Kevin Eubanks at RiverJazz

Last night was the last of the Artsquest RiverJazz performances.  The Saucon Valley High School Jazz Ensemble opened for the Kevin Eubanks Jazz Band.  Another fabulous night of music !

Rene Camacho playing stand up bass with Kevin Eubanks

My favorite painting of the night is of Rene Camacho playing his unusual stand up bass.

I’ve posted the rest of the paintings on my ‘Chris Carter Artist’ Facebook page.  SteelStacks RiverJazz Musicians

Sketch: drawn first with dip pen followed by watercolor

 

Stepping Back into the Arena

A Call for Artists came through in an email last night.  To my surprise, the exhibit (in a hospital gallery) will be of nudes.  As far as I can tell the “no breasts”, “no cracks” restriction does not apply!  I have entered two, large watercolors.

Autumn Nude, Acrylic on Canvas

At the end of the month I’ll sift through my studio, saving the strong work and disposing of the weak work to make room for new explorations.  Seeing Autumn Nude was like crossing paths again with an old friend.  The opportunity to return to full-time painting is a bit overwhelming.  My approach to the business of art will be quite different this time around.

Painting: Autumn Nude – Acrylic on Canvas – 22″ wide x 28″ high. Technique: Thrown Paint, Drips and Line Drawing

 

Fingers Dancing at The Grisly Pear

One of the perks of sitting in the back corner of the Grisly Pear is that I sit next to the keyboard player and I get to watch his fingers dance upon the ivories.

Raphaeil Carrasquillo dancing on the keys

My retractable dip pen didn’t move smoothly along the surface of the watercolor paper last night.  I abandoned the pen and worked strictly with brush and paint.

 

Revisiting older paintings

I feel strangled. There are so many directions I have not been able to follow to resolution and to discovering how far I can go before the direction transforms into something beyond my expectations.

Heads

This painting has had numerous titles.  It changes each time I pull it off the rack and spend fifteen minutes with it.  There is a year’s worth of paintings waiting to be done to explore the potential of this direction.  I have become terribly frustrated with the limited time I have to paint.  I am able to grab short segments of time, but not the long, six to ten hour chunks of time I need for breaking through barriers and reaching new plateaus in my studio painting.

Grrrrrrrrrrr………. Painting at the Blues Jams allows me to hold my frustration in check.

Heads: Oil painting on gessoed masonite board. 24″ x 24″

 

A Fabulous Farewell

Farewell to the Tuesday Night Blues Jam at the Larry Holmes Ringside Restaurant.

Todd Wolfe

Thanks, Larry Holmes, for a great venue. Thanks, Maria for getting it going.  Thanks, Todd, for taking on the task of running it every Tuesday night.  Thanks to all the musicians who have come out to play!

The turnout was overwhelming last night.  Where have all of you been for the last year?  Looking forward to seeing you again, the familiar faces as well as the new faces.  The windowsill was full last night, as was my heart.  The paintings will be posted tomorrow on Facebook.

Painting:  Drawn first in black ink using a dip pen, followed by watercolor.

 

Primary Colors, Live at the Blues Jam

It’s not true that all good things must end.

Rob Fraser, Steve Decker, Chas Cochran

Next week may be the last of the Tuesday Night Blues Jams at Larry Holmes Ringside Restaurant in Easton, PA.  That doesn’t mean it’s the last of the Blues Jams.  New location perhaps.  Change is not a bad thing.  Sometimes it shakes out the cobwebs.

I’m hoping to get to The Grisly Pear in New York City every other week.  That leaves two weeks free to explore new options within about forty minutes of my home so that I don’t fall asleep driving back to New Jersey.

Several of last night’s paintings ended up in primary colors.  I like the vitality.

Dutchman singing Boop Boop ....

Paintings: Drawn first with black ink using dip pen, followed by watercolor.

 

Rejection to Acceptance

While collecting paper scraps for painting tomorrow night at a Blues Jam in New York City I found this energetic little drawing.  It was just what I needed to raise my spirits.

Three Dancers, pen and ink line drawing

During one of my sort and trash moods I rejected this drawing and tossed it into the box of rejected paintings that still have one side left to paint on.  I’m not sure why I discarded it.  Tonight I find it quite acceptable.  The lines are varied and work well to create an illusion of three figures interacting with one another.  Energy flows out toward the edges of the paper and pulled back in toward the waist of the central figure … then pushed out again.  There is a pulse, a shared rhythm, a moment of harmonic movement of six arms and six legs.  It makes me smile.

This little drawing may find its way back into the box of scrap paper, but not for a while.

Drawing in black ink using a dip pen with flexible nib.

 

St Lukes Hospital Paintings

Here is another photo of a new painting hanging in the Bone and Joint area of St. Lukes Hospital in Bethlehem, PA.

Figures in Motion, Watercolor

Thanks to Monsoon Gallery in Bethlehem, PA for  providing this incredible opportunity for me to have my favorite work hung in a place of healing.  Erin did a fabulous job with the matting and framing!  I look forward to seeing the paintings in person.

Paintings in the hallway of St Lukes Hospital

All of the paintings were done in watercolor or pen and ink with watercolor.  They ranged in size from 18″ x 24″ up to 24″ x 48″ unmatted.  Some of them are figures in yoga postures, others are figures dancing and the large ones are of people in line, dancing, talking and interacting in one way or another.

 

St Lukes Hospital, Bethlehem, PA – Bone and Joint Wing

The paintings are hung!

Bone and Joint, St Lukes Hospital, Bethlehem, PA

I am delighted that the colors in the paintings work so exceptionally well with the sofa and chairs.  I hope the figures will promote an attitude of healing, emotionally, mentally and physically.  I believe there are fourteen large paintings hung in the Bone and Joint Wing on the second floor.  If you click on the image you can see the paintings a bit better.

Paintings: (left)drawn first with pencil, followed by strokes of watercolor. (right) drawn first with black ink using dip pen, followed by strokes of watercolor.

 

Awaiting Irene

Serious storms flood my basement.  It’s a great time to clear my studio to make room for throwing paint and letting loose my creativity!

One that didn't make the cut

This is one of the large paintings I did for the St. Luke’s hospital project.  Perhaps it was the music I was listening to.  Perhaps it was the third glass of wine I drank.  Perhaps it was the fact that it was 2 am in the morning and I had been painting for ten hours straight.  It is not the sort of painting I want to look at while I wait in a hospital, either as a patient or a friend/relative of a patient.  I do, however, love the painting.  However, I did not present it as a choice for the client.  After painting this one I went to bed.  The next day I chose uplifting music and focused on creating positive energy for a healing environment.

The Family of Man

I trusted my instincts and my brush.  This painting measures two foot by 4 foot, painted on 300lb watercolor paper. I can’t express what it feels like to paint directly from heart to paper.   There are no second chances.

I am totally addicted to letting loose in this large scale. I thank the musicians, dancers and yogis for inspiring five years of painting live in the Lehigh Valley.  What fun.  Someone out there ….. please give me an entire wall. I want to paint a mural that will inspire people to smile, to dance and to sing.

This recent series of large paintings will be hung in the “Bone and Joint” wing on the second floor of the hospital.  Having a titanium hip myself, I couldn’t be happier.

It’s almost 4 pm.  Tom has agreed to stay up with me until midnight to welcome Irene as she blows through town.