Seduction

In the darkest hours of night... Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Van Gogh and Hugh Hefner held a secret cabal. This is the message they sent.

"Seduction" 38"x26" acrylics and inks on gallery wrapped canvas. Available for $690.

Mars (not the Roman god of war)

According to wikipedia, "Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars."

This, however, is a painting of the lovely model Mars Ayane, done recently at the Artery in Houston.

Please do not confuse the two.

"Mars" 18"x24" charcoal and acrylic inks on watercolor paper. Available for $290.

Fall of the Pain Birds

This was painted as a follow-on to my homage to Mark Linkous, "Here Come the Pain Birds." Take heart, they can be defeated.

Pictured: "Fall of the Pain Birds" 16"x20" acrylics and ball-point pen on canvas. Available for $290.

What Does a Blues Painting Sound Like?

The music we call the blues has many forms, and was fed by many influences. For my taste, the genre reached its peak in the 1960s when some of the old guard, who had been playing for decades by that time, were revitalized by a new audience of young white kids. Albert King, BB King, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and my favorite – Albert Collins – became legendary during this time.

The electric blues poured its vitality and humanity into fledgling rock 'n roll. Perhaps its most fundamental trait was the guitar solo, which capitalized on sharp and soft picking attack, bent notes, intentional slurring, percussive sounds, and partial chords to deliver music that was analogous to human vocalization... including conversing, beckoning, ranting, weeping and wailing... the whole vocal gamut.

Although each of the amazing musicians I named had a personal guitar "voice," that of Albert Collins was perhaps the most distinctive. His method was different, using minor tunings and a capo high on the neck of the guitar, but his playing stood alone on the basis of its incredible intensity. When he soloed, he commanded the audience, the band, and any other guitarist on the stage to stand down. His flurries of excitement and discord expressed more than words alone could manage.

As I began working on this piece, I watched videos of him playing, hoping to capture references from which to build a portrait. It was a worthy goal, and I may revisit it at some point... but this painting was more about his pithy playing style than the structure of his face; more about the music than the man, perhaps. It doesn't look too much like him, but that is okay because that goal was abandoned less than halfway through the painting.

It does, however, sound like him. A lot.

Pictured: "Blue Man" 30"x24" acrylics on canvas. SOLD.

Mance Lipscomb and Navasota Blues Festival

Guitarist Mance Lipscomb was a Navasota native who became a country blues icon when he was rediscovered in the early 1960s. He died in 1976 at the age of 80. Twenty years later, the Navasota Blues Festival was founded in his honor.

This year an art show will be held in downtown Navasota on Saturday, August 14th, during Blues Fest, and I will be one of about a dozen invited exhibiting artists.

I love the blues, especially Albert Collins (a Houstonian) and the Kings (Albert, Freddie and BB). What an awesome excuse to paint a series of blues guitarists!

Pictured: "Mance Lipscomb", 18"x24" acrylics and inks on watercolor paper. Available for $290.

Woodlands Select Art Show & Sale

Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 9:00 am

Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel

1601 Lake Robbins Dr.

The Woodlands, Texas 77380

The Artist Expo has invited select local artists to display their work in the hotel atrium outside the exhibit hall. I will have four works on display. Woodlands Art League members will present artwork in the atrium outside of the exhibit hall on the last day of the Artist Expo event. Please help make this event successful for everyone involved by promoting it through all available networking opportunities. (In other words, tell all your friends!)

Charcoal, Inks, Tempera, Watercolor, Acrylics, Oils, and Oil Pastels on 1.5" Deep Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

This is my homage to the late, great Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, who wrote the melancholy anthem, "Pain Birds." The pain birds came for Mark four months ago... but we still have his music.

Be careful what you speak into your life. Words alone have power.

Pictured: "Here Come the Pain Birds", 24"x52", charcoal, inks, tempera, watercolor, acrylics, oils, and oil pastels on 1.5" deep gallery-wrapped canvas. Available for $890.

Save the dates! -- Saturday, July 24th and Friday, July 30th

Saturday, July 24, 2010 - 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Woodlands Select Art Show & Sale

Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel,

1601 Lake Robbins Dr., The Woodlands, Texas 77380

The Artist Expo has invited select local artists to display their work in the hotel atrium outside the exhibit hall. I will have four works on display.

Friday, July 30, 2010 - 6:00 pm-9:00 pm, Reception

"Tipping Points" - the Abstract Art of Howie Doyle

Gentlemen's Tonic, 1180-04 Uptown Park Blvd., Houston, TX 77056

View 36 new and selected abstract works in the gallery-like space of an upscale spa for men in Uptown Park. Enjoy refreshments, fresh music, and vibrant, bracing works of paint-on-canvas that capture the emotional tipping-points of life.

See you there!