"MURAL PROJECT"

This was painted at the Laguna Beach art show that you have heard me talk so much about... Here is one of many projects that came up. This one I had to get involved with for it seamed apprapo for our effort at the DP this coming month.... This is a 12' long by 5' high mural on canvas that was a collaborative effort of four artists from the show..... I was asked if I would work on this and I said "yes" without knowing what it was about, but I thought it would be fun to do with three other artists on this one mural and four artists on another ... My team painted this one that you see in 4 hours... I painted the sky first then we each jumped in and did something to pull this off.... Dagmar came up with the planets, Bruce the grasslands, Shockley the dragonfly's... We danced around never disturbing the efforts of the other..... There were no egos so everyone could make a mark, add a color, take over if one got side tracked and always kept in mind what this was about " The Children & The Planet" This entire project was filmed and in the end some 5200 murals totaling 12 miles will be wrapped around a pyramid in Egypt in 2010.. This project is for the ( www.the-art-miles-mural-project.org ) Take a look and get involved, for we each pass through here only once.

My team :
Dagmar Chaplin
Bruce Burr
Tim Shockley
& yours truly
Gerald Schwartz

GS

"NIGHT TRAVELS"

Going through the desert with this wonderful soft clouded sky made this a perfect dreamy subject to paint. It is a 6"x6" oil painting done on archival board mounted on a 2" cradled box so no framing is needed. $250 includes shipping in the US. (Private)

"LADYBUG, LADYBUG"

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Playing with shapes & color this seamed to fit well with me in my sheer joy of just painting.
8"x6" oil on archival board mounted on a 2 1/2" deep cradled box with no framing needed.

"SEASIDE"

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Just a quick stop at Newport beach before I go and see just how my booth is coming along at the up-coming show... lots of paint on this light hearted seascape.. It is painted on a heavy gesso coated surface that is mounted to a 2 1/2" deep cradled box so no framing needed for this one or any that I do for that matter. schwartzart@earthlink.net

"BARHAM BLVD"

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Gosh! I'm so familiar with this off ramp that it's silly... Just getting to it is an experience all in itself... Beeping horns, fast traffic, big trucks and the crazies of the world all on one freeway and they all want to get off on Barham blvd at the same time... I love LA... I really do... 6"x6" oil on mounted clay board and absolutely no framing needed.

"MEL'S DINER"

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Just a playful little painting for me and a place I remember. Mel's Diner , not to be confused with Mel's Drive In.. I think if I'm not mistaken, but there is a Mel's "The one I'm familiar with" Hollywood, the Vally, San Francisco, I think Miami... Breakfast at Mel's, "Who could forget" 6"x8" oil on archival board & no framing needed. :schwartzart@earthlink.net

"SUMMER TIME"

Summer time on balboa Island in Newport beach. Yet another painting I have done on this place, the palm trees, shadows and the famous ferris wheel keeps me coming back for more... Candy apples, popcorn & runaway balloons, good places to eat, just a great place to have fun on a summer time day. 6"x8" oil on archival board with no framing required. (SOLD)

"ISLANDS"

Taken from some past photos and a nice change from my urban landscape's I enjoyed the process of this painting. It is a 6"x8" on archival board with no faming needed. schwartzart@earthlink.net

"ASSUMING THE OBVIOUS"

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We are so quick to assume the obvious.
Setting on the side of the road with no sign of anyone around car nor person I was struck by how clean this little beauty was from just a quick glance as I drove past. There seem to be nothing wrong with it so why was it left.. Then I thought, Maybe, just maybe it was not left but was waiting, waiting to be connected to begin its journey...6" x 6" oil on archival clay board with no framing required.

"MORNING SHADOWS"

A trip to Portland and getting into town just as the sun had a chance to break through the clouds. The contrasts of lights and darks and the rich tones of the land against the sky is what I wanted to capture in this 6" x 8" oil on archival board mounted."No framing required". (Sold)

"HOLLYWOOD & VINE"

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Not sure how many times I have driven, walked, looked and talked about this place over the last fifty years of being in the LA area.. lots of memories of places to eat, movies, first dates and broken hearts... So now I look back in thought and paint a bright sunny day of my past. 6"x6" oil on archival clay board with no framing needed.

"RUSH HOUR"

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Working on beating the rush hour only to know that some construction is taking place on the freeway which means I get to meet and have light conversation with the people in the next car, this will be fun seeing as I don't have enough friends.... This painting is handled as a B&W with that crazy mixing that I do and some color thrown in for some good measure. 8"x6" Oil on canvas mounted on archival board and no framing is needed for this or any other that I post. schwartzart@earthlink.net

"THE SPRINGS"

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A trip to Palm Springs on the 10 with the big clouds ahead of me gave me a good moody morning to do this as one of my B&W.. This is a 6" x 6" oil painting on an archival clay board and nor framing is needed. schwartzart@earthlink.net

"WEDNESDAY NIGHT"

