"Eddie Bruckner's Series Of Pop-Art Paintings" Exhibition was at The Attleboro Arts Museum in April 2022. It featured 6 of Eddie Bruckner's original pop-art paintings, including 2 never before seen paintings, selected by the museum for a solo exhibition in April 2022. An Opening Reception was held on April 9th at the Museum and some photos from the reception are included below. Eddie Bruckner was also interviewed by DoubleACS TV News about his artwork and his exhibition at the Museum. Below is the interview: Eddie Bruckner's Limited Edition Prints and Greeting Cards were sold at the Museum's Gift Shop. The exhibit closes on April 30, 2022.
Photos from the Exhibition and Opening Reception, April 9, 2022.
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I'm pleased to share that my artwork will be exhibited at the Attleboro Arts Museum from December 11, 2021-January 28, 2022.
Eddie Bruckner's three paintings that will be on exhibit are: "Marilyn Monroe", "Robert Indiana's 1966 LOVE", and "Hello Kitty: Hi! I'm Hello Kitty!" Join us at the Opening Reception: Saturday December 11, 2021; 1-4 pm. Attleboro Arts Museum is located at 86 Park St., Attleboro, MA. 02703. I'm pleased to share that my artwork was selected by Juror, Patrick McCay, professor at the New England College Institute of Art & Design, for the 27th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Zullo Gallery. My Painting, "Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog-Silver" will be exhibited through August 22, 2021.
Here are the details... Zullo Gallery 27th Annual Juried Exhibition July 10, 2021 to August 22, 2021 456A Main St., Medfield, MA 02052 Opening Reception: Thursday, July 15, 2021, 6-8 pm. Regular Gallery Hours: 12-5 pm, Saturday & Sunday I love Public Art because it's Art for Everyone. It's art that you often didn't plan to see or experience. It just happens. You're walking along the street and all of a sudden you see something that makes you smile, perhaps take a photo of it, or even a selfie with a post to Instagram. My latest Public Art Project, The Greenway PaintBox At Atlantic Avenue & State Street was completed in September 2020 and is located along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, just steps away from Boston's New England Aquarium at the corner of Atlantic Avenue & State Street. Here are some photos of the final design... I painted this box during an interesting and unusual time in history, during the Covid-19 Pandemic. At the time I started painting at the end of August, restaurants had re-opened with mostly outdoor seating. The electrical box was situated in front of the restaurant Provisions, so there were a lot of people enjoying the summer weather eating outside, while they watched me paint. Many people stopped to ask what I was painting, or to tell me "good job!" Some people asked to take photos with me and the in-progress box! Boston Ducktours even posted about it on their twitter and other social media accounts. Commissioned by the City of Boston and the Boston Art Commission, the public artwork features images of the spectacular and unique architecture of the New England Aquarium, the MBTA Aquarium Train Station Entrance, and one of the famous Boston Duckboats. The artwork highlights my signature style of bright colors, bold lines, and the illusion of mosaic tile, with the goal of making people happy when they see it as they walk through Boston. The painted electrical box took over 65 Hours to paint from start to finish from August 30th through September 12th, 2020. To see more photos of this project and read more about it, CLICK HERE. A video highlighting the making of the PaintBox is available and posted below in this Blog post as well as on Eddie Bruckner's YouTube Channel. You should subscribe to the Eddie Bruckner Fine Art YouTube Channel and follow Eddie on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date! In 2017, I was commissioned by the City of Boston’s Public Art Commission to paint an electrical box near Fenway Park. I’ve also completed a second electrical box with a Boston Marathon Theme along the Marathon route in Natick, MA. "Music, Love & Rock 'N' Roll" for the GuitARTS! Public Art Project was commissioned by Music Drives Us and The Boch Family Foundation. #JumpNatick was commissioned by the Town of Natick, Natick Center Associates the the Natick Center Cultural District with support from the American Planning Association (APA), Americans for the Arts (AFTA), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). You can check out all my Public Art Projects by CLICKING HERE.
