.

I shall be at Art on the Avenue - Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell NJ - June 1st 10-5pm and at SOMA Studio Tour 1978 Arts Center, Springfield Ave, Maplewood NJ - June 2nd 11-5pm

Phew! and then I shall be sitting down for a nice cup of tea

Cheez Cascade

it's signed it's varnished AND I made the stretcher before the frame arrived. I have been feeling very smug and ahead of the game

RATS! I made the stretcher half an inch too short and now it falls out the back of the frame. So I have just spent the morning hacking the old one into bits and constructing a new stretcher to fit properly. At least I ordered the right size frame!

Cheez Cascade just doesn't quite fit the bill as a title. Nor does it's working title "Big Ass Doodles", although that is what you get if you eat the whole bag in one sitting. See if you can come up with a better title andwin a print.

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