Blog - On the Easel

A collection of updates, recent information and things that inspire me.

Hip-Hop Lincoln

So this is probably the last of the money paintings for a while. I found out how to turn a five dollar bill into Lincoln in a baseball hat online and voila. Hop-Hop Lincoln oil on panel 5"x5"

Washington Monument

"Washington Monument" oil on panel 7"x5". This is kind of a recurring theme for me. How is an item transformed by being painted? This is obviously a campy souvenir that has been recreated in paint, what ultimately is the subject? Is it the rather loaded symbol or the illusion of volume and weight? In other words, can a bad work of art become a better work of art simply by painting it? I tend to think so, but it is a funny line to walk. I think it is illustrated even more dramatically in "Broken Neon" and "Still life,Still" life where little is added contextually.

In both paintings, if the illusion is successful it should appear that I have added nothing to the original objects. They represent, as well as I am able, objects I wouldn't hang in my home but become transformed by being re-presented. If nothing else I think they are really funny paintings.

In Mushroom We Trust

Folding money like origami is giving me so many ideas.When I was a kid we used to fold a dollar bill so that George Washington looked like a mushroom. This is the painting that started my money trompe l'oeils. 7"x5"