Jodie Ponto's Photo of Petunia & the Vipers - Vancouver Show

There's nothing like having artwork hanging from the ceiling!! 
I love the posters! This photo from Petunia & the Vipers LP/CD Release Concert was posted in Jodie Ponto Photography's blog. Check out her blog and photos from this show! Petunia & the Vipers new album is packed with colorful character, great lyrics and strong timbres. Hear the album online here now. Congratulations to the band and I wish them much success spreading their music far & wide!

Petunia & the Vipers Posters in Vancouver

Here's the proposed venue view of the LP Release Concert for Petunia & the Vipers in Vancouver. I can't tell you how great it is to have artwork hanging from the ceiling during this show! The posters are 4' x 4' and hang by chains. Fantastic! The other posters are by two highly talented artists that I'm privileged to be in company with, Jen Thomas and Christian Nicolay. To see more of their work, check out their websites and blogs. I know Petunia & the Vipers will be surprised with this visual complement to their show!

"Mercy Over Me"

"Mercy Over Me"  Oil on Hardboard  24" x 24"

Above is another portrait of Petunia, the lead singer of Petunia & the Vipers that I submitted in an Album/CD cover competition. In this painting, Petunia looks poised for receiving mercy or he could just be signing an autograph! Petunia's song Mercy has the lyrics, "mercy over me" which became my inspiration and title for this imagery. The moon behind his head suggests a halo that offers a bit of grace bestowed on Petunia as he bows his head. Within the halo/moon, I added a double-rope design resembling the sound hole design on Petunia's guitar. 

"Darkness Falls"

"Darkness Falls"  Oil on Hardboard   24" x 24"

I was lucky enough to be included in a competition for an Album/CD cover for the band, Petunia & the Vipers. Petunia, the head and heart of the band, has a country and rockabilly presence. I didn't win the cover, but my work has been selected for posters and buttons. Yahoo!!  My decision to create a portrait of Petunia sprang into life when I saw a few photos of him wearing his wide brimmed hats. They were great and I was hooked. After hearing lyrics from the CD, MERCY, I wanted to create a mood of dusk or early evening. As it turned out, that's how the title, "Darkness Falls" came to stick.  

Click CDBaby.com to check out the cover that won and to purchase the music!

"Shoreline"

"Shoreline"  Oil on Hardboard  18" x 40"

A couple of years ago, my son gave me a memorable Christmas gift. A day with only him doing something he had planned and it was going to be a surprise to me until the last minute. I had no clue and I love to figure out mysteries. On Dec. 26th, we went to lunch and then he told me we were going Whale Watching! I was so excited. Then I thought, oh no, I'm going to enjoy that delicious lunch again over the side of the boat. To my surprise there were no white caps, no huge waves. The ocean was very calm, like glass. Perfect! This painting is my memory of gazing inland from a mile or so off shore. A storm was rolling by, but it never rained. Dense clouds cast shadows on the land. Whale Watching is magical! 

"Sister in a Rounded Veil"

"Sister in a Rounded Veil"  Oil on Illustration Board  18" x 24"

Curved shapes soften this image. The companion to this work is "Sister in a Triangular Veil."  To see the sister painting, check out the posting from 8-4-11.

"Sister in a Triangular Veil"

"Sister in a Triangular Veil"  - Oil on Illustration Board  18" x 24"

I learned early on that my penchant for fracturing images was undeniable. I foremost gravitate toward triangles, but circles, boxes and swirls frequently draw my attention their way too. So much so, that I painted a sister to this painting in curves, circles and ellipses. Check out my next post.

"Blood on the Road" 3-D Metal Sculpture

"Blood on the Road"   3-D Painted Steel Sculpture  52" x 36" x 3"

Steel was cut with a Plasma Cutter, welded & thickly painted with high gloss finish. It reminds me of a car accident, tire marks, skids and blood.

"Picket Fence" 3-D Wood Sculpture

"Picket Fence"  Oil on 3-D Wood Sculpture   72" x 66" x 6"  

The inspiration for this artwork, once again, is the sky. Although this structure looks like an old picket fence, it's painted to simulate a swirling, cloud scattered sky. The negative space is as important as the pickets. Are you looking through the fence at the sky or is the sky the fence?  

