Blake McArthur's Abstract Art

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T16:30:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe that it's already 2012. I'm certainly hoping that I'll feel more inspired to paint this year than last, since I really didn't paint very much in 2011.

For the last three years, I've started a painting on the last day of one year, and finished it the first day of the next year. This year, my "New Years" painting was a 30"x22" paper piece titled "Go With The Flow", started on December 31st, 2011, and finished on January 1st, 2012. The musical inspiration was provided by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Go With The Flow

I painted some others on December 31st as well, while listening to Xavier Rudd and Jack Johnson. I started with 2 smaller pieces, intended to be displayed together. I have named them "From A" and "To Z". Each piece is on 15"x22" CP paper.

From A

To Z

I also painted "Comfort Zone" that same evening. It's on 30"x22" CP paper as well.

Comfort Zone

Earlier in December, I painted this piece (titled "Obliterate") on a 24"x36" canvas. This one was painted while listening to the new RHCP album, "I'm With You".

Obliterate

I also painted a couple of pieces in November. I suspect that the snow and the cold snap we had experienced in November prompted me to use the blues and whites that I did in my painting called "Winter", on 30"x22" CP paper.

Winter

The other piece from November was titled "Dusted With Decay", and it too is on 30"x22" CP paper. This piece was inspired by the lyrics to the song "Police Station", which is one of my favourite songs on the new RHCP album "I'm With You".

Dusted With Decay

Sketchy

2011-10-01T02:27:00.000-05:00

Had a very enjoyable "sketching" evening on Friday with Catherine Emile and Fran Honoway. It's been almost 10 months since we last all got together, and I'm hoping that it won't be that long before we get together again. When we've gotten together in the past, we always ended up painting, but this time we decided to sketch instead. Besides the traditional sketching with pencils, we also did some e-sketching using an iPad.

Catherine stumbled across an old sketch that I had done in 1995 when I first found the great book "Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain". That book includes exercises in which you draw without looking at the paper (I'm not sure, but I believe that this is referred to as blind contour drawing). This sketch is one that I had done in 1995 using that technique - it has a somewhat Gahan Wilson look to it that I quite like. It's pretty obvious why I choose to do abstracts, isn't it :-) ?

Manitoba Art Expo

2011-09-22T23:27:00.001-05:00

I am proud to announce that I will be exhibiting at the Manitoba Art Expo, being held from Thursday November 3rd through Sunday November 6th, 2011 at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg.

If it hadn't been for the Manitoba Art Expo, I don't know if I ever would have started painting. My wife and I had purchased our first original work of art at that show in 2006. We were so thrilled with that piece, that we started building a small collection of original works to grace the walls of our home. My entry into the painting world came as the result of encouragement from one of the artists whose work I had purchased for that collection. Without that encouragement, I doubt that I would have ever started painting.

The Manitoba Art Expo includes something called "Framers Corner", in which artists donate art works, and gallery/frame shops donate the framing, and the framed pieces are then auctioned off for charity. I love being able to use my art to support worthwhile charities, so I very much wanted to participate in this years auction (with proceeds going to the "Pennies from Heaven" campaign which supports local food banks). Unfortunately, the size of my normal paper pieces (22"x30") was too large, as they apparently have difficulty in finding framers willing to donate frames of that size. As a result, I specifically created two "half size" pieces so that I could have one included in the Framers Corner auction. I created two pieces on the same day, painted while listening to the new Red Hot Chilli Peppers album, "I'm With You". The two pieces are called "Articulations" and "Stipulations", as shown below. Each piece is on 15" x 22" paper.

Articulations

Stipulations

When I Look To The West

2011-06-18T02:55:00.001-05:00

When I first started painting in 2008, I painted almost every day, and definitely at least a couple of times per week. Over time, the frequency of my painting has dropped considerably, and I find that I’m only painting once or twice per month. I always have a great time when I paint, but for whatever reason, I seem to be lacking the same inspiration I had when I first started painting.