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Going home one late night on a rainy Wednesday night I turn to see the glare of the city give the nighttime sky a wonderful glow, so I take one shot and head on out... After looking at the image I decided to paint it as a B&W. I make my black using about five different colors and mixed into this a dry pigment color is a secret.
What this pigment does is alter the tone of whatever it is mixed into giving it a depth that I love. I also mix it into the white which further pushes the gray scale... This pigment was given to me by an artist that came in to my studio about three days prior just to make some light conversation... She tells me I should use this pigment and hands me this plastic bag with about a pound of this iridescent beautiful color... She tells me to handle it very carefully, and to wear a mask when mixing. It is lighter then talcum so fans are off and windows closed so there is very little movement in the studio when I opening the bag. Just that movement alone makes the pigment float and twirl like smoke.... In using it I feel like a sorcerer making colors appear before me. In the nine years and fifteen B&W paintings that I use this with, I am always surprised at the outcome and I have never had to go back and change the color...I Love this stuff... 6"x7" oil on a gessoed oak panel.. PS. I never saw her again after that day.

"JUST A TRIM"

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I found this barber shop that time stood still for and I was compelled to paint this with all of the shapes & shadows and past memories of a disappearing moment in time. 6"x6" oil on canvas mounted on archival clay board with no framing required.

"L.A. HAZE"

Working this painting a little more gave it what I felt it was missing. There is always a tweak here a tweak there, the never ending saga of painting... Yes, I probably analyze my work to much but I don't know how not to and yet, I know, there are those that I have painted that I must say "STOP" and its on to the next. 6"x8" oil on archival board with no framing required.

"RED BOOTH DINER"

A nice departure from my skies was needed for me so I dug around in some old photos and found one form my "Johnny Rocket" series that I did some years back... I handled this loosely giving more movement to my brush work then my usual smoother approach, I must say this was really a lot of fun to do and hope you all like it too.. 6"x6 oil on archival clay board with no framing required. (SOLD)

"WINDING ROAD AHEAD"

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Still working with the glare and all that takes place in that given moment when other tones of colors that normally are hidden, come out to play if only briefly in the light of the setting sun... I just might make this into a larger canvas for my summer show, it would make a nice contrast amongst all of my sky paintings. This is a 6"x8" oil on canvas mounted on board with no framing required.

"IN THE SHADOWS"

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>Oh! this is a painting that I wanted to revisit again and play with the shadows amongst the trees. There is so much to learn every time I pick up a brush and start painting.. The notion that it will never end is without-a-doubt the joy of what I do. 8"x6" oil on canvas mounted on board and no framing needed.

"THE DRIVE HOME"

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In looking at my most recent paintings, the feeling of space and time I conveyed has become a metaphor of my life at this time. The going to or leaving depending on which way I might be looking at this road of life as an artist has been an interesting one for sure. Not an easy one, but interesting nevertheless. Oh! There have been maps for me to follow, but not all lead me to where I thought I might stay, you know, a real homecoming of a place.
Dusty and bumpy and an assortment of dead ends and wrong turns and always believing, “there is light at the end of this journey” and having another painting to do, I must still paint on, after all, I am an artist and I alone have chosen this road. Oil on board 6"x8" and no framing needed.

"BIRDS ON A WIRE"

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I have a thing for back roads.. Most of the time I get to see places that look and feel like time stood still for, maybe its my want to go back to a time of innocence for me.. Again, the lighting in the sky was perfect for this shot to be made into this 6" x 8" oil on archival board and "Yes" there is no framing needed.

"MORNING TRIP"

Heading out of town and always looking for these air-streams cruising the highways is a joy to see, photograph, then paint... This thunderous sunrise was the beginning of my morning. 6"x8" oil painting with no framing needed.

"OVERPASS AT 5:42 AM"

Going into Palm Springs in the morning I took this shot knowing I was going to paint this one... It is painted direct with little under-painting going on. It is done on a heavily coated gesso board then oil primer is applied then the colors in the sky are blended giving the brightness that I wanted to depicted the glare of the rising morning sun. 6"x8" oil on archival board mounted on 3/4" cradle so no framing is needed.

"405 NORTH"

The countless trips over and into the "Valley" at 4:45 pm.. This might not have much meaning for those not from Southern Cal, but for us that travel this stretch of the many freeways, this has a lot of meaning... I risked my life taking this photo in order to do this painting of this wonderful town L.A. 6"X6" oil on board with no framing needed can be yours. (SOLD)

"CANYON RUN"

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This is painting is dedicated to the thousands of trips I have made up and down this canyon road in the last 30 some odd years.. I painted this in oils on canvas that has been mounted on a 2" deep wooden box so no framing is needed.

"Eden"

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Not much more I can say about this place, some have been there and others might go. I was there last year and my publicist wanted me to paint some scenes based on this location. This was enjoyable trying to capture the light that blared at me through the trees. ( A 6"x 8" oil on archival clay board, no framing is needed)

"MORNING MIST"

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This is a painting that kept eluding me for over a year. I painted this half-a-dozen times and never liked the outcome..... Well I'm here to say "I like it" Now at some point I will commit this to canvas. The challenge was the shades of greens and the underneath texture of the surface, this is painted on just the right amount of tooth giving me what I needed. The place is high above San Francisco in a area that gets lots of fog and due that rolls in and over these hills.
(This is a 6"x 6" oil on archival clay board, mounted so no framing is needed)

"RUMBLINGS"

I painted this 6"x8" to see how I feel about doing a 40" x20" canvas. Well I really enjoyed the outcome and I'm looking forward to the larger version that I'll post this week. I named it Rumbling because you can feel the ground tremble way before you see this coming. There is a real rush standing close to one of these baby's as it rumbles by. Oil on archival clay board mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box, no framing needed can yours. (SOLD)

:THE SANTA FE"

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Again I want to capture the feeling of space and these wonderful rumbling engines that crisscross the lands and most of the time go unnoticed. Here is a 6"x8" oil on archival clay board mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box so no framing is needed.

"PORT THEATER"

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This wonderful theater is no more... It was a place I was able to go to and watch foreign films along with a wonderful diverse crowd of people with the same likes as mine. There was a wonderful grand staircase that went up to a beautiful balcony. There in the box office was a most charming lady that could tell you about the film. Then an old gentlemen took your ticket and directed you to the ornate doors that opened to the darkened theater where magic was going to play... I can still smell the popcorn after all this time... Some years back the owner left us and so it has been closed to this day. It is sad to see the fading and peeling paint, boarded up and empty show cases and locked doors. So I painted this to honor its glory days in the sun and my fond memories of a place no more. This is a 6"x 8" oil painted on a archival clay board that is mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box so no framing is needed. schwartzart@earthlink.net

"BUDDY"

"Buddy", a most perfect name for this cat... Buddy follows me around the house and talks to me. He tells me when he's hungry, he tells me when he wants to be up close when I'm painting, I then have to put a stool up to my easel so he can be waist high and inches from me, then he talks, purrs and goes to sleep... When I take a break and sit down to watch CNN, Buddy comes in and asked to get on my lap purring all the while, much looking into my face and talking, purring then goes fast-a-sleep.... Now interesting enough, when I am watching Discovery and there are animals Buddy gets off my lap and sits on a little stool I have in front of the screen and he will sit there for as long as the show is on looking left to right as zebra' run across the Serengeti, this is really funny to see... When on my Mac he has to be up near my arm so I can rest it on him, then it's happy time for Buddy.... As I'm typing this, he is partly on my key pad making it really easy to type.... My Buddy... I suppose if any of you have read this you have gathered that I really hate my cat, my Buddy. Just wanted to share and hopefully bring a smile to you to.

"THE B & B"

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Just sitting in a corner of a train yard this mighty steel master waits its turn to rumble across the lands.. The sky was just about to open up an rain when I took this shot. 6"x 8" oil on archival clay board mounted so no faming is needed.

"ENGINE 6300"

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Hopefully the next series of both my daily posts and canvases will be on trains. The dynamics of what they are and what they mean to us I want to see if I can capture these giants that crisscross our lands regardless of the country. This is a 6"x6" oil painting on gessoed archival clay board mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box with no framing needed. schwartzart@earthlink.net

"STOP"

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I love the shapes that factories have against the skies. I played with the shadows in this and wanted the feeling of the day coming to an end. This is a 6"x8" oil on archival clay board the is mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box with no framing needed.

"BUTTERFLY & RIBBON"

I must say before I go any further, the coloring in the painting is far better than what I'm able to do with this photo, even working with photo-shop.... I had this photo from last summer and just found it and new here is another painting. 6"x6" oil on board mounted on 2" finished wooden box.

"JUST FRIENDS"

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The title "Just Friends" is for me a metaphor when I began this painting, I saw in it that it was about sharing... Friendships, food, company, bad times, good times and above all "Love". 6"x6" oil on a archival clay board mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box.

"COMPOSITION IN RHYME"

This is in the high country of above San Francisco. The play of light and textures and rhythm and composition that is so perfect captured me and I knew then must paint this and see if I can do it justice. It is an oil on a 6"x8" archival clay board mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box. (Not available) (SOLD)

"VALLEY LIGHT"

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This started out as an underpainting and as I looked at it I decided to keep it. It is a departure from what I intended and I'm reminded just how much fun it is to paint. 6"x6" oil mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box.

schwartzar@earthlink.net

"BLUE SHADOWS"

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And yet another snow painting and this is coming from a warm climate person, but the colors that happen in this time of day is so compelling to paint that I had to tackle it. Oil on a 6"x6" archival gessoed board set on a 2" deep finished wooden box.

"SNOW FALL"

Up in Flagstaff AZ this winter after a pretty heavy snow storm that blasted through. I painted this loosely on the spot trying to keep from freezing. It has been a long time since I painted this way... This is a 6"x6" oil on archival clay board mounted on a 2" deep finished wooden box. schwartzart@earthlink.net
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