Eddie Bruckner Featured Instructor in Needham Community Education's "Instructor Spotlight" Series9/10/2020 It was so nice to hear that Needham Community Education wanted to feature me in their latest Instructor Spotlight. In addition to teaching private art instruction, I also teach Acrylic Painting, Pencil Drawing, and Colored Pencil Drawing (and more!) through Needham Community Adult Education. Here is link to the Instructor Spotlight... http://www.needham.k12.ma.us/UserFiles/Servers/Server_64429/File/Community%20Ed/Eddie%20Bruckner%20Spotlight.pdf For More information about Private Art Instruction for kids and adults, please CLICK HERE.
The flags will fly around The Rockefeller Center’s famous ice rink and restaurant plaza, supplanting the flags of the members of the United Nations that usually fly there. The exhibit was scheduled to be on display from August 1-16, 2020, but due to popular demand, the public art installation has been extended through August 23, 2020.
Bruckner is a professional visual artist who creates Pop Art original acrylic paintings for the contemporary home and office as well as involved in a variety of public art projects throughout the greater Boston area and beyond. Bruckner painted piano for the Celebrity Series of Boston and the global art installation, “Play Me, I’m Yours” that was featured at Boston City Hall Plaza with Mayor Marty Walsh in 2016. The following year, Bruckner was commissioned by the City of Boston’s Public Art Commission to paint an electrical box near Fenway Park, also completed a second electrical box with a Boston Marathon Theme along the Marathon route in Natick, MA. “I’m excited about the actual process of creating Public Art. My artwork is about having fun, bringing a smile to people’s faces, and at the same time, providing a unique way of experiencing some of our most familiar objects, places, or people. I view my artwork as a visual representation of happiness, love, and the beautification of physical space and I love how Public Art achieves this goal and reaches so many people.”
The exhibition is free and open to the public through August 16, 2020; no tickets are required. Visitors to this temporary public art installation are encouraged to post photos and videos to social media using the hashtags: #TheFlagProjectRC and #RockefellerCenter.
Additional resources can be found at: https://www.rockefellercenter.com/flag-project/ https://www.eddiebruckner.com/rockefeller-center-flag-project.html https://www.instagram.com/eddiebrucknerfineart
To learn more about the electrical box, please visit the following link on my website (www.EddieBruckner.com) or read about it on my blog HERE (Natick Pride & The Boston Marathon).
Accessing the website, you can see a photo of one of the hundreds (probably thousands) of participating artists by zooming in to various sections of the whole photo-mosaic. Along with the artwork, you can read about the artist and their artwork, what motivated them to draw it, what it represents to them, and also about their own personal connection to Vancouver, Canada. All the artists' names are searchable, which takes you directly to their artwork's location within the photo-mosaic! The photos in the online photo-mosaic will then be transformed into a physical printout creating a massive 6.5 foot by 72 foot long mosaic picture. As of early June 2018, there is still plenty of room for additional artists to participate. Once the project is completed, the organizer's goal is to exhibit the huge photo-mosaic print in art museums and galleries as well as publish books that feature many of the participating artists of this creative, collective art project. It's a very cool concept and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. For more information and to see The Big Picture yourself, visit: www.thebigpictureartproject.com. Here's what I wrote regarding my drawing:
My original drawing, “Love Is All You Need” is graphite and lead on 9” x 9” paper. My artwork features hearts representing love, bold lines, and the illusion of mosaic tile as a visual language of fun, happiness and love. My artwork is about having fun and bringing a smile to people’s faces. I create an illusion of mosaic tile that provides cohesion to my body of work and serves to provide balance, repetition, movement, and other elements of strong artistic design. My drawing highlights the theme of Love for one another, for the arts community, and for humanity itself. I chose to participate in the Big Picture Art Project because of the unique parallels and close connection between the illusion of mosaic tile in my artwork and the beautiful photo-mosaic look of the completed picture. The mosaic in my drawing is reminiscent of an urban city map and speaks to my hope for the world to have more love and understanding for each and every unique person who makes up our diverse society. My connection to Vancouver: I visited Vancouver in August 2015 and had a great time in Gastown, walking the Sea Walk, taking photos