Music has always been the greatest inspiration for me, and my most recent painting session was definitely inspired by music. I recently purchased a Philips Fidelio speaker system for my iPhone, and as a reult I have been listening to the music on my iPhone quite a bit more than I had previously been. One of the albums that I had purchased on iTunes for my iPhone was the Vitamin String Quartet Tribute to Led Zeppelin. Among the many amazing tunes on that album was a version of Led Zeppelins Stairway To Heaven, which is absolutely remarkable. I had been listening to that particular tune (on repeat, and at very high volume) when I painted “When I Look To The West”.

Lupus 2011 Update

2011-06-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to say that I will be donating two pieces to the upcoming Lupus golf fundraiser instead of just the one originally planned.

Sandy and Darlene (from the Manitoba Lupus Society) dropped by on Friday to select a piece for their fundraiser. When they had originally looked at some of the available pieces on line, they had narrowed their choices down to Energized and Inside Out. When they saw the actual pieces, they both felt that Energized would be a more appropriate choice. As they were looking through some of my other available pieces, Sandy had indicated that she really liked "Trapped", so I offered them that piece as well. I really hope that these pieces will help them in their fundraising efforts.

Energized

Trapped

Amazing Product - Philips Fidelio

2011-06-11T02:02:00.001-05:00

I normally don't like endorsing products but I just came across a product that I think is absolutely amazing and worth mentioning. I've had an iPod for several years, and when I bought it I had also bought a Bose Sound Dock so that I could listen to it without headphones. Three years ago, I picked up an iPhone, and although it works with the Sound Dock, the charging mechanism is not compatible, so the iPhone doesn't charge when in the Sound Dock. As a result, I have never really used my iPhone much for music I happened to be at Costco today, and noticed a Philips Fidelio docking speaker for $120 CDN. I had my iPhone with me so I plugged it in to see what it sounded like and was very impressed. Knowing that Costco is great with returns, I decided to give it a try. All I can say is WOW. For $120 the sound is absolutely amazing, and in my opinion even better than the Bose SoundDock which is more than double the price (the new Bose Sound Dock is $250 at Costco, I had paid $400 for mine at Future Shop 6 or 7 years ago). Since buying my iPhone I have tried some other speakers but I've never felt that any were on par with the sound of the Bose until I tried these. They are certainly not on par with high end audio equipment (neither is the Bose Sound Dock), but for $120 they are absolutely outstanding. Not only is the sound amazing, but the remote is super responsive. They are definitely worth looking into for anyone looking for an inexpensive way to really enjoy listening to an iPod/iPhone without headphones. They are most certainly one of the best deals that I've come across in months.

Lupus 2011

2011-06-08T22:09:00.002-05:00

The Lupus Society of Manitoba is holding their annual Connect For Lupus Golf Tournament on June 15th, and for the second year in a row, I will be donating a painting to help in their fundraising efforts. The Connect for Lupus Golf Tournament is the Lupus Society of Manitoba’s single most important fundraiser with all funds raised going directly to lupus research.

For more information about Lupus, and about their golf tournament, check out their web page at http://www.lupusmanitoba.com/

Representatives from the Lupus Society will be dropping by to finalize their selection and pick up the selected piece. So far, it appears to be narrowed down to either "Energized" or "Inside Out". Regardless of which one they select, I hope that it will help them in their fundraising efforts, and raise as much for them as "Sahara" did in last years tournament.

Energized

Inside Out

Another Million Years

2011-04-17T21:04:00.000-05:00

As we entered 2011, I had really hoped that I'd be able to find more time to paint. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Between an extremely heavy work schedule, researching vehicles (we needed to get a new vehicle after adopting a second Greyhound, since we couldn't fit both of them in either of our existing cars), and making plans for some kitchen and bathroom renovations, I just haven't been able to find the time to paint. The few evenings where I have had some free time, I haven't had the inspiration to paint. Luckily, I found the inspiration on Saturday evening, and broke out the paints. I cranked up some vintage Blondie, and here is the result. I have called this piece "Another Million Years", taken from the lyrics to Blondies "11:59".