"Sky Lines" Soft Sculpture

"Sky Lines"   Hand Dyed Cotton Fabric  36" x 48"  

I believe our skies are the most intriguing part of the outdoors. I can't step outside without looking at the sky. In this soft sculpture, each vertical tube is molded to create a 3-dimensional surface. Included are bits of daytime skies, stormy skies and nighttime skies. It's moody, moving and one of my favorite fabric works. 

Calla Lily

I've been painting like crazy in this hot summer weather! Get ready to see several new paintings within the next week or so. Stay tuned!  Till then, I'd like to share some small flower paintings.  "Flower A Day"  4" x 6" Oil on Canvas

"Just Ducky"

"Just Ducky"  Oil on Hardboard   7" x 8"

Getting back into the swing of daily painting after a lengthy departure has been rough, but I'm working on it. This is just a little warm-up painting from an early morning exercise. I saw an old photo of a duckling standing next to it's Mama. I focused on the duckling. I also wanted to play with the ochres & grays in the background. Tomorrow should be a better day.

"Something to Crow About"

 "Something to Crow About"  

8" x 10"  Palette knife application - Oil on Museum Quality Canvas Board

I love Spring when the birds return in droves. The black birds are especially interesting to watch. They congregate in the trees across the street and are large and noisy. I was told that mystics believe crows are sent by spirits since past to extend love and good wishes to those loved ones connected to them on earth. Huh, something to think about... or maybe Something to Crow About! 

"Goat"

Goat   8" x 8"   Oil on Hardboard

This small painting is a piece using a limited color palette. It was great fun creating it.  Today I'm busy with a larger painting.  Not sure when it'll be done. Stay tuned!

Around the "Barn Cupboard Door"

"Barn Cupboard Door"

Oil on Old Wooden Barn Cupboard

This is another view of the old barn cupboard. We drove by this old church building a zillion times on our way to Grandma's house. Every time I see this painting I remember the long ride.

"Barn Cupboard"

"Barn Cupboard"

I'm working on a new painting. One that has taken me a while to develop new imagery. I hope to surprise myself as well as you. Look for it's progress in future posts. In the meantime, I'd like to share a cupboard I painted years ago. It's a cupboard that was in our family's barn on the farm in Camden. The inside of the cupboard still smells like hay, pungently sweet. I've sealed the interior, but to no avail. As a result, I never use it. I stored it away and it wasn't until recently that I came across it again. It was a fun piece to paint because it was the first time I'd ever painted around corners. This view is barn-side 1 of 4. 

   

"Daisies with Yellow Sky"

"Daisies with Yellow Sky"  Oil on Canvas  24" x 30" 

I'm currently working on a large painting, so I thought I'd share a lost piece from some time ago. Before I could finish this painting it had an accident. The canvas ripped in the back; truly unsalvageable. Only this photo remains. 

Henry Ford Quote

While cleaning and organizing my art room, that's one of my new years goals, "Get Organized," I came across a quote from Henry Ford that I've been saving. "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." So true. It's great to be surrounded by inspirational quotes and this one is a keeper. I believe I should tack this to my art room wall. Check!

Happy New Year 2011

It's Resolution Time! I like resolutions because they make me set goals and I'm a goal oriented person. I learned this "basic drive" about myself several years ago at a motivational seminar. Sometimes I veer off the road on my way to the goal, but I usually steer back and often times achieve my original ambition. Goals are great and I plan to make several this year. My first and foremost goal is to bring more notable imagery to my paintings. Imagery being the key word. Here's my resolution... "I intent to improve the imagery in my paintings." If that means that I need to travel to new places and take in new sights like, Nashville (planned for March), California, New York, the Caribbean, Europe (especially Denmark, Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, London, etc.) so be it. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. With that said and written in stone, I need to go plan my itineraries. Happy New Year to all and especially Cindi, Happy Birthday! 

Flower in Shades of Gray, 6" x 6" Oil on Hardboard

This small artwork is a warm-up painting done mostly with a palette knife. These small and quickly painted pieces help me to explore new paint strokes and surface techniques as well as color, or the basic lack of. I like black, white & shade of gray paintings. I'm not sure why, but I do.