near the beautifully designed Olympic Cauldron, and exploring the beauty of the area walking over the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I love how the photo in the Big Picture Art Project features the natural beauty of that area. I hope to visit Vancouver again in the future! In addition to creating my own personal artwork and exhibiting in galleries and shows, I also take great pride in providing art instruction. My love and enthusiasm for painting have drawn me into educating those who want to paint and draw for themselves. I am dedicated to helping both beginners and experienced artists explore their creative potential. I love to inspire others to discover their innate artistic ability. With my unique hands-on style, I encourage my students to reach their own personal artistic goals, inspiring and encouraging students of all ages in a fun and informative approach. In addition to private art lessons, I also give presentations on the public art projects I've created over the years, as well as discussing my artwork and all aspects of being a professional artist. Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like more information about art instruction or speaking engagements. One of my adult acrylic painting students gave me this wonderful video testimonial, so I wanted to share it here on my blog. She's very talented, a lot of fun, and a pleasure to teach acrylic painting! For more information about private art instruction for children and adults, please visit: http://www.eddiebruckner.com/art-instruction.html
The Museum of Contemporary Art is actually comprised of three locations. The first is the MOCA Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood; the second is the MOCA on Grand Avenue; and the newest location is the Geffen Contemporary. There is actually a fourth location in Nevada. Yes! Nevada. The artist, Michael Heizer's artwork titled, "Double Negative" is a work of land art located in the Moapa Valley on Mormon Mesa near Overton, Nevada and was acquired into MOCA's permanent collection in 1985. If the artist's name rings a bell, it's because I recently wrote about his other monumental piece of artwork at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; CLICK HERE TO READ THE BLOG ARTICLE. I should note that time didn't permit me to visit the Pacific Design Center, or the Geffen Contemporary (or visit Nevada), so this post will only include my visit to the MOCA on Grand Avenue. I also visited the Broad Museum (Read On & See Below.) The Geffen Contemporary is just a 15-20 minute walk from MOCA Grand and admission to one museum grants you admission to the other museum.
The MOCA on Grand Avenue housed an entire gallery room with Mark Rothko paintings. While I can appreciate Rothko's artwork and acknowledge its importance in art history, his paintings are not my favorite. I do love all the colors, and I also love the shapes, however, there is ambiguity, blurring of lines, that doesn't hit me the right way. Rothko wanted viewers to stand close to his paintings to see the vertically stacked bands of color seem to float upon colored grounds.
This large painting on two panels is by the artist, Njideka Akunyili Crosby. It's called "Garden, Thriving" and was completed in 2016. Her artwork was quite fascinating to see in person and I've included a detailed photograph of the two-panel painting. Originally from Nigeria, the artist layers photographic imagery within the chairs' fabric and the plant leaves. The images are pictures of Nigerian pop stars, models, military dictators, celebrities, and the artist's own personal photographs. To create this artwork, she uses acrylic paint, transfers, colored pencils, and collage on paper. There is so much to see in this painting, you could look at it for 10-20 minutes, or longer! I should also mention that the mural that is wrapped around the exterior of the museum is by this same artist!
Three other works by Jackson Pollock from MOCA’s permanent collection, were also on view. These were great examples of the diversity and range of materials Pollock used in his artwork from watercolor to collage. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California This building is simply spectacular. Frank Ghery is one of my favorite architects and this is a perfect example of why that's the case. (In addition to all the awards he has won for his incredible architectural design). Frank Gehry was asked to devise a new home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Walt Disney Concert Hall opened in 2003. Reflecting Gehry’s longtime passion for sailing, the structure’s exterior features are expanses of stainless steel that hover above Grand Avenue. Frank Gehry has devoted his career to disrupt the very meaning of design within architecture. From the iconic Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and now the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Frank Gehry has proven time and again the beautiful magic of his whimsical, cutting-edge design.