Mona Lisa

2011-04-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

A small collection of my canvas pieces have been on display in the main dining room at Mona Lisa Ristorante Italiano ( 1697 Corydon Avenue here in Winnipeg) since April 7th, and will remain there until around May 6th. Joe Grande, the owner of Mona Lisa, is a big supporter of the local arts, and provides the opportunity for local artists to have their work displayed to the public. Each month, they have two artists work on display - one in the main dining room and one in the "fireplace" dining room. My work had been displayed in the fireplace dining room in January 2010, and I was invited to return this year, this time in the main dining room.

Mona Lisa has what I consider to be among the absolute best pizza in Winnipeg (their Mona Lisa special is out of this world good), so I would strongly suggest that you make it down there sometime, even if it's after my art is gone. There will always be great art and great food, so you can't go wrong. I would strongly suggest reservations, as the place is usually packed, and it's almost impossible to get a table if you just show up.

Time Flies

2011-03-13T00:49:00.003-06:00

Wow. It's been almost 2 and a half months since my last post, and almost the same length of time since my last painting. I've been super busy making a living, and haven't had much time to paint - hopefully that's about to change.

I finally had a chance to break out the paints this evening. I put on some Acoustic Alchemy and came up with the following on a 48" x 12" canvas, which I've called "Time Flies.

I recently stumbled upon an old painting from 2009 called Wind. We are having some home renovations done, and our designer, Jim Mitchell, now has Wind proudly displayed in his own home. Here is a picture of the painting, along with one showing the wonderful job that Jim did with the framing. It really highlights the impact that the right frame can have.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T15:40:00.000-06:00

Well, here we are at the start of another new year. I'm hoping that I can end up painting more this year than last year - between a hectic work schedule and a lack of inspiration, I didn't break out the paints anywhere near as often as I would have liked to in 2010.

A year ago, as 2009 came to a close, I decided to start a painting in 2009 and finish it in 2010. This year, as 2010 drew to a close, I decided to keep up the "tradition" and do the same thing. I created two paintings, one of which I finished completely in 2010, and called that one MMX. I then created a second painting, using the same color palette. I started it at about 15 minutes before midnight, and finished it in the wee hours of the first day of 2011. I called that one MMXI.

MMX - Last Painting of 2010

MMXI - First Painting of 2011 (started in 2010)

Sea of Joy

2010-12-05T02:08:00.004-06:00

I've been keeping really busy with some major projects at work for the past several weeks. Between that, and not seeming to be able to find the right inspiration, I haven't been doing too much painting recently. For some reason, I felt compelled to crank up some tunes and break out the paints last weekend. While listening to some Blind Faith, I grabbed a tube of blue paint, a tube of orange paint, and a 24"x36" canvas, and came up with following piece, which I've called "Sea of Joy" ( I'm sure that any Blind Faith fans will understand the meaning of the title). I'm really amazed at how just two colors can be blended to provide so many different colors.

Life gets in the way

2010-11-06T01:40:00.001-05:00

Well, the "13+" show at the Pavilion Gallery Museum in Assiniboine Park here in Winnipeg is officially over. According to the curator, the show had been very well received by the public. He has asked both Ludo and I to create large scale pieces (minimum of 4' x 6') for an exhibition in the Assiniboine Park Conservatory in the spring of 2011.

One of my pieces from the 13+ show (Sunset 101) will be hanging behind the front desk at Terrace 55, the restaurant on the main floor of the Assiniboine Park Pavilion. This restaurant features outstanding food and service, and an absolutely beautiful setting, overlooking Assiniboine Park. Although it is not inexpensive, the restaurant provides exceptional value and is well worth making a special trip for.

I have not been able to devote as much time to my art as I would have liked, primarily because "Life gets in the way". Although I'd love to be able to make my living from painting, I have not yet reached the stage where selling my art can provide sufficient income for that to happen.

Until recently, most of my work has been done on 22"x30" paper. I've recently started to do some work on canvas, but that bas been primarily 24"x24" pieces. Based on the need to explore larger formats in order to be able to create an appropriate piece for the Conservatory show next spring, I have started experimenting with some larger canvases. My car can only accommodate pieces that are no wider than 36", so I have been experimenting with 36"x36|" and 36"x48" canvas, and am quite liking the larger format. Once I feel confident working with this size, I will make arrangements for delivery of some larger canvases, although I have no idea where I'll be able to actually paint them.

