MORE COMMISSIONED WORK

My head remains in the past this morning, looking back and thinking about some of the commissioned work I've done.

Wilmington News journal

Tower Hill School   Wilmington

Delancy Place...Philadelphia

The Wilmington New journal, located in downtown Wilmington, wanted a commemorative painting - print of their building as they were preparing to move to a new facility out of city limits.  The front of their building a plain (boring) square 5 story building with absolutely nothing of visual interest.  The back of the buildings was just the opposite...cluttered and busy and visually interesting.  Of course that is what I painted, and of course that is not what they wanted.  However, they agreed to pay me for it and asked me to paint the front, which I did.  They were happy and I was happy (they paid me for the second painting also.)

Tower Hill School was commissioned in the late 1980s, one of several schools and campuses I had the pleasure of painting.  I think this was the best of the lot.  Dr. Oz, the TV celebrity doc, went to Tower Hill.  His father, also Dr. Oz was a colleague of mine during my years of practice in Wilmington.

Delancy Place is a commission I received after we moved to Paducah.  I was familiar with the street from my time in Philadelphia and was delighted to take this on.  It was one of my more ambitious and difficult commissions and I grossly undercharged the client...but it was worth it.  The final piece was about 18 x60 inches.  Check out the last house on the right...an anomaly on this street.

COMMISSIONS

I enjoy doing commissioned work in spite of the stress that is usually involved.  Creating the work is usually not the problem; worrying about the client's reaction to the piece is what unsettles me, even when I am personally satisfied with the results.  It was that way with my first commission over 30 years ago, as well as with my most recent one last year, and I don't expect it will ever be any different.

I've created artwork for individuals, private and public institutions, corporations, and universities.  The subjects have all been architectural in nature, schools, homes, shops, and a variety of public buildings.  Two of the more unusual requests were a barber shop and a salvage yard.  I have a record of the barber shop but sadly, not the junk yard.

Crowes Seafood...watercolor...circa 1981

Washington Street Barbers...watercolor...circa 1979

Hercules Towers...watercolor...circa 1983

Hercules was my first corporate commission, and the biggest in my new career as an artist.  Others would soon follow, including the opportunity to create a poster for Wilmingon Library's bicentennial celebrations.

2-2...Arugula, the 3rd of a 3 part series

I found myself looking at the last of the arugula...what to do...

Also in the fridge was a bunch of asparagus that needed some attention; the result was Angel hair pasta with asparagus, smoked salmon and arugula in a cream sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

Angel hair pasta
Asparagus
Smoked salmon, chopped coarsely
Arugula, coarsely chopped
Olive oil
Butter
Heavy whipping cream
Cilantro
Lemon juice
Blue cheese...about 1 teaspoon
Dry white wine
Garlic, green onions

PROCESS:

Cook the garlic and onion until soft, then add the asparagus.  Cook for several minutes before adding the dill and seasoning.  When the asparagus is almost done add the salmon, lemon juice, and wine and cook over low heat.  After several minutes add the arugula.  About 5 minutes before the pasta is ready add the cream and blue cheese and stir frequently.  Add the pasta and mix well.

COMMENTS:

This could easily have been a ten plus.  Unfortunately I forgot just how salty the smoked salmon can be, and adding my usual amount of salt resulted in a dish that was too salty.  Let me amend that...too salty for Patience.  It was perfect for me.  However, after so many years (I've lost count) I have learned to trust her judgement.

Patience will be away for the next three days so I will be cooking for myself and the next pasta dish will probably be when she returns.

With just the pencil...

Putting aside the pen and ink, the markers, the pastels, and the watercolors, I began to focus entirely on the pencil.  This has been tugging at me for several weeks now, and yesterday I decided to act on it.

 Pencil drawing...4x6"  abandoned barn on west 62

Pencil drawing...5x7"

2-1...pasta with a light tomato sauce, arugula, and mozzarella

Tonight marks the beginning of our ninth month of the Pasta Quest, and I am confident we will take the rest of the way...A Year of Pasta.

Patience will be away this weekend and there is still a lot of arugula in the fridge so I'll put it to use again tonight in a loose tomato sauce with mozzarella cheese.  I considered adding bacon or kalamata olives but I decided to avoid their strong flavors to see what the arugula would do by itself.

INGREDIENTS:

Conchiglie (shells)
San Marzano whole tomatoes
Olive oil
Garlic and onion
Coarsely chopped arugula
Red pepper flakes
Dry basil and oregano
Italian parsley
Sweet Vermouth

 

PROCESS:

Saute the garlic and onion until soft.  Add the tomatoes (break them up with a wooden spoon), herbs, and cook for about 30 minutes, adding a splash of wine after 15-20 minutes.

Coarsely chop the arugula and cut the mozzarella into small, bite size pieces.  When the pasta is done add it to the sauce and mix in the cheese.  Then mix in the arugula and serve to a hungry, grateful wife who has just worked over 12 hectic hours at the hospital.



COMMENTS:



OK, I know I am not stingy with my praise for these pasta dishes...but this dish was so damn good!!!  The combination of arugula ( sweetened by the heat) and sweet vermouth is unbelievable.  You gotta try this...but I must warn you, if you do,you will want to marry me.

Think less, draw more.

Is it possible that there are artists out there who are not plagued with self doubt?  When I'm spending my time on these small paintings and sketches I'm thinking, I should be working larger and exploring meaningful questions about life and art.  And when I'm working larger, exploring new ways to represent the landscape, I'm thinking, I should be working small and having fun doing what I like to do.

So, I do both, and find myself thinking, I should be focusing all my energies on one thing, and not scattering myself all over the place.

The solution?   Stop all that F...ing thinking!

Here are a few more additions to the Paducah portfolio:

 A remodeled Lowes store

 The home of the Leaping Trout on Madison St.

 Cathy and Steve live here...on 8th st.

 These drawings are part of my plan to end the year with a PADUCAH SKETCHBOOK, to be released in conjunction with an exhibit at Gallery 5.

In the meantime, I still have the Barns & Farms series to complete by the end of March.

This is pastel on a discarded clay mono type...aprox. 12x6"