The Broad is one of the finest contemporary art museums I have ever visited. Founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, the museum houses more than 2,000 works of art and holds one of the most prominent collections of postwar and contemporary art worldwide. The Broad's third floor galleries show a rotating selection of artwork and, best of all, it is free! The first floor galleries are for special exhibitions, like the Jasper Johns exhibit "Something Resembling Truth" that runs through May 13, 2018. So let's talk about the beautifully designed building... It's often called "The Veil and the Vault" because the building has gallery space as well as an extensive storage facility. In contrast with the neighboring Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Broad was designed to be porous and absorptive. There are wonderful olive trees that were planted in the plaza next to the museum. There were a number of artworks by Jeff Koons at The Broad. "Balloon Dog (Blue)" is perhaps one of his series of works that is most famous. The artwork is made of stainless steel and wights 2,000 pounds. It was created as part of his Celebration Series, a group of paintings and sculptures that memorialize rituals, icons, and images related to birthdays, holidays, and other celebratory parties or occasions.
Roy Lichtenstein is one of my all-time favorite pop artists. He was one of the founders of Pop Art in the 1960s and used tiny dots in his artwork, similar to the printing style of comic-books. The dots were placed in such a way to create an image, imitating the way comic-books and newspapers were printed. In addition to borrowing or seeking inspiration from newspaper ads, commercials, and comic books, Roy Lichtenstein also was inspired by some of his favorite artists like Picasso and Mondrian. See the two images below. Here is a sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein, "Goldfish Bowl" created in 1977. It is painted and patinated bronze. On the right is a detailed view, showing that the sculpture is very two-dimensional, despite it looking 3-D. I always love seeing paintings by Chuck Close. Chuck Close is known for his detailed paintings of faces, and later he was known for the deconstruction of that detailed portraiture. He explores portraiture and created this photo-realist painting called "John", painted in 1971-72. I included a detailed shot showing the incredible painting technique. John Baldessari, "Tips for Artists Who Want to Sell" 1966-68, Acrylic on Canvas. John Baldessari never touched this painting, didn't paint it, didn't write the text. Here, it's the role of the artist as the facilitator of the artwork; creating the concept. The humor is that the view is shown the paintings message, but the message is text taken from an art magazine with tips on what art should be. Another one of my all-time favorite artists is Andy Warhol. A short time after Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, Andy Warhol started to create silkscreen images of Marilyn. I learned that Warhol had recently just learned how to silkscreen, so this was a somewhat new process for him! In the painting above, titled, "Two Marilyns" created in 1962, Warhol captures the terrible fact of Marilyn's death, as if he was reporting the news. With silkscreens, the images deteriorate with each printing, which I believe is symbolic of her presence and then her fading into history with her death. It can also be interpreted as the volatility of fame and celebrity. I'm not sure how many versions of "Two Marilyns" were created, but I learned that the one pictured above from The Broad Museum was the 27th version of the silkscreen created. Ellsworth Kelly worked with shapes and solid colors. The painting below, "Green Blue Red" created in 1963, uses colors and shapes to create contrast and bring attention to edges. In the above image on the left, the green rectangle and blue oval are vibrantly displayed against the red background. His composition almost goes against the principal of design of balance. Below, Kelly's oil on canvas painting, "Green Relief with Blue" was completed in 2011. It's actually two conjoined canvases and I've posted the photo of the same painting as seen from different angles. It almost acts like a 2 dimensional painting trying to be a sculpture, with different views from different angles. Jasper Johns: "Something Resembling Truth" A Special Exhibition at The Broad (Through May 13, 2018) While The Broad Museum's main collection has free admission, this special exhibition required a special ticket with a timed entry. The exhibit was one of the best I've ever seen. The exhibit covered over 6 decades of artistic achievement from this iconic American artist. The comprehensive exhibit features more than 120 extraordinary paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures, by Jasper Johns and draws upon works from within The Broad's permanent collection as well as from loans from over 50 international public and private sources. The imagery he used in his artwork were common items such as American flags, numbers, letters, targets, and light bulbs. Perhaps Johns’ most famous painting, "Flag (1954–55)" and is a fairly accurate representation of the American flag, in encaustic on collaged paper and fabric.
