I just got a new rare book that I'm very happy to add to my library.  This is a 1934 1st edition of Painting A Portrait by Philip de László (1869 - 1937).  It's part of a series of books called "How to Do It", which included 6 books in total in various media, such as watercolor, etching, sculpture, etc.  For anyone who doesn't know, de László was a brilliant portrait painter who took over a lot of commissions once Sargent announced "No more paughtraits" in 1907.
​  I first read this as a PDF file that was generously sent to me by Mr. Juan Jr. Ramirez.  That PDF was different from this edition and had some different photos and information.  The photos in this book are nicely pasted in and almost have an old, glossy photographic finish to them.  It's really a beautiful book.  As a painter, art historian and collector of rare books, I'm proud to add this to my collection.

  My new frames came today from Art To Frames and I'm very pleased with them.  Art To Frames always does a great job and I highly recommend them for anyone looking for great custom frames.  
These pieces will all be available from the Geary Gallery at the end of August.  I also have two more pieces that will be available once they're framed: The Main Garden (16" X 14") and Long View of Spring Lake Beach (12" X 18").

  I just got back from a great trip to Geary Gallery in Darien, Connecticut.   I went to show my work to Tom and Anne Geary and am pleased that they liked my paintings.  We went over pricing and all the logistics today.  I'll be showing 8 oil paintings at their gallery at the end of August 2021.  I'm currently framing the pieces and will post photos once they're all ready to go.  Tom and Anne are wonderful people and I'm proud to be represented by them.  Tom is also a fellow Triumph rider and a true gentleman.
  In the meantime, I'm all ready for my grad school at the Florence Academy in Jersey City, which starts July 5th.  I went down there yesterday (was that really yesterday? haha) to help set up the atelier.  It felt like a big family and I'm super excited to begin my proper atelier training.  I met Mandy Theis (academic director and principle instructor) and she is awesome and made me feel right at home.
​  More exciting news to come soon..

  I'm currently working on a different type of commission.  It's a 10" X 14" oil painting and the scene is of vintage Winnie-the-Pooh.  Although my personal work is based largely on en plein air work, landscapes, still lifes and figurative work, I also like doing these commissions which expand my creative range.  I think it's good for artists to play around with different styles and subject matter.  It's a fun break from what I normally do, but I feel like it's still me.  
  This type of illustration requires a lot of creativity because I didn't copy this scene from another source.  I created my own composition and placed the characters where I wanted them.  I still tried to make the scene look like one from an old Pooh story.  Something different in my technique is that I washed on the oil paint in sort of a watercolor-style application; usually I like working with thick paint.  
  The scene I had in mind is of Christopher Robin coming to the 100 Acre Wood for a party with all the characters.  There's a lot of fun little details in the painting which make it like an eye-spy game.  My friends and family know that I'm a big Pooh fan myself and have read all the stories.  And a fun extra fact is: this isn't my first illustration project, I illustrated some children's books once upon a time... but that feels like a lifetime ago.