fresh prints II

I have a new set of prints made from these paintings. I am sending two of them, Orange Coffee Cup and Howard Johnson's, to my sister (she already knows, so no surprises to be spoiled here). I tell her the cup is from the Eveready Diner, a couple of years ago when they had brightly-colored dishes rather than the plain white mugs they use now. I was waiting there to meet my parents one morning for breakfast and the shiny orange cup and saucer looked so good there on the table, filled with hot black coffee, that I snapped a shot before I added a drop of cream. Later that year I came across a piece of wood, found my photo, and the cup practically painted itself that day. 

The HoJo's, as I noted after I painted it last year, I based on an old (possibly 1950s) road map: "Landmark for hungry Americans. Used to be thousands of these restaurants/motels across the US, now there are only two left. There is nothing like painting from a graphic image like this- two colors printed on top of each other with white- to make me pay close attention to details, simplified as they are, like the shape of a fold in a woman's skirt… Not my own nostalgia I am tapping, but my appreciation of an American ideal. Turning a stop that's 'on the way to someplace' into a destination in itself, complete with "delicious food" and 28 flavors of ice cream. In researching them I noticed many variations on the architecture of each location, but always with that distinct orange roof."

The Casa Grande Trading Post, Cerrillos (also known as 'Bottles'), of the Cerrillos Turquoise Mining Museum, I'd never have painted if I'd spent any time thinking about just how many bottles I'd be painting. But I had the hours to put in. It's nice to think about those hours now. The same goes for Grass- when I had the time to push through to see if and how I would finish. I still have both of these 36"x36" oils.. it's still harder to sell my larger works, unless I can burst into the big time.. In the meantime I can offer the prints, which are a handy and mailable 8.5"x11".