The American Flad is a geometric composition that has a strong sentimental and patriotic value in society. Jasper Johns' flags ofent trick the eye, or blur the lines between perception, reality, and illusion.
Jasper Johns began to incorporate objects and tools used in his artwork directly into the artwork's creation. Things like paintbrushes, color charts, and rulers. In the painting below, the "R" of "Red" is a neon light and wooden letters protrude outward from the canvas. I highly recommend you to experience the Jasper John Exhibit if you can! Also on the first floor was a very unique art installation by artist, Yayoi Kusama, titled "Infinity Mirrored Room--The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away." It is a mirror-lined room that includes LED lights that reflect endlessly in the mirrored space. It doesn't sound like much, but it is quite amazing to see. You need a separate timed ticket, which is free, and only one person can enter the room at a time for a duration of 45 seconds. As you can see, the Broad Museum is quite an amazing experience. I highly recommend you visit The Broad in Los Angeles and experience the art scene in Downtown LA. For more information about The Broad, please visit their website: www.thebroad.org Check out some of my other posts about Los Angeles!
I love it when Art is just there; you didn't plan to "see art" or visit a gallery or a museum. You just stumble upon it randomly. This is exactly what happened on my most recent visit to Los Angeles. I checked into my hotel, located on the famous Sunset Blvd. In the lobby, and in the driveway are two pieces of public art on display. They are large fiberglass guitars designed and painted by artists that are peppered all along Sunset Blvd. The public art exhibit is called "Guitar Town" and features more than 25 ten foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul model guitars. The artworks are placed all along the legendary Sunset Strip and are auctioned off for the benefit of charitable organizations. Here are just a few of the ones I saw on Sunset. Not too far from the Sunset Strip, just over the Hollywood Hills is Universal City Walk, located adjacent to Universal Studios Hollywood. It was here that I took a photo of this even larger guitar that flanks The Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios. I took a similar photo from just about the same angle here, only at the time the guitar was colored differently. The giant guitar in front of the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal City Walk was updated to become a replica of Eddie Van Halen's "Frankenstrat" Guitar. Here is my painting based on this photo/perspective as I saw it prior to the update.
This past week I learned that I was being featured in Boston Voyager Magazine in their article titled, "Flashes & Strokes: A Tale of Two Mediums." The article celebrates artists working in both traditional and digital mediums. You can view the article HERE!
Just a few days ago was the Chinese New Year and 2018 is the year of the dog according to the Chinese Zodiac. Celebrations began on February 16th this year and last for 2 weeks. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy, healthy, & prosperous Chinese New Year! Personally, I was born in the year of the Tiger. So maybe I'll paint a tiger one of these days... But in honor of the Year of the Dog, I'll post some of my recent dog paintings. Dogs are honest and loyal friends to so many people. And I think they are just cute, and fun, and represent love and happiness. That's why I love painting dogs, and puppies! Here are the first two paintings I did of dogs back in 2016: I wrote a blog article after "Woof Woof! Gotta Get My Bone" was sold. You can read it by clicking HERE. I recently completed 2 really fun dog paintings, both original acrylic on canvas paintings, 18" x 18" each. Here's a photo of each of them... Click on the Painting to view it in my online store! Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous Chinese New Year 2018, The Year Of The Dog!
