you painted trucks

Some phone calls flew back and forth about work I would contribute to a Westchester group show of cars a friend was organizing.
'You got car paintings?'
'Yes, I sure do have car paintings.'
'Great. What sizes?'
'A bunch of different sizes, 12 or 20 inch…'
'Great. I'll need a few smaller ones as it turns out.'
'No problem', I assure him, forgetting the pivotal word CAR. I have a few large paintings of cars (the Edsel; the Beetle, a couple Fords) that will be too big. I grab two smallish vehicle paintings- one older, one new- and drop them at the venue- the Mamaroneck Public Library. I send off an email.
'You got my pieces, right? Did you hang the show yet?'
'HAUSER!!! Yes you are up.... NO you did not paint cars.... you painted trucks!!! Fear not, all is well. Love how you paint... always have.'
'Oops. Sorry. Trucks aren't cars?'
The show, Art of The Automobile, is up through Oct 27, with a reception Sat Oct 18th 2-4pm.

for the beacon sukkah project

'A sukkah is a house that gives no shelter, a house that parodies the idea of security. It's a Jewish sand mandala of a building, open to the sky and used for seven days around the time of the fall harvest and then dismantled. It's rickety and tenuous, creating the illusion of permanence and highlighting the impermanence of everything… Beacon Hebrew Alliance will contemplate and celebrate these universal themes of ephemerality and transience in Open to the Sky: The Beacon Sukkah Project, which will be at Polhill Park (by the Beacon Visitors' Center) October 8-16.'
I helped install the artwork in the sukkah today, using wood and twine to hang the pieces like scrolls against the sunlit walls of cloth. Above, the roof frame laid with bamboo made soft rustling sounds in the wind.

As for my contribution.. The leaf painting in the center of my piece is from a larger portrait I made many years ago of a dear friend, for a show with the theme 'Influence'. That part, painted beyond her laughing face, was inspired by looking down into dark water at bright fallen leaves swirling on the surface. It became its own painting which I kept for a long time, but it ceased to mean what it once had. The seasonal transition is an obvious example of impermanence, but in this work it also signifies, to me, how a piece of art can shift in personal meaning over time. Holding onto a work to evoke memory or sentiment isn't always necessary. I liked the idea of integrating it into this patchwork quilt-like piece for the sukkah, passing it on to be seen again in a new way for a new purpose.

no small matter

I'm pleased that three of my paintings were accepted to Small Matters of Great Importance, the Edward Hopper House's annual juried show in Nyack, NY. The show will run October 25, 2014 - January 4, 2015, with a reception on Saturday, October 25, 2-4 pm.
I have entered before (see hopper to hauser) but the only time I was in this show was 2006, so it will be nice to see my work there again, in the house where Hopper grew up. The 2014 theme is 'En Route'. It being a theme of mine as well, I had no trouble finding images to submit. Sometimes the juror agrees with me. I did not get selected for the 'Under 40' show at WAAM (in Woodstock), but as the only common link is having yet to complete one's fourth decade, there is no way to know what kind of show it will be, or whether one's work stands a chance. If under 40 means edgy, I suspect I'm always out of the running. Though I got in a couple years ago. The funny thing was that I was one of the few artists who attended the opening, and nearly everyone else in the room was well over 40. Yes, I need to search for new shows to enter, new galleries, probably new cities. Build a house on top of a truck bed and just start knocking down doors.

glove story

Working hands. And these are just from the past month or so, except the taped relic from last winter. 

Sometimes they want it stacked like this.

Sometimes they want it stacked like this. And in the 3rd hour she rested.

Sometimes they want it stacked like this. (This is four units, carted up across the lawn.)

Two paintings at Newburgh Small Works, to coincide with Open Studios.

Cluster of my paintings on my friend's studio wall for the weekend. Met some new people, sold a couple things and drank wine in the afternoons. Now back to my regularly scheduled stacking program.

self portrait

I made a new painting that will be included in a show opening tonight Sat Sept 27, called Narcissism and the Self-Portrait, at Ann St Gallery in Newburgh. 104 Ann St. Reception is 6:30-8:30pm. It will be up through Nov 22. More info about the show and the gallery at the link. 

I will try to replace this with a better photo; this one makes it look all soft and faded out, but in fact it is much darker and the brushstrokes more evident. I guess I am making a point to emphasize this because I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I am pleased in the end by its texture (invisible here) and my ability to create a semblance of my appearance in paint- a rare attempt, and one I was glad to receive the challenge to have. I am lounging against an antique Packard, peach in hand.

The painting, The Rest is History, is 13"x20" acrylic on wood.

newburgh open studios

It's tomorrow and Sunday, September 26 and 27, 11am-5pm. I will have new and recent work installed in my friend Bruno Krauchthaler's studio in the Atlas Industries building at 11 Spring St in Newburgh.  Maps for self-guided tours are available at Newburgh Art Supply, on Grand St (off Broadway), and at most of the studios. Tonight 7pm there is a kickoff party to which all are welcome, at Teran Studio on 119 Broadway. Looks like it will be a nice weekend! I will show some of the ice cream wrapper paintings and a few other paintings/drawings from the past 4 months.

remember your roots

It's been a staggeringly long time- most of September-  since I posted something, and I'm not even sure why, since I've been making work and doing stuff. The irony was that I'd originally planned this to be a make-and-post-a-painting-a-day month- but the required discipline and ability to ruthlessly, efficiently structure my time, eluded me. I made two 8x10" oil paintings right off the mark. But I felt there was a whiff of stagnancy about them. Though if I had persisted and done thirty of them, the number at least would demonstrate some kind of focus.  Nevertheless. It's not too late, as with most self-motivated practices. And I'll post twice a day to compensate.
Two weeks ago I made this painting for my nephew Ben for his 21st birthday. He may be legal now to order real beer- and has been well-versed in the responsible consumption of alcohol, and in fact ordered a flight of small amber-hued drafts at his birthday dinner- but he always liked root beer as a kid.