So far, I've done two pieces on 36" x 36 " canvas, as shown below. I'm not thrilled with them, and I'm planning on adding more to them, although I have no idea of when that may happen. I also worked with Catherine Emile and Fran Honoway on a collaborative 36"x48" piece, that I'm quite pleased with. Any comments on any of these pieces would be greatly appreciated.

This first piece is on 36" x 36" canvas, and is titled "City"

The second piece is also on 36" x 36' canvas, and is titled "Trapped"

The final piece is the 36"x48" collaborative piece, painted with Catherine Emile and Fran Honoway.

Please feel free to offer any and all comments regarding any of these pieces.

13 +

2010-09-17T19:14:00.002-05:00

I'm excited to report that most of the paintings have been hung in preparation for the "13+" show being held at the Pavilion Gallery Museuem at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg. 13+ is a collaborative show with my friend and mentor, Ludolf Grolle, and is the first ever abstract expressionist show to be held at the Pavilion Gallery Museum. Philip Heymans, the gallery curator, will be putting the finisihing touches on the show this weekend in preparation for the public opening on Tuesday September 21st. The show will run until the end of October, with a special "opening" evening to be held starting at 5:30PM on Thursday, September 30th. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

The Pavilion Gallery Museum is located in the centerpiece building within Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg's largest public park. It is open for public viewing from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM, Tuesday through Sunday. The 13+ exhibition is being held in the 2nd floor rotation gallery.

Pavilion Gallery

2010-08-05T13:54:00.001-05:00

I will be having a show at the Pavilion Gallery in the Pavilion at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg. The show will run for approximately 6 weeks, and will start in mid-to-late September. Hopefully I will be joined by Ludo Grolle as well. Details to follow

Energized

2010-06-30T00:50:00.003-05:00

After last weekends painting session with Catherine and Francine, I didn’t pick up the paints again until this weekend. I put on the Talking Heads “Naked” CD, and ended up creating the following piece on 24″x24″ canvas.

I also created the following 8″x10″ paper pieces.

Painting Evening

2010-06-19T02:08:00.005-05:00

I haven't painted for weeks, and was beginning to feel like I was losing my desire to paint. That desire was restored thanks to a painting evening with Catherine Emile and Francine Honoway. Although Lauren didn't join us to paint, she started the evening off with an absolutely delicious meal, and checked in our progress occasionally during the evening.

We started the evening off with some pieces using my traditional scraping technique, since Cathy and Fran had wanted to know how I achieved some of the effects. I did one piece, and Cathy and Fran collaborated on another, using a similar palette. Here are those pieces:

This is my first piece, called Bones.

And here is the collaborative piece that Catherine an Fran did together. As of right now, it doesn't have a title. I love the piece, and the somewhat Moroccan vibe that the colors and shapes impart to it.

After those first two pieces, Fran created another piece using a completely different technique. We all loved it, and wished that we could clone it so that we could do some more experimentation with it. Realizing that we couldn't do that, we decided that we would try to create another piece with a similar palette. Catherine then created a piece, using the same colors that Fran had used. We all loved Catherine's piece as well, so I decided that I'd try one using a similar palette. I really feel that the three pieces go together quite nicely.

This is Fran's piece. I personally find it hauntingly beautiful.

This is Catherine's painting, using the same color palette (another hauntingly beautiful piece).

And here is my painting with that same palette (although I used much more black than Catherine and Francine did.) During the evening, we didn't come up with names for the pieces, however I have since come up with the name "Bridge" for mine.

I had a wonderful time painting with these two enormously talented artists, and look forward to getting together again for another wonderful evening of painting and conversation.

Lupus

2010-06-17T01:28:00.001-05:00

Prior to last week, I had heard of the disease called Lupus, but really knew nothing about it. On Thursday (June 10th), I got a call from my good friend Ludolf Grolle, asking me if I'd be able to help out the Lupus Society of Manitoba by donating a painting for their upcoming charity golf tournament auction. Apparently they had previously arranged for auction items, however basement flooding caused by the recent rains here in Winnipeg caused several of the auction prizes to be damaged, resulting in an emergency requirement to replace the damaged items. Two of the organizers of the Lupus Society of Manitoba Charity Golf Tournament dropped by my home that day to select a painting for the event. I'm pleased to report that the painting was sold at the auction (June 15th) , helping out a very worthwhile charity.

