Art and Photography Blog

Painting of My Old Air Jordan Sneakers

Here is another in my shoe series. It is a 18" x 24" acrylic painting of my vintage Air Jordan sneakers. They have played a lot of hoop. 

 

Photos of New Orleans Neighborhoods 2010 Part Four: Frenchman Street

This is the fourth in a series of images of New Orleans neighborhoods taken in February 2010 the weekend before the Super Bowl victory and two weeks for Mardi Gras. I certainly did not have time to cover them all but this series will provide a glimpse of the city that I hope you will want to visit.

Frenchman Street is part of the Fauborg Marigny next to the French Quarter (see map). It has some of the better music clubs and ones that are much less tourist oriented than Bourbon Street. Clubs shown includeBlue Nile, Cafe Negril, Apple Barrel, and d.b.a, I saw Walter Wolfman Washington and the Roadmasters at d.b.a. You can see them below. There are also many good music clubs uptown. In the next post we will move away from the downtown area to Magazine Street. You can click on any image to enlarge it.

                       
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Painting of Silver Boots: Early Stages and Final Version

Here is a 14" x 18" acrylic painting of silver boots that belonged to our studio model. I am putting shoes that I feel have some character against a roll of brown paper in the same way that photographers often put people against white paper.  You can see the early stages of the painting below the final version.  This and many others are for sale at the Artsetter site. 

 

   
  

 
 

Painting of My Old Black Shoes

This is a 14" x 18" acrylic painting of a comfortable pair of old shoes I have had for years. I tried to convey this feeling. This is the first in a new series on shoes. A pair of silver sneakers follows.  It is for sale at Artsetter.com. 

 
 

Painting of Potato Family, on a Blue Cloth

Here is a 18" x 24" acrylic painting of potatoes on a blue cloth. I liked the contrast of color and texture between the potatoes and cloth. I was also thinking of Henry Moore's abstract sculptures of mother and child. It is for sale at Artsetter.com. 

 
 

RARE: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species by Joel Sartore

 I received a review copy of Joel Sartore's new book, RARE: Portraits of America's Endangered Species. It is published by National Geographic. As you open the book you see a Southern Mountain Yellow-legged frog breaking the surface. The contents are organized by the number of a species left on earth. Many are fewer than a thousand or unknown.  I was surprised to find there are only 46 Woodland Caribou, 195 Ocelots, around 300 Wolverines, 330 red wolves, 356 Condors, and 539 Whooping Cranes. I remember as a kid in New Orleans seeing the Whooping Crane stamp released connected to Louisiana.

Even among more animals with greater numbers, it is concerning to see only about 3500 Polar bears and 2,000 American Crocodiles. Joel’s photos really make these animals come alive. There are some plants, as well.

Joel Sartore is a winner of the 2010 North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) “Outstanding Photographer of the Year” award, and award winner at the 2010 Pictures of the Year International (POYi) competition for images that form the foundation of this book. You can visit Joel’s web site to see a video on the book.

This is a highly recommended book on an important issue. 

Painting of Brown/Yellow Pitcher and Apple on a Blue Cloth

Here is a 14" x 18" acrylic painting of a light yellow/brown pitcher and an apple on a blue cloth. I liked the relationship of the colors within the three objects. It is for sale at Artsetter.com.