Which Puppy is your favorite? Let me know in your comments below! And feel free to share this post on social media! -Eddie
I'm pleased to announce that I was selected by Artsy Shark as their Featured Artist. Below is the article and you can view it online using this link: https://www.artsyshark.com/2017/12/21/featured-artist-eddie-bruckner/ Being a Featured Artist is an incredible opportunity to have your artwork seen and shared widely. The article is read by thousands of people who visit the Artsy Shark web-site. This weekend, I participated in a wonderful juried art festival in Needham, Massachusetts. The 2017 Needham Winter Arts Festival was held at Town Hall and featured over 30 local artists exhibiting their work. It was wonderful to be a part of this event which attracted hundreds of people (despite the first snowfall of the season) and featured musicians and singers performing holiday tunes onstage. The event was made possible through support from the Town of Needham and the Massachusetts Cultural Council Festival Grant Program.
I decided to post this blog article because two paintings of mine found a new home! The paintings, shown here, "Honey, I'm Home" and "Love Shines #2" were both sold and is now part of a private collection, bringing smiles to people residing in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The "Honey, I'm Home!" painting is acrylic paint on canvas and is 18" x 24". I was inspired to paint the house upon being invited to exhibit in a group show with the theme, "House." Before being sold, the "Honey, I'm Home!" painting was exhibited at the Morse Public Library, in Natick, MA in October 2016. It was also exhibited at the Attleboro Arts Museum December 9, 2016-February 2, 2017. I love this painting because of all the mosaic illusion elements, the representation of bushes, and how I used a broken line to indicate the front doorway. The second painting sold, "Love Shines #2" is a 10" x 10" acrylic on board painting with resin and ground glass. "Love Shines #2" was one of my most recent paintings completed within the past month! This was one of my first few paintings that features my use of acrylic paint and ground glass with multiple layers of resin. I love using hearts in my artwork to convey the emotion of love, passion, romance, and fun! I really do feel that love does shine, and in the case of my artwork, it does too through the use of ground glass that reflects the sparkling light! The accompanying painting, "Love Shines #1" is still available, and I'm glad that it received a lot of positive praise at the Arts Festival. I'm currently working on another series of 10 paintings, all 10" x 10" with acrylic paint, ground glass, and resin. So stay tuned for more information on those paintings once I'm done with them in my studio. They are going to be awesome and a LOT of FUN! OMG! I also sold out all my puzzles and blankets featuring my artwork as well as sold a lot of greeting cards, coasters, candles, limited edition prints, and notepads too! The 2017 Needham Winter Arts Festival was a great and successful event! I'm looking forward to participating in it again next year! I'm thrilled that these paintings sold to folks who absolutely loved them and I hope that they will enjoy their original paintings for many years to come! To see the painting sold last weekend and read the blog article: CLICK HERE! This past weekend, I was a visiting artist exhibiting my artwork at Gorse Mill Open Studios. Gorse Mill Studios is located in a historic old mill building in Needham, MA, a suburb of Boston. The building houses dozens of artists who create all types of artwork; from paintings to pottery, stained glass to mosaics, ceramics, jewelry, photography, illustration, encaustic, glass, performing arts, graphic design, and more! Gorse Mill Studios hosts openings, gallery shows, and art education programs throughout the year. It was wonderful to be a part of their event.
I decided to post this blog article because one of my favorite paintings found a new home! The painting, shown here, "Woof Woof! Gotta Get My Bone" was sold and is now bringing smiles to a new family! The painting is acrylic paint on canvas and is 10" x 20". I love this painting because of it's unusual size, the movement portrayed by the vertical lines of varying width, and how I incorporated mini-dog bones within the mosaic illusion part of the painting. It always makes me laugh! Before being sold, this painting was exhibited at the Wellesley Community Center for the Wellesley Society of Artists Fall Show from September 2016-April 2017. This is the painting that I used for the cover of my new 2018 Calendar that features the birthdays of dozens of famous artists. I also created a coffee mug of this painting too! I'm thrilled that this painting sold to someone who shared with me how much he loved it and I know he and his family will enjoy it for many years to come!