I would encourage you to learn about Lupus by checking out the web site of the Lupus Society of Manitoba, at www.lupusmanitoba.com. While visiting their site, please consider making a donation. (There is a button labelled "Donate Online Now" on the web site that makes donating easy).

The painting that was auctioned off was Sahara, shown below.

Wake Up Call

2010-06-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

My good friend and mentor, Ludolf (Ludo) Grolle, suffered a major heart attack on Friday, June 11th, 2010. Thankfully he seems to be doing well, and certainly hasn’t lost his unique sense of humor. Although he’ll be at the St. Boniface Hospital for another week or so, things are looking very good for a recovery.

Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to Ludo to stop smoking (when we visited him today and the nurse asked him if he smoked, his reply was “Not any more”). I know that it has certainly served as a personal wake-up call for me to start making more healthy choices when eating, and to take regular exercise more seriously. It’s way too easy to skip a day on the old treadmill, or grab some artery clogging fast food instead of eating a nutritious meal, but when you think of the potential consequences, making the right choice becomes quite a bit easier.

Fine Art America Slide Show

2010-05-09T13:30:00.001-05:00

There is a new feature on the Fine Art America web site that allows a Flash-free slideshow of selected works, as shown here:

Painting Evening

2010-04-17T00:47:00.008-05:00

A little bit of wine, a little bit of pizza, some painting and the great company of three beautiful, fun, intelligent women - what better way is there to spend a Friday evening? I had the pleasure of doing just that this Friday evening with my wife Lauren, Catherine Emile and Francine Honoway. Originally we were supposed to be joined by Ludo Grolle, but apparently an emergency meeting of the Water Buffaloes took precedence, so he was a no-show.

Here are some pics of my paintings that came out of the evening.

Artifacts

Acrylic on 30"x22" paper
Painted while listening to Jack Johnson "En Concert"

Refuge

Acrylic on 14"x11" Yupo Paper

Painted while listening to Little Feat "Representing The Mambo"

Acid Rain

Acrylic on 11"x14" Yupo Paper

Painted while listening to Talking Heads "Naked"

Unfortunately I did not think to take pictures of the two paintings that Fran had made, however Catherine left one of hers behind, so I was able to take a picture of it. Most paintings look better in person than online, and this one is definitely one of those. The detail when viewed up close is just amazing.

Untitled - by Catherine Emile

Acrylic on 11"x14" Yupo paper

Although I don't currently have an example of the paintings that Fran made tonight, I do have a picture of the outstanding pen and ink piece that she had given me, called The Tree Of Life. The color on this is off, and I'm not sure why. The background should be a very soft off white, but is coming across almost sepia toned. Just like Catherine's piece, this piece is best appreciated when looked at up close to be able to appreciate the detail.

Tree Of Life by Francine Honoway

Pen and Ink on 14"x11" paper

"Art & Wine" Evening

2010-04-11T02:23:00.000-05:00

I had a blast at the Banville & Jones "Art & Wine" evening. Had the opportunity to meet some great people, and to sample some fantastic wine. I also received some advice that I plan to heed - from this point onward, I'll be documenting the music that I was listening to while creating each piece. With music being such an important part of the creative process for me, this is something that I should have been doing all along.

Thanks to all who attended, and to Banville & Jones for sponsoring such a great evening. Special thanks to Brooklyn Hurst for inviting me to take part.

Banville & Jones "Art & Wine" Evening

2010-03-24T00:13:00.006-05:00

If you like wine and you like art, then mark Saturday April 10th on your calendar. Banville & Jones Wine Co will be holding their first "Art & Wine" Evening. Not only will you get the chance to view some great art, but you will also have the opportunity to learn about, and taste some wonderful wines in a casual and relaxed atmosphere.

