This painting, Paisels, wears a hand-painted frame with a gold lining that carries the paisley motif of the painting. Like the painting, it shows gold highlights.
Paisels and its frame made their public debut at Wendy Nylen's Gallery in Westport, CT on July 11, 2011. 

The "curve" of the horizon in this painting differs from my other paintings in it's angularity, reflecting the designs in the tablecloth.
Parallelograms and trapezoids make up the designs in this table cloth. The vase creates movement because it defies the angle of the table on which it sits, seeming to rise up from it.
Circles make up the flowers. It always amazes me how the simple shape of a circle can create an infinite number of patterns.
You'll see, faintly in the background, the shapes of cellos and their bows. Probably an influence from my fellow painter and musician, Craig Calistro, these shapes also reflect the lyricism of this Floodles series.
The frame for this painting is hand painted with (you might have guessed) a trapezoid and parallelogram motif and a gold lining.
This painting made its public debut at Wendy Nylen's Picture This Gallery in Westport on July 11th, 2011.

The design on this tablecloth originated with a design from another painting, "Sergio's Dahlias." (See below) I liked the way the curved checks gave movement to the painting. The chrysanthemums in the "Sergio's Dahlias" also inspired the imaginary flowers in Floodles III in the way that their leaves and petals seem to dance.
All the designs in the purple checks are square-based, and all the designs in the dark blue square are circle-based, none of them alike.
I hand painted the frame for this painting, with alternate square- and circle-based metallic gold paint. You'll find metallic gold highlights all over this painting. They don't show so much in a  photograph, but add dazzle to the real-life version.

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Here's the press release Wendy Nylen sent out for the upcoming show:

"The Exuberant, Playful Worlds of Joy van Hemert and Frank Lovino.”  Artists’ reception with live music by Craig Calistro on Friday, July 22nd, 2011, 5:30-8:00 pm.  On view from July 8th through August 11th, Mon.- Fri. 10:00 am–5:30 pm, Sat. 10:00 am-5pm.  Nylen Gallery at Picture This, 606 Post Rd.E., 203-227-6861.

Nylen Galley at Picture This is pleased to present recent works by Joy van Hemert and Frank Lovino. Please meet the artists at an opening reception on July 22nd, from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. The show will run until August 11th.

Musical and lyrical, Joy’s unique landscapes and interior scenes demonstrate life and playfulness. All of nature, and any manmade objects, frolic and harmonize together in these paintings.

Joy van Hemert’s series of five still lifes are anything but that. Unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, this series of imaginary flowers expresses an ecstasy of luminous color and shape. Joy juxtaposes masculine and feminine forms to create visual effects that seem to move and glow.

Born in Michigan, Joy grew up on the West Coast of Canada, studied Education at McGill University and taught Art at Woodlawn High School in Kitchener, Ontario and later at the Vancouver Waldorf School.  She also taught in Tokyo as adjunct professor at Keio University. Joy van Hemert founded the Lion’s Bay Sketch Club as well as the Fairfield County Working Artists Group and lives in Trumbull.

Numerous publications have featured Joy’s work and such prestigious institutions as the Vancouver Public Library Art Gallery and Montreal’s Place des Arts have exhibited Joy’s work.

Frank Lovino received a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Johnson State College in Vermont and also studied Art at Housatonic Community College. He now resides in Black Rock.

Frank’s minimalist ink and color works convey motion, energy and humor. The unique perspective of the artist invites the viewer to active engagement. An admirer of Henri Matisse, Frank’s work demonstrates a simple childlike flatness and the contrast of bold colors, which demonstrating a sophistication of perspective, line and style.

Frank encourages people to participate in art. “Don't be afraid to make a line on a piece of paper,” he says. “You can always use an eraser!”

Frank’s works at this show focus on children at play, leisure time and baseball.

Craig Calistro, an accomplished jazz pianist and recording artist will play live music at the opening reception.

A news reporter announced this morning that a recent study showed that men who visit art museums and participate otherwise in cultural events are happier than men who don't.

This could mean that happy men, as a result of being happy, participate in cultural events.  or it could mean that because some men participate in cultural events, they feel happier than other men. Either way, we Wednesday night FAWGer's are a happy bunch.

I've blogged about several art movies, and even though Mao's Last Dancer is about dance instead of paintings, I found it an inspiring movie about a very talented artist.

This movie is based on the true story of Li Cunxin. At the age of 11, Li leaves his poor Chinese village for Beijing to study ballet. Not that interested in ballet at first, he eventually applies focus and discipline to become one of Beijing's most accomplished students and travels to Texas for a cultural exchange. I won't tell you the rest, in case you decide to see it, but I highly recommend it if you like movies and ballet!

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This painting originated when I spotted some heirloom tomatoes on a plate. The tomatoes fit in so well with the design of the plate, it seemed they were one whole.

I painted Floodles (oil on canvas, 24" x 30"), along with Paisels expressly for the Thai Basil show in Greenwich. Danny, the owner, was so welcoming and enthusiastic about showing my paintings in his restaurant. But the prime places for display were the two large plate-glass windows facing the street. Alas, most of my paintings were small.

This was the first time in my life I experienced a painting emergency, since these windows called for larger works and there was less than one month for me to fill the quota. I designed two paintings and then painted in stolen moments. I painted in a restaurant while waiting for the installation of new tires. I painted in a lobby while waiting for someone behind schedule. The day before the show, my friend Lynn helped me choose frames and frame the paintings.

I don't know how the rest of the world feels about these paintings, but when I told the waiters at Thai Basil that I'd designed the paintings especially for the restaurant, they were very pleased.

This painting represents the first in a series that divert from my typical style. Wendy Nylen, of Picture This Gallery in Westport, calls it a "new direction." Somewhere between my first sketch and the final rendition of a painting, I've always diverged from reality. In this painting, and in subsequent paintings, I diverge earlier. I like symbols to enter the painting from the recesses of my mind.

Like a musical composition, I like to portray lyrical scenes that harmonize rhythmically. It interests me to include natural shapes: spirals, hearts and crescents.

Where did the idea of not painting with black come from? I've heard that this idea originated with the Impressionists, who used opposing colors to create vivid contrast and advised against black.Whatever the origin of this advice, it's been passed on through art schools and art teachers and I still occasionally hear the "Don't use pure black," advice.

Why not?

What other paint could create such dramatic contrast to color?

What would happen to fashion if black didn't play a role?

How could my art suffer from black?

With no satisfactory answer to these questions, I continue to happily use black.