I recently completed two paintings of the same–exact same–subject. These self-portraits were started at roughly the same time and both recently finished. Why two paintings on the same subject? Technical reasons! No, really. I wanted to compare two mediums and determined the best ways was to test them on the same subject. The smaller one…
Bio, Paintings, Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio 5/26/2013
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•This large painting (6′ x 8′) is a pain to work on in my somewhat cramped studio. Don’t get me wrong, I love my studio overlooking the lake, but compared to my last studio in Indian Mills, NJ, it’s small. Large paintings like this one are difficult to move and store. One thing interesting about…
Bio, Shop Talk, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Study: Making the Painting ‘The Call’
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•I thought it would be interesting to follow a painting from start to finish. The subject is a woman making a call on her cell phone, hence the title–The Call. 1. Mechanics The 36″ x 48″ painting is on cotton canvas. I primed it (I nearly always prime my own canvases) with three layers of…
Bio, Paintings, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio 5-19-2013
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•Here’s a photo of paintings I’ve worked on during the past few days. The one on the upper-right–‘Woman in Wine-Colored Blouse’–is nearly done (knock wood!). The palette in the foreground contains an assortment of neutrals I use, along with several values of burnt sienna (for flesh).
Bio, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Boating Season Underway on Lake Erie
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•Today was the first real day of the boating season. Pleasure boats and fishing boats dotted the lake as if it was midsummer. Here’s the view from the studio: After a painting session in the morning, my son John-Parker and I went to the slip where The Betty Jane is moored for the season. Here…
Bio, Cleveland, Paintings, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio 5/12/2013
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•Here’s a photo of ‘Lower East Side,’ a large (5′ x 6′) painting currently in progress. It’s about (roughly) my studio in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It was before 9-11 so the World Trade Center still stood. I had a great view to lower Manhattan, as you can see from the detail through the window.…
Artists, Cleveland, Galleries, Paintings, Reviews
Gary Bukovnik: Forever Spring at Bonfoey Gallery
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•Yesterday, my son, John-Parker, was incredulous when I told him I didn’t have a favorite among my paintings. “Being an artist,” I told him, “is similar to being a musician. Sometimes I’m the composer and the theme is very important. Other times I am the performer and don’t care about the subject as much, but focus on…
Bio, Cleveland, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio May 5th, 2013
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•Here’s a photo of some recent work. The winter scene is from a terrific storm some years ago in Trenton/Princeton, NJ. Now that the weather is warming, I can bring myself to take up a winter subject. Behind the winter subject is the beginnings of a new painting. I’ve finished just a small portion of…
Bio, Paintings, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio 4/28/2013
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•Here is a photo of some of the recent work. The large painting (‘Two Cakes,’ 48″ x 48″) is nearly done–I hope! This photo, by the way, was taken with my new Nikon D5200. It was high time I upgraded my camera. I am going to replace some of the awful photos in the gallery.
Bio, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Second Coldest Spring on Record
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•According to the papers, that is. The upshot is the boating season here on Lake Erie has been slow to start. We were going to finish getting The Betty Jane ready for launching today but the rain will delay us. We aren’t the only ones affected by the cold, damp weather. Most of these shrink-wrapped…
Bio, Fiction
Poem: 5th Street
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•5th Street After art history, the widow drove me to my slum studio. Its only north-facing window overlooked the vacant lot where I saw a shootout my first night there. Barely 30, they hadn’t suspected her husband’s bad heart. Dying, he had betrayed their now backward-pointing future. We hung there, our hollow faces reflecting the…
Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Sight for Sore Eyes
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•I took this from the studio window. After the weekend’s bitter cold and snow, it was heartening to see this sailboat underway in calm waters. Although the boat is not under sail, it’s still a cheery sight.
Bio, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
Good Grief—it snowed yesterday!
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•Yep. We had a twenty-minute white-out squall yesterday morning, April 20th! Granted, all the snow was gone by the afternoon, but this is the latest I remember it snowing. And today it’s windy and COLD! Even Buddy, our Silky Terrier, was hesitant to approach the shore. Here he is screwing up his courage to walk…
Bio, Paintings, Studio Corner, Uncategorized, Vermilion, OH
In the Studio 4/21/2013
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•Some of today’s work. The large painting (5′ x 6′) is titled ‘Atlantic City I.’ My wife is from New Jersey and she used to live and work in Atlantic City, so I’ve spent time there. I have a lot of paintings about Atlantic City and a number of others planned. The painting of the…
Bio, Fiction
Poem: The Thing She Said to Me
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•The Thing She Said to Me The poets and rockers didn’t go beyond Avenue A, where the poverty was unromantic. My fifth-floor walk-up (Ave. C and 9th) looked over the rooftops of Manhattan, to the sea beyond. Floating above the world, the carnival-lit World Trade Center tethered me every night. Around the corner, the heartless barmaid…