Another Charity Event

Rocking Chair for Charity

Here's another fun piece that I recently finished for a local charity which helps protect abused children. I knew right away when I received the unfinished wooden rocker that I wanted to do something that would impress all who view it. This meant that I would have to abandon the common "charity chair" color scheme which consists of every bold color on an artist's palette.

I have grown more enamored with patterns over the years and this was a great opportunity to put them to use. I selected several patterns with high contrast and placed them all over the chair. Since my chair was child sized, I used dimensional paints for the header board at the top of the chair. I posted a couple shots of this so that you can see the cool texture which it left. I thought this would be a fun additive, especially for children.

Now I just have to cross my fingers and hope that my chair pulls the highest bid at the auction. - Jared

New Caricature Commission

Super Dan, pen and ink on Bristol board, approx 8x12"

I received a phone call from a dear friend of the family and a great advocate for the arts, Cathy Wright, asking me if I would be interested in doing a caricature for a member of the Alabama Board of Education. Dan was often referred to "Super Dan" because of his amazing ability to get results when it came to his work at the Board. I dug up some Superman images to get started (note to reader: don't Google "Superman undressing"!) and superimposed Dan's face over the super body. It came out as good as expected and the reception was a hit.

After a Long Sabbatical....

Made You Smile, painted sheet metal cut-out

Well it's been a terribly long break from posting! Since my last post (about 6 months ago) I have been involved with several side jobs, namely filling in as a long-term visual art substitute at a local arts middle school. Baldwin Magnet Middle School was actually the school that I attended when I was in Jr. High. The art teacher at Baldwin went on Maternity leave early due to complications with her pregnancy so I was able to teach art in a public school setting for the first time in my life. I was there from January 6th until April 13th. It was actually more awesome than I had anticipated. I will post several images of my time there in the near future.

This flower painting was a piece that I did for the American Red Cross here in Montgomery, AL. They hold a charity auction each year and invite local artists to paint garden accessories made of sheet metal. This year I was invited and I was given this large flower to decorate. I thought it came out fairly well. My inspiration for the piece was a mix between Anne Geddes and cabbage patch kids. The execution of this initial idea produced unexpected results. The child's face was a little too realistic, pushing the painting too close to a portrait - and who wants a portrait of a random child in their garden?! So I decorated the petals to the maximum in order to pull the viewer's attention from the face. I considered writing "I Have a Stamen!" in the petals but then decided that "Made You Smile" might be a little more safe. Overall I am pleased with the outcome and can't wait to see how well it does in the auction.