Super Bowl Sunday!

For years I was a San Francisco 49ers fan. When they hired Jim Harbaugh, I got really caught up in their turn around and the resurrection of Alex Smith's career. After what happened with the team last year, I have mixed feelings. There are some great players on that team. This little painting is of Frank Gore, one of the best and most consistent running backs in the game. Oil on canvas, 24"x 24".

Pit Crew

Everybody needs a good pit crew. Oil on canvas on board, 5"x 7".

Grad School Miscommunication

I never intended on going to Graduate School. It sort of presented itself and seemed like a good idea at the time. When it started I thought I had a notion of what the experience was going to be, however my expectations and my reality were not the same. The department and the professors were filled with apathy, leaving many of the grad students to fend for themselves. It was sort of like being lost somewhere and all the people you are looking to for help and directions are just as lost as you are. I guess it could be summed up as, "the blind leading the blind."

This little oil painting symbolizes the miscommunications I felt. Oil on Canvas, 26"x 36".  

Commission for the Jespersens

This is a recent commission I painted for a great family in SL. Anne is an amazing painter and it was a privilege to paint a painting of her painting. Oil on canvas, 22"x 28".

Learning to Fall/ Fail

Not long ago I took a road trip to southern Utah and this little oil sketch(18"x24") was inspired by that trip.

"Learning to Fly"

Take Off, oil on canvas, 18"x 24".

The Landing Pond, oil on canvas, 18"x 24".

These two paintings are were fun little sketches to test out a new element of paint application. After graduating from Grad school I am left to try to figure out "what story to write." These little sketches are two attempts as I step in to that next phase.

# 61 Abraham Lincoln

It has been a while since I took some time and did a head painting. I am about to get a batch of them going but before I do those, I wanted to do one of a hero of mine. With the upcoming anniversary of his Gettysburg address, I thought it fitting to do a quick sketch of the man who not only held a divided nation together but put an end to slavery at the same time. The more I have read and studied his life the more I am in awe of what he overcame and what he was able to achieve. 24"x 24", Oil on canvas.

As our country struggles in its current debate, these words from Lincoln's first inaugural address are as applicable to our day as they were to his...

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
                                                                                                                                                           

# 60 My Wife

It has been a while since I posted something. This is number # 60 in a series of 100. Oil on canvas, 24" x 24". I tried something new and thickened up the paint with stand oil. May have to try it again. I painted her once when we were dating, turns out she didn't like the pose that much, so I had to redeem myself and make her happy.

Recent Show at FICE called "Whvt Wvste"

"Where is the beef?" Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $686

"Don't bother me, I'm eating." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $720

"I'm lovin' it." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $677

"Quality you can taste." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $710

"Have it your way." Oil and Spray Paint on Panel, 20"x 20"  $720

I recently participated in a show with some talented young artists at a gallery in SL called FICE. The show was based on finding something discarded and then do some art on it. I decided to paint hamburgers probably from my less then inspiring stint as a teenage employee of McDonalds. I painted them directly on discarded cabinets from USU, just as I did when I was tole painting with my Norwegian Grandmother. It was a fun little series to play with while looking into the fast food industry.

Show at FICE/ Hamburger series

When I was a very young child one of my best memories was when my Norwegian grandmother taught me how to tole paint. I remember the awesome feeling of being trusted with "real paint", "real brushes" and a piece of wood instead of paper. I was suddenly invited to the "adult art table"and I could not have been happier. I remember painting a lion and my effort surprised the class. 

This experience mixed with my year of working at McDonald's were two of the motivations to paint this small series. More paintings to come and more details on why I did these.

They will be hanging at the FICE gallery in SLC this Friday with three really strong and upcoming painters, CJ Hales, Clay Cavender and McKay Felt. See the image below for details.