Here are a few pictures of me picking up a painting. Once a lifetime ago, I was married and lived in DUMBO, Brooklyn. My ex had found a bunch of my art that she didn't want and got in touch with me to pick them up or they were getting dumped. A few of them I still liked and hadn't realized she still had them.
I stopped in and picked them up. We talked a bit and then I was off. I had a bag full of small paintings and this one pretty sizable one! It was a warm spring day so I went the long way to see how my old neighborhood had changed. Originally I moved in there in '95 so I had witnessed quite a change (For the worst in my opinion) over the eleven or so years I lived there. Gentrification can be a bitch! I always hated that I was always a gentrifier. It was a pretty desolate uninviting area when I moved in. Most of the buildings were empty except a few that had a bunch of painters and sculptors practically camping in them. Everyone had makeshift shower systems and heat. Probably 90% of the spaces (maybe more) were illegal occupancy so the typical camouflage was to make your space look like a wood shop in case a building inspector managed to get in the building. But the spaces were big and cheap. There were no stores except a small deli the size of a mini van that primarily sold cigarettes that was open for a few hours in the afternoon. It might have been open in the morning but I never woke up before noon and I didn't smoke cigarettes. I walked to the river front and snapped a few pictures of my painting and then considered walking it across the Brooklyn Bridge into my current neighborhood by Wall Street. But then I thought the subway would be easier.
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Several weeks since the opening at Last Rites. I've been catching up on some illustration assignments. I participated in a paint jam with David Stoupakis and Paul Booth. Drove around New Jersey and Pennsylvania in a '65 Shelby Cobra with my girl. Stopped for hookah and then scotch. Here is a link to the photos of the opening.
I think I've shown just about the whole show here. The leaf I added doesn't show up properly in photos and you never get a sense of scale in images on the internet. They can only be a certain size, so going to see them in person is the way to go. Last Rites is so easy to get to in mid town Manhattan. Artwork is hard to see at openings with all the people in the way. It's actually better to walk in and take a look at the show the next day or later. Of course you might not have a chance to buy a piece that catches your eye, but if you want a head start on the show, here you go... PREVIEW "Half Dozen Empty" Oil and leaf on panel 18 x24 not including the frame.
Show push. Wish I could show everything on social media. Nudes are hard to advertise in our society.
It's been crunch time since May. Now it is just compress and break time. More to come after I shoot the paintings once the gold leaf has been applied.
It's interesting. Focus on painting every day, becoming absorbed in the process. One minute everything is a masterpiece the next it's multi colored shit. I've learned through the years that this is just the process. Through the normal course of a day you don't scrutinize something quite as intensely as a painting as you are making it. I'll walk down the street stumbling stepping in dog shit because I didn't notice. But creating a painting? Now that is scrutiny. There are few things as intense as creating a painting. I've almost jumped out of my skin as Molly simply walked in to the studio to ask me something. I've been staring way too long at these paintings. My brain is going mush. At least I have an excuse this time. |
CalendarJUNE
Opening at MF Gallery 213 Bond St. Brooklyn, NY JUNE 15, 6-10pm Please look over the Prints page and get them all. Have a good Easter/Passover or month. Now is a good time to commission a portrait or purchase some physical art for the winter! If you'd like to commission me for a painting... Portraits with my surreal aesthetic only. The face you have and my paint brushes! Estimated turnaround 3 months. Shorter will cost more. Contact me now. Last Rites Gallery 325 W. 38th Street, between 8th & 9th Ave, NYC: (212) 529.0666 FHarper.comWelcome to the Fred Harper Fine Art News Section Categories
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