What I loved about painting the Marathon-Themed Box in Natick was that painting it on-site allowed me to interact with people walking by, take photos together, and share my artistic process with them. As I began to think about the project, I created several sketches that included a lot of ideas related to the town of Natick, the Boston Marathon, as well as how best to integrate my artistic style to create something visually appealing. I wanted to make it uniquely “Natick” by incorporating things like the Gazebo, the church, Natick’s zip code, etc. I like to include the American flag because Natick, I feel, is really an all-American type of town. Diverse, patriotic, down-to-earth, democratic, and inclusive. And as I began to think about the Marathon component, I wanted to include visuals like the beautiful Boston Marathon Medal, the Marathon Runner Number, the Trophy, and the amazing runners racing toward the finish line. I also wanted to demonstrate the inclusive nature of the Natick community and the marathon itself by including a competitor in a wheelchair. I also gave a lot of thought to how the colors of the Boston Marathon (Blue and Yellow) would integrate into my overall design. And while most people won't be able to see the top of the box, I’ve painted “Boston Strong” on the top of the box. Many of my paintings all use a similar color palette of primary colors, white, black, and neutral greys. All my work focuses on lines, shapes, vibrant colors, and the integration of an illusion of mosaic tile. This illusion of mosaic tile provides cohesion to my body of work and serves to provide balance, repetition, movement, and other elements of strong artistic design and composition. I often think about the mosaic element as confetti, to further my goal of conveying fun, exhilaration, and happiness; the mosaic patterns add life and positive energy into my work. I’m excited about the actual process of creating public art and/or installing the artwork on location with observers and participants. There were a few funny stories of things that happened while I was on-site painting. It was the first day on-site at the electrical box. One of the first things I needed to do was make sure the box was clean of dirt, bugs, cobwebs, etc. before I could start painting. So imagine people walking by seeing a guy on a stepstool washing by hand an electrical utility box! As people walked by, I could tell people were a bit confused or thought I was out of my mind. As you saw in the video, I began by painting a solid black color on the entire box, and then place lines of tape, to be uncovered later. When I started with the spray paint, painting it all black, again, some people were trying to figure out what was going on, if I was vandalizing the box, or why it was all black. Maybe they preferred it grey? But as I continued with my painting, people began to stop, ask what I was doing, ask me what it was going to look like, etc. It was a great opportunity to share with people the great things the Natick Center Cultural District has done around town to enhance life for everyone in Natick. I painted the box over 2 weeks, almost every day, so I got to see a few people on a number of occasions on their daily walk, and it was great to stop and chat with them and hear their reactions as they saw the progress over time. In Boston, the box I painted is on Boylston Street, a very busy city street so most of my interactions were with pedestrians on their lunch break or people heading to a Red Sox game. But in Natick, I can’t tell you how many people honked their horns and smiled at me while I painted. People even rolled down their windows and shouted things like “Great Job!, I love that! & That’s so cool!” I’m so pleased that in all my interactions on site, people were really happy to see my artwork. One woman said to me, “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in Natick. And that;s very cool.” And it was great to see all the wonderful comments on all the Facebook and Instagram posts! I love watching the first time a passerby sees my artwork on their evening jog, their walk home from work, or pushing a baby stroller on their way to Dunkin Donuts. These are all inspiring reminders of the transformative impact a piece of public art can have on the overall look of physical space and the pleasure it gives people.
The Dedication on Sunday, October 22nd was a wonderful event. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day. I'd like to thank everyone who came out to the Ribbon Cutting, especially my wife, kids, my in-laws, and cousins! It really meant to much to celebrate this special community event with family and friends. I've posted a video to YouTube, which you can watch here below of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. I'd like to also take this opportunity to thank the Natick Center Cultural District and the Public Arts Committee for the opportunity to participate in this wonderful public art project. I hope everyone in the area will join me to watch the Boston Marathon at the site of the electrical box on Patriots’ Day 2018. Here are some photos from the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony:
Last month I visited Napa Valley and had the pleasure of visiting Yountville, St. Helena, and Napa. The region of Napa Valley is known for incredible wine, so it was no surprise that it had incredible art as well. During my visit, I visited a few wineries and did a few wine-tastings all in two days. I learned that many of the vineyards in the area have art galleries associated with them. I'll write about the artistic things that I came across, however, my blog is by no means a comprehensive listing of all the artistic offerings of this incredible region in California. I had an amazing time at Kelham Vineyards, where I was lucky to have an incredibly delicious, gourmet dinner. Kelham Vineyards also sells a number of prints by the French artist Gerard Purvis. The artsist is best known for creating original sculptures & prints made from wine bottle foils. To my knowledge, Gerard Purvis' work can only be found in the United States at Kelham Vineyards. For more information, please visit: KelhamVineyards.com and kelhamvineyards.com/Puvis.html. The next day, the first stop was in St. Helena at the Alpha Omega Winery, which was one of my favorites: aowinery.com. At our next stop, I enjoyed a private luncheon in Yountville at Cliff Lede, which is where I came across some very cool art. For more information about Cliff Lede, please visit: cliffledevineyards.com. Outside of the private tasting room on a beautiful terrace were these two incredible sculptures. I only wish my photos were better to really capture these sculptures. I posted the photos here: The private tasting room, called the White Room, named after the Beatles White album, also had some very cool art in it. The lunch for our private party was served directly in the Tank Room where we saw the innovative technology used in producing their delicious wine. Looking up toward the White Room, were some beautiful paintings, which I posted here below. That evening, I dined in Napa and had the pleasure of strolling around the town and exploring a number of public art sculptures in town. Many of the sculptures were part of the Napa Art Walk. The Napa Art Walk is a bi-annual, rotating exhibition of juried sculpture created by artists from the Western United States. For more information, please visit: www.napaartwalk.org. Based in Napa is the Art Association of Napa Valley, which is a private, nonprofit arts organization that enhances life for the Napa Valley by supporting arts and culture in the area. Their website includes an artist listing, newsletters and class and event listings. Located in Downtown Napa at 1307 First Street is an art gallery that features the work of members of the Art Association Napa Valley. For more information, please visit www.artnv.org. The Yountville Art Walk was one of the highlights of my trip to Napa Valley. Known for the finest food and wine in the country, Yountville is also known for art. The Napa Valley Museum is located in Yountville. For more information, visit www.napavalleymuseum.org. Beautiful sculptures lined the streets of Yountville. I learned that in 2010, Gordon Huether partnered with Yountville Arts to establish the Yountville Art Walk. More information about Gordon Huether can be found on his website, www.gordonhuether.com. The sculptures are for sale, with a percentage of the proceeds going to Yountville Arts Fund to support their arts-related activities, programs, and events. Based on my observation, the sculptures ranged in price from $6,000 to $60,000! Yountville was a terrific place to explore and experience some great public art. Below are some photos of just a few of the sculptures I had the pleasure of seeing during my time in Yountville. For more information about Yountville Arts, please visit www.yountvillearts.com. See this beautiful, bright yellow painted piano reminded me of the piano I painted as part of the Celebrity Series of Boston's Play Me I'm Yours StreetPianos Boston 2016 Public Art Installation. To learn more about the piano I painted, please click the link to visit: StreetPianos Boston City Hall Plaza 2016.
There is so much to see and do in the Napa Valley Region. I barely scratched the surface of the art offerings the region has to experience, but I hope that this blog article inspires you to visit the area and explore on your own! I know that I'm already excited about the possibility of returning to the Napa Valley and exploring more the art world has to offer! PS: If you liked this article, you might like these other articles on my artistic travels:
Kennebunkport, Maine Los Angeles, California New York City New York City Street Art Park City, Utah Barcelona, Spain Caribbean Art |
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