The participating artists include Brooklyn Hurst, Ludolf Grolle, Hubert Theroux, and myself. Each artist will have between 3-5 pieces on display, all of which will be available for purchase. The wide variety of artistic styles is sure to have something to suit everyones tastes.

Banville & Jones is located at 1616 St. Mary's Road. Tickets are only $29.99, and are available by contacting Banville & Jones, at 948-WINE (9463). There are only a limited number of tickets available, so call early to avoid disappointment.

Yupo Paper

2010-03-10T01:25:00.000-06:00

˙sɐʌuɐɔ ɹo ɹǝdɐd ɹɐןnƃǝɹ ɥʇıʍ ƃuıʞɹoʍ uɐɥʇ ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp ʎןǝʇıuıɟǝp sı ɹǝdɐd sıɥʇ ɥʇıʍ ƃuıʞɹoʍ ˙ɹǝdɐd odnʎ ǝɥʇ ɥʇıʍ ǝpɐɯ ı ʇɐɥʇ sǝɔǝıd oʍʇ ʇsɹıɟ ǝɥʇ ǝɹɐ ǝɹǝɥ

I recently had lunch with Catherine Emile, and she was telling me about working with Yupo paper. I was intrigued by what she had to say, and I was blown away by one of her pieces (called "Doubt") that she made on Yupo, so I decided to give it a try. As the upside down text above says: Here are the first two pieces that I made with the Yupo paper. Working with this paper is definitely different than working with regular paper or canvas.

Needle In A Haystack

11"x14" Acrylic on Yupo Paper

Midas

14"x11" Acrylic on Yupo Paper

Attack of the Pillars of Tomatoes

2010-03-09T00:40:00.002-06:00

Pillars of killer tomatoes, poised to attack
Acrylic on 30"x22" paper

March 7, 2010

2010-03-07T12:48:00.001-06:00

The Sky Is Crying

Acrylic on 30"x22" paper

Indecision

Acrylic on 30"x22" paper

Storm on the Prairie

Acrylic on 22"x30 paper

Turmoil - Feb 22, 2010

2010-02-22T23:32:00.002-06:00

It sure felt great to break out the paints again recently - it feels like such a long time since I've painted anything. Here are two pieces that I had done this past weekend.
The first piece is called Turmoil, and is meant to represent the feeling that we sometimes get when all of the minor problems and turmoil in our life make us feel like we're drowning.

The second piece is called Duke, for no reason other than I had been listening to the great Duke Ellington when I painted it.

February 2, 2010

2010-02-02T16:50:00.006-06:00

Sleet

Acrylic on 20"x20" canvas

Razamataz
Acrylic on 30"x22" Paper

Born From Fire
Acrylic on 22"x30" paper
.

January 30, 2010

2010-01-31T01:08:00.000-06:00

The second part of my online interview is now available at
http://www.michele-andree-unblugged.com/abstract-expressionism-2

I was able to make it down to Mona Lisa restaurant on Friday evening for a meal with very close friends to see my paintings on display. For those of you in Winnipeg who haven't had the pleasure of having a Mona Lisa pizza, do yourself a favor and head down there (1697 Corydon). My paintings will be gone, but the wonderful food remains. I challenge you to find a better pizza in Winnipeg (I would recommend reservations, since it's usually packed).

Just before we left, Joe Grande (the owner) stopped by our table and offered an invitation to have my work shown again. I'll be taking him up on his offer, but I'm not sure when.

Online Interview - January 22, 2010

2010-01-23T13:02:00.000-06:00

One of my many online friends is a woman named Michele Andree, who has a web site dedicated to promoting music and art. Late last year, I took part in an interview with her, which was published this week on her web site. Please check it out and feel free to offer any comments.
http://www.michele-andree-unblugged.com/abstract-expressionism-1

January 18, 2010

2010-01-20T00:00:00.003-06:00

I recently had the pleasure of painting with Catherine Emile. Before we worked on our collaborative pieces, I had created this piece on my own, titled "Astral Iterations".

January 17, 2010

2010-01-17T12:58:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, I had attended the funeral for my Aunt Hrund, who had died at the age of 101. On the way home from the funeral, we were treated to an absolutely amazing prairie winter sunset, which had inspired me to pull out the paints for the first time in a couple of weeks.

January 4, 2010 - Mona Lisa Restaurant

2010-01-05T00:18:00.001-06:00

If anyone is interested, 10 of my paintings will be hanging in the "fireplace" dining room at the Mona Lisa Restaurant, at 1697 Corydon for the month of January. There are 7 framed paper pieces, as well as 3 unframed canvas pieces on display.

I have been continuing with the digital manipulations. This one is a manipulation of my acrylic paper piece called Embers, which has been included here as well.

Digital Manipulation - January 3, 2010

2010-01-04T01:42:00.000-06:00

Here is a digital manipulation of my "Hall of the Mountain King" acrylic painting. It has manipulated beyond all recognition, and somehow reminds me of west coast native art. I have included both the digital manipulation, and the acrylic original upon which it is based.

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T22:39:00.001-06:00

Well today is officially the start of a new year, and the start of a new decade. To celebrate, I decided to start a painting in 2009 and finish it in 2010, so that I could say that it's creation spanned decades. In light of that, I titled the piece "Decades".

I have also created a digitally manipulated version of this same piece. The digital manipulation is quite severe, so it is unlikely that anyone would be able to see the correlation between the two pieces.

Digital Manipulation - December 30, 2009

2009-12-31T03:23:00.001-06:00

Here is digital manipulation done in paint Shop Pro, using my acrylic piece "Fools Gold" as a base. I have also included a copy of the actual acrylic piece for comparison.

And the original acrylic on paper:

Digital Manipulations - December 27,2009

2009-12-28T01:16:00.000-06:00

Here are two digital manipulations that are based on my original acrylic paintings. These ones should leave enough of the original intact to be able to make it apparent which painting each is based on.

The first one is based on "Eye Rate".

And this one is based on Frigid.

Digital Manipulation - December 26, 2009

2009-12-26T12:39:00.000-06:00

Here is a Paint Shop Pro digital manipulation of my Axios acrylic painting.

Digital Manipulations - December 23, 2009

2009-12-23T16:54:00.003-06:00

Here is another Paint Shop Pro digital manipulation. This one used my acrylic piece "Tilt" as a base.

And this one used "Prairie at 90MPH" as a base.

Digital Manipulation - December 22, 2009

2009-12-23T00:58:00.000-06:00

I was doing some more experimenting with Paint Shop Pro to see what sort of effects I could get. This particular picture started with my painting from December 9th, called "Worlds Collide".

New Works - December 19, 2009

2009-12-20T12:51:00.001-06:00

I had taken advantage of the recent sale at Artists Emporium to stock up on supplies, and when I got home I felt a compelling urge to play with the paints. That evening, I re-worked an existing canvas (the one from December 9 post) to come up with this. I wasn't happy with it at the time, but it's grown on me.

I also created a couple of new paper pieces on Saturday evening, one of which I really like, and one that I think is probably best used as kindling.

Digital Manipulation - December 17, 2009

2009-12-17T23:40:00.000-06:00

I decided to try playing around with some of the features of Paint Shop Pro, which is the software that I normally use to crop the photos of my paintings that I post online. Normally, the only processing I do with the photos is straightening and cropping. Having been viewing many really cool digital works online, I decided to try taking two of my paintings and using the available tools to come up with something new from that base. It's kinda fun, so I may end up doing some more of this type of thing in the future on days where I feel creative but don't feel like painting.

New Works - December 9, 2009

2009-12-09T23:34:00.002-06:00

This is my latest piece, an acrylic on paper (22"x30") called "Worlds Collide".

This is my latest canvas piece (20"x20"), done about a week or so ago.. I'm not happy with it, so I think I'll probably gesso over it and try again.

Prints from RedBubble

2009-12-07T22:37:00.000-06:00

I have recently posted several of my paintings to the RedBubble art site. This site allows people to order prints and reproductions of the various pieces, at very reasonable prices. My "bubble site" is available at:
BlakeMcArthur.RedBubble.com

Titles and Descriptions

2009-12-07T22:33:00.000-06:00

I often have a hard time coming up with meaningful names for my paintings. I'm having an even harder time coming up with comments and descriptions to go along with them. According to the various art sites where I have posted my work, providing a decent description is an important part of helping people find the work. As such, I am trying to come up with some decent descriptions for my paintings, and would appreciate any assistance that anyone could provide.

New Work - December 4 2009

2009-12-05T17:43:00.003-06:00

Here are three new pieces that I have completed this week. All three pieces are 22"x30" acrylic on paper, and all were made while listening to the Roger Waters "Live in Gdansk" album.

This first piece is call "Stein", and was intended as a standalone piece.

These other two images were intended as a "set", and are titled "Sooner" and "Later"

Latest Work - November 25, 2009

2009-11-26T00:49:00.007-06:00

I was watching a documentary about the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, and was struck by the stark beauty of the lava flows, with their intense yellow and orange colours, particularly when contrasted against the black. The documentary talked about hornitos, small openings that release small quantities of lava. After a week of not painting, that documentary inspired me to create the piece titled "Hornito".

While I had the paint out, I decided to try a piece more reminiscent of some of my work from 2008, which I have called "Yesterday" (I was listening to the Beatles anthology while I painted it). It was inspired by some comments made to me by my friend, Lorelei Morrison.

Latest Canvas - November 18, 2009

2009-11-18T22:04:00.002-06:00

So far, most of my paintings have been acrylic on paper, but I have been wanting to do more with canvas. I've done a few canvas pieces over the last couple of months, and find that my normal techniques don't work as well on canvas as they do on paper. This is one of the most recent canvas pieces I've done.

Heather and Mikes Social

2009-11-17T01:43:00.002-06:00

My beautiful daughter Heather is getting married to a wonderful man named Mike Mudry in February. I am very proud to be able to donate an abstract painting as an auction prize for their upcoming social. The painting that Heather has chosen is called "Escape".

Latest Work - Nov 14 2009

2009-11-14T22:56:00.005-06:00

Here are my latest works, both acrylic on 22"x30" paper. I'm certainly not thrilled with them, but at the same time, I don't dislike them enough to throw them away. Painting can be such a joy when things work out the way you want, and such a disappointment when they don't. I'm really hoping that these ones will grow on me. I often find that my long term feeling for a piece doesn't match my initial feeling.

Musical Slideshow

2009-11-14T02:27:00.004-06:00

Music is an important part of my life. When I paint, I always listen to music. For me, painting is not a conscious process, but rather a sub-conscious one, with my hands guided by the music that I am listening to. I also find that listening to great music while viewing art enhances the overall experience. With that in mind, I have put together a slideshow of some of my abstract paintings, set to the absolutely wonderful music of the great guitarist, Buckethead. The song is called "All in the waiting".

Please click here for the musical slideshow

Online Interview

2009-11-13T19:42:00.003-06:00

I belong to several online art sites, one of which is called Fine Art America (FAA). One of the very active members on that site is a wonderful lady from the U.K. by the name of Beth Edwards. In addition to her involvement on the FAA web site, Beth also has her own online magazine called "1st Angel Arts". As part of that, she conducts online interviews with artists from around the world. The following link takes you to my online interview on her site:

http://1stangel.co.uk/art/blake-mcarthur-interview-with-the-artist/

Winnipeg Folk Festival

2009-11-13T18:23:00.000-06:00

I have donated an abstract painting called "Cosmic Debris" to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, to be auctioned off during their upcoming Winter Wassail, which will be held at the Winnipeg Convention Center on Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Winnipeg Humane Society

2009-11-13T18:15:00.000-06:00

I have donated an abstract painting called "Pachyderm" to the Winnipeg Humane Society to be auctioned off during their upcoming "Shaggy Chic" BowWow Ball to be held at The Fairmont Winnipeg on Saturday November 21st, 2009.

Welcome

2009-11-13T17:54:00.000-06:00

I have been abstract painting since spring of 2008. I have created this blog as another mechansim to get my abstract paintings exposed to the world. Hopefully you will enjoy what I have to offer. I invite any